Optimal Synthesis of a Multiple Cell Cooling Tower System

• Grant number: 17/18145-6
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: February 01, 2018
• End date: January 31, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Chemical Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Ricardo de Freitas Fernandes Pontes
• Grantee: Ricardo de Freitas Fernandes Pontes
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Ambientais, Químicas e Farmacêuticas (ICAQF). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Diadema. Diadema , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Cooling water systems are not usually the focus of chemical industry processes projects, which may yield overdesigned capacities for these systems. Moreover, the variation in atmospheric conditions and process cooling demands may cause difficulties for the operation of the system if its turndown is not ample enough. Overdesigned cooling tower cells and cooling water pumps result in excessive electrical energy consumption. Even when the capacity of the cooling water system is designed based on inaccurate data, the detailed design must preview an adequate turndown to the expected variations. The representation of the cooling water system by a mathematical model allows the execution of an optimal synthesis of the system. The mathematical model shall simulate the performance of both the cooling tower cells and the cooling water pumps, predicting the temperature and pressure of the cooling water supply, as well as the power consumption for the cell fans and the pumps as a function of different atmospheric conditions and process cooling demands. The model's objective function shall minimize the overall costs of the system for different scenarios of one year operation of this system, and for each scenario there shall be a different turndown value. The optimization of this model shall define the quantities and capacities of the cells and the pumps, as well as how many of these equipment shall operate with variable frequency drives (VFDs). (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

PONTES, RICARDO F. F.; YAMAUCHI, WILLIAN M.; SILVA, EVELIN K. G.. Analysis of the effect of seasonal climate changes on cooling tower efficiency, and strategies for reducing cooling tower power consumption. APPLIED THERMAL ENGINEERING, v. 161, OCT 2019. (17/18145-6)