3. Main Characteristics
• Uses system pressure of the cooling water to drive the fan.
• No fan motor, gear box or traditional bearings (lubrication by
water and Teflon bearing ring).
• System pump powers the fan via high-efficiency turbine.
Forced Draft Cooling Tower Principle:
Moving water and air are in contact in the tower to
allow cooling through evaporation of a small %-age of
the water.
The tower infill increases retention time of water in the
tower to facilitate the evaporation. Electric pumps and
fan motors are required in conventional systems.
4. Principles of Operation
• Water pressure from system pump
drives the fan
• Water pressure varies with cooling
requirements
• Fan draws required air quantities over
infill of the tower
• Water exiting the turbine evenly
distributed over the infill
• Optimal cooling performance with
limited energy demand
5. Reduced CAPEX and OPEX
• Decrease >25% CAPEX in new cooling tower setup:
– Cost of AQUAFAN cooling tower equipment typically 15% below
conventional systems
– Cost of installation (no electric to cooling tower, no vibration switches,
no spring isolators required) can be reduced >10%
• Decrease OPEX 25% - 75%
– Lowered energy consumption up to 75% decrease
– Cost of maintenance over 75% decrease
6. Operational Advantages
• Sustainable – Low Energy Consumption
• Reliable – Low System Downtime
• Durable – Long Operational Life Span
• Worry Free Winter Operations
• Low Noise
• Explosion proof
7. Low Energy Consumption
• AQUAFAN cooling system is (at design conditions) on average
10-15% more efficient than conventional counter flow cooling
towers
3-5 m pump head remaining at top of cooling tower (required for water
spread from the nozzles) are conversed into fan energy
• Typical energy saving in (VFD controlled) operations
> 30% up to 75%, due to optimal response of the AQUAFAN
to:
– changing ambient conditions
(Wet Bulb Temperature)
– varying cooling requirements
8. Low System Downtime
• Turbine is the only moving part: runs on Teflon
bearing rings, lubricated by the water.
• Modular system allows 24/7-operation
• Routine maintenance of the AQUAFAN cooling tower is hardly
necessary.
• Only non-corrosive materials are used
9. Explosion Proof
• No noise from fan motors or gear box
• Use of light weight fan (placed below drift eliminators)
• Noise Power Level (SPL) < 80 dB and at 10 m < 58 dB
• No electrical parts in the cooling tower
• Suitable for high-risk environments
Low Noise
11. Modular Systems
• Flexible in capacity and construction by a applying a modular
system.
• Extension of existing cooling towers is possible by simply
adding modules.
• Cell sizes:
– 7 ft (prefab): up to 175 m3/hour
– 8 ft: up to 200 m3/hour
– 10 ft: up to 265 m3/hour
– 12 ft: up to 325 m3/hour
• No back-up units required for fail safe
operations, Reduce system footprint
12. Construction Information
Cooling Tower part Material
Turbine Nylon and Stainless
Steel
Fan ABS
Structural Parts Pultruted FRP
Cladding FRP
Fasteners Stainless Steel 304
Piping PVC
Drift eliminator PVC
Infill PVC or ABS
13. Structure
• All FRP with Stainless Steel Fasteners
• FRP meets CTI 137 standard with UV protection and 20+ yrs lifetime. Colors on
demand
• Basins optional in FRP
• Components can be hand carried for easy assembly on site
14. Architecture Friendly
• Drift eliminator is placed above fan stack: no visible fan cones
• The box-shaped the structure is easy to fit into architecture for buildings
• Possible variations in cover (= drift eliminator) of the installation offers a pleasant
sight when viewed from above
15. Construction Turbine
• Light weight non corrosive materials only:
– Aluminum Turbine House
– Stainless steel Turbine Ring and Hub Plate
– ABS / FRP / Alu fan
– PA6 molded turbine scoops and nozzles
• All parts can be assembled with simple wrench key
• On site repairs within 15 minutes and with 1-cell / lane
shut down
• No vibration switches needed (total weight of 12 kg all
centered in hub)
(Plays in Power Point Show)
16. Water Distribution system
• Add-on for critical selections
• FRP collector dome guides water over
low pressure spray nozzle system
• Guarantee optimal distribution over CT
surface
• Dome design variable to water volume
and cell size
17. Variables in turbine control
• Water pressure / volume
• Nozzle size
• Number of blades
• Angle of blades
All variables extensively tested and
documented for selection purposes.
18. Selection Calculation Approach
• Required exchange surface
• Enthalpy balance Optimal L/G ratio
• Pressure Losses over different stages of Tower
• Check fan diagram for required RPM at air movement level
• Select pump pressure and nozzle configuration at given water volume
19. AQUAFAN+ Variation
Hybrid with motor backup
• For critical water cooling jobs (low approach)
• Ensures that all cushion safety margins on hydraulic engineering of the system are
put to use (in energy conversion)
Typical: 0.5 bar equals to 25% of fan energy requirement
• Geared motor backup kicks in when needed. Guarantees performance and offers
extreme flexibility over a wide cooling spread with minimum energy use.
20. AQUAFAN+ with VFD control
• When energy savings on the cooling tower become
possible and interesting due to variable WBT or
thermal load.
• Principles:
– VFD on the backup motor with following functions:
• Reduce fan speed to save electricity
• Switch off motor support and run fan at water pressure only
• For extended flexibility and savings:
– VFD on system pump
– VFD's in communication: pump VFD only reduces
volume/pressure when fan VFD is fully scaled down (eg fan
powered by water pressure only).
21. AQUAFAN allows…
• >25% reduction of investments and operational cost of cooling tower
operation
• Reduction of your footprint (carbon and physical)
• Substantial reduction of maintenance cost on the power system of your
cooling towers
22. Application Areas
• Diary Industries
• Paper Mills
• Steel & Non-Ferro Mills
• Power Stations
• HVAC - Comfort Cooling (hotels-office-
hospitals)
• Pharmaceutical Industries
• Contaminant removal processes
• Chemical and Petrochemical Industries
• Casting & Die Casting Industries
• Plastics Industries
• Mining Industries
• Semi Conductor Industries
• Sugar Industries
23. History
• After its development early 60’s applied in
NW-Europe for industry purposes
• Successful 80’s and 90’s as WACON-AQUAVEN
• Re-engineered since 2012 for higher duty and
bigger cells
Early installations in action
