Everything about the chiller cooling tower

In order to understand what a chiller cooling tower is, we must first get acquainted with the chiller and the cooling tower alone.

What is a chiller?

The chiller is one of the components of the air conditioning system that performs the cooling work according to the laws of thermodynamics. This device is not a generator of cold, but a heat remover. There is a refrigeration cycle in the chiller, which means that the main components of the chiller create a cycle in which the refrigerant circulates between the main components and undergoes various processes to reach different phases of the material, including liquid and steam.

This cycle takes place in the chiller between components such as the evaporator, compressor, condenser and expansion valve. Of course, in a particular type of chiller, instead of a compressor, a set of four components is placed, but they do the same job of compressing the compressor, and this is what is important for their use.

In this way, refrigerant circulates between these four key components in the main chiller cycle. But in addition to this cycle, there are other cycles. One of these cycles is between the evaporator and other parts of the building or structure. In fact, the evaporator inside the chiller is the interface between the chiller and the desired environment. But the other cycle we are dealing with here is the cycle between the condenser and the cooling tower.

What is the reason for the cooling tower in the chiller?

If we give chillers two general types called absorption and compression chillers, it means that we have divided them according to how the condenser works. Condenser Absorption chillers use ambient air for cooling, while the driving material of compression chillers for cooling is water. This is because there is a cooling tower in compression chillers. Thus, in addition to the cycle between the main components of the compression chiller, there is another cycle between the condenser section and the cooling tower.

In this way, the condenser of a compression chiller uses the cooling tower to cool its part. In fact, the increase in temperature and pressure created in the compressor section is neutralized in the condenser section; Because the refrigerant gives its heat to the water. This water inside the condenser, which is now heated, must return to its previous temperature, so it leads to the chiller cooling tower to reduce the temperature there.

In this way, the cooling tower is considered part of the chiller and takes on a task. The function of the cooling tower inside the chiller, as mentioned, is to change the temperature of the water and bring it to a lower temperature. In this way, it releases the unwanted heat in the water into the surrounding space.

What is a cooling tower?

The cooling tower, which comes in different shapes and works in a variety of ways, is a water cooling device that is used for both domestic and non-domestic air conditioning as well as industrial applications. The cooling tower injects water from the side, sprays it and in contact with the cool air, brings it to a lower temperature. Of course, as mentioned, this is done in different ways. Eventually, the unwanted heat from the water is released into the surrounding environment and open space.

The cooling tower can be combined with various air conditioning components and the chiller is one of them. The cooling tower in the chiller is a source of refrigeration or cooling for it.

Structure and components of chiller cooling tower

The chiller cooling tower is connected to the chiller by the condenser. In this way, one of the components of its physical body structure, such as inlet and outlet – with different names such as butterfly throat -, a water tank, panels, walls and shutters of the cold air inlet.
Water comes in contact with air to cool the tower. Therefore, one of the components of a cooling tower is its energy exchange and heat levels. In this section, both coils and dense networks can be present in the form of packing to be considered as intermediaries between the weather. This connection can be done in different ways in the form of an open or closed circuit.
The next part is the aeration and air distribution part inside the tower, which includes the impeller and fan, as well as the engine.
The water supply section is the other part of the chiller cooling tower, which, as its name implies, is responsible for circulating water and includes nozzles, sprays, floats and side connections.