TP19-01: Lessons Learned During a Lifetime of Cooling Tower Operations

The purpose of this paper is to increase the understanding and knowledge base for the evaluation of utility system performance. When starting the evaluation of any mechanical or thermal process, a good place to begin is to review the engineering fundamentals for that process. With these basics and a good visualization of the application being evaluated the process study has a higher probability of producing the desired outcome. This paper details the evaluation process for cooling tower operations at a Gulf Coast site. The location is essentially 10 miles from the Gulf of Mexico. The inherent challenges for a cooling tower at the site such as high summer temperature, humidity, and wind were studied and this paper will review the approach taken and the results.