Cooling Tower Performance Analysis and Visible Air Plume Abatement in Buildings Situated in ...

193 Pages·2015·3.49 MB·English

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Cooling Tower Performance Analysis and Visible Air Plume Abatement in
Buildings Situated in Temperate Climate Zone.
Chan Man Him
Student Number: 0747165

A thesis submitted to the Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University
for the degree of PhD
June 2015
Form: PGR_Submission_2012

NOTICE OF SUBMISSION OF THESIS FORM:
POSTGRADUATE RESEARCH

GUIDELINES ON THE COMPLETION OF:
NOTICE OF SUBMISSION OF THESIS FORM

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regulations relating to the Submission of a PhD by Published Works are available on the web
under the PhD by Published Works programme regulations found within the Academic Regulations
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Action to be taken by Candidates:
1. Candidates must complete the form and submit it, with their thesis, to the relevant School
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2. The date should be recorded as the date of submission (which will be recorded on the Students
Information Management System and will be reported to Research Councils, where appropriate).

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use block capitals. The completed form must be handed to your Head of School (or his/her
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a title page, which states:
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the candidate’s name;
a summary not exceeding three hundred words;
a statement signed by the candidate declaring that, except where indicated by specific
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a statement signed by the candidate declaring that no portion of the work presented has
been submitted in substance for any other degree or award at this or any other
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a list of contents, which includes the page number;
a signed statement regarding availability of the thesis;

5. An additional loose copy of the summary is required;

6. A completed 'Notice of Submission' form.
Form: PGR_Submission_2012_01

NOTICE OF SUBMISSION OF THESIS FORM:
POSTGRADUATE RESEARCH

7. The declaration and statements should be incorporated at the beginning of the dissertation, as
illustrated in Appendix 1.

8. Where this is in accordance with the School's policy on the submission of a thesis:

 candidates may submit their work for examination in temporary binding;
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unless this is required as a result of a decision of an Examining Board.

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Acknowledgement
I would like to give my greatest thanks to my God, my creator, my savior,
Lord Jesus Christ, who has given me wisdom and help throughout my course
of study and walk with me through all difficult times.
I would like to thank my supervisor, Professor Phil Jones, for his uttermost
and experienced knowledge in challenging me throughout my study, giving
me more thoughts on how to undertake a more practicable study so that I
could enter the industry with good knowledge on this topic so to ensure the
society could benefit from it.
I would like to thank my family, Prof Daniel Chan my dad, Olivia Au my
mum and Elizabeth Chan my sister in their warm support throughout the
study, so that I could precede my study with joy.
I would like to thank all personnel in Ryowo, especially Mr. Chiu the owner
and Mr. Lin, the factory manager, in supporting me to construct the cooling
tower testing chamber.
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I would like to thank my friends, Henry Mak, Jack Law, Jim Chim, Qiu and
many others who provide me with support and encouragement to carry on
with my study.
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Content
Summary .......................................................................................................................................... 13
Summary of Study ........................................................................................................................... 15
Chapter 1 – Introduction .................................................................................................................. 19
1.1 Hong Kong and Building System ................................................................................... 19
1.2 What is Visible Plume .................................................................................................... 19
1.3 Issues of Visible Plume .................................................................................................. 20
1.4 Ways of Visible Plume Elimination ............................................................................... 21
1.5 AIM ................................................................................................................................ 22
1.6 Objectives ....................................................................................................................... 22
Chapter 2 – Review of Subject Area ................................................................................................ 30
2.1 Water Sources, Supply and Storage in Hong Kong ........................................................ 31
2.1.1 Water Purchasing ............................................................................................................ 31
2.1.2 Water Wastage – Opportunity for Cooling Towers ........................................................ 32
2.2 Basics of Cooling Towers ............................................................................................... 33
2.2.1 Physical Principle of Cooling Tower .............................................................................. 33
2.2.2 Types of Cooling Tower ................................................................................................. 36
2.2.3 Cooling Tower, Legionella Growth and Droplet Dispersion .......................................... 42
2.3 Basics of Visible Plume of Cooling Tower .................................................................... 45
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2.4 Visible Plume Abatement ............................................................................................... 46
2.5 Summary ......................................................................................................................... 53
Chapter 3 – Heat Transfer Mechanism of the Cooling Tower ......................................................... 54
3.1 Mathematical Model of Cooling Tower ......................................................................... 54
3.1.1 Lewis Factor ................................................................................................................... 54
3.1.2 Evaporation ..................................................................................................................... 57
3.1.3 Sophisticated Mathematical Modeling ........................................................................... 57
3.2 Summary ......................................................................................................................... 62
Chapter 4 - Full Scale Tests ............................................................................................................. 63
4.1 Experiment Setup ............................................................................................................ 63
4.2 Sensors and Monitoring Equipment ............................................................................... 69
4.3 Results and Discussions .................................................................................................. 72
4.3.1 Result Comparison for Mechanical Cooling Tower ....................................................... 72
4.3.2 Power Inverse Law Analysis .......................................................................................... 75
4.4 Summary ......................................................................................................................... 79
Chapter 5 – Environmental Chamber Study of Wet Plume of Cooling Towers .............................. 80
5.1 Visible Plume in HK ....................................................................................................... 80
5.2 Artificial Environmental Chamber Design ..................................................................... 83
5.2.1 Discussion on the Artificial Environmental Chamber Design ........................................ 83
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5.2.2 Design of Discharge Jet .................................................................................................. 85
5.2.3 Design of the Artificial Environment of the Testing Chamber ....................................... 87
5.2.4 Design for No-Wind Condition ...................................................................................... 91
5.2.5 Design for Cross-Wind Condition .................................................................................. 95
5.2.6 Experimental Instruments ............................................................................................... 96
5.3 CFD Simulation 3D Model ............................................................................................. 98
5.3.1 CFD Mathematical Model ............................................................................................ 100
5.3.1.1 Mathematical Model of Turbulent Model .................................................................... 100
5.3.1.2 Mathematical Model of Relative Humidity .................................................................. 102
5.3.1.3 Boundary Setting for Experiment & CFD Simulation .................................................. 103
5.4 Results .......................................................................................................................... 105
5.4.1 Experimental Results .................................................................................................... 105
5.4.2 CFD Results .................................................................................................................. 109
5.4.3 Experimental & Simulation Comparison ...................................................................... 110
5.5 Summary ....................................................................................................................... 114
Chapter 6 – Visible Plume Abatement for Cooling Towers .......................................................... 115
6.1 Introduction to Visible Plume ....................................................................................... 115
6.2 Modeling of Potential of Plume .................................................................................... 116
6.3 Visible Plume Abatement ............................................................................................. 118