minimum air intake distance between two cooling towers 1

[moideen]

hi guys, I saw a new cooling tower installation and it has commissioned and now it is in operation. three towers are in a horizontal platform, the air intake is face to face between towers, and the distance between ait intake is around 40 cm only.what is the minimum distance required between the air intakes? Any help will be much appreciated!

 

[LittleInch]

Drawing needed.

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[moideen]

LittleInch: I have attached. This I got as an asbuilt drawing. I had visited the site as part of a snagging job for handing over process.asbuilt is not matching to the site condition. the distance also not mentioned in the drawing. tomorrow I will measure the exact difference.

 

[LittleInch]

Nothing attached.

A site photo also works wonders in understanding your issue.

Remember - More details = better answers
Also: If you get a response it's polite to respond to it.

 

[EnergyProfessional]

Compare to manufacturer recommendation. Their rating should be based on certain clearances. They also can advise on de-rating if clearances are smaller. The design engineer could have taken that de-rating into account.

 

[moideen]

LittleInch : tried to attach the layout, cant insert. i tokk some pics from site and measured the D, Only 50 cm between air intake.

 

[moideen]

 

[moideen]

EnergyProfessional: I have not received the manufacture datasheet, I read in the attached document that says ASHRAE recommends the distance should maintain between two intakes as 4.5 meters (15 feet)

 

[EnergyProfessional]

How do you clean that area? I would look at construction and manufacturer documents to find out if this is correct or not. Just because it doesn't look good, doesn't mean it is wrong. For example, the manufacturer could have de-rated the towers based on the less clearance and the design engineer worked with he de-rated capacity. Not likely and not goodpractice, but possible.

 

[moideen]

EnergyProfessional: I got the manufacture's layout specification.it recommends 3.5 meters between air inttkes and 6.5 meters away from the wall. attached

 

[LittleInch]

Pretty clear then that the installation is compromised and won't work to the required level, probably about 50-60% of the cooling capacity assuming the far side of the towers is open to air.

Who designed this?

Remember - More details = better answers
Also: If you get a response it's polite to respond to it.

 

[moideen]

Little Inch: yes, the central tower has no chance of performing. Both sides are congested. This is the snagging stage and later will meet the consultant. In our industry, a compromise can be seen everywhere. General engineering principles probably have no many roles in the design and selection stage.

 

[lilliput1]

The engineer may have oversized the cooling towers per manufacturer’s recommendation to make up for this installation.