Water loss from an operating wet cooling tower is normal and expected as the primary heat transfer mechanism in wet cooling towers is evaporation from latent heat transfer.

The topic of water splashing out of the air inlet opening is particularly problematic in modern counterflow cooling towers which are usually designed without air inlet louvers. When supplied as part of a cooling tower design, air inlet louvers do a good job of retaining water in the cooling tower. Unfortunately, the louvers represent a static pressure loss that adds to the brake horsepower required by the fans to induce a draft through the cooling tower. If auxiliary power consumption is evaluated in the purchase of the tower, this frequently leads to the decision to omit the louvers from the tower. The problem is made worse when the tower design is a “back to back” design. “Back to Back” towers have very tall air inlets with some reaching as high as thirty feet. This large air opening makes it very easy to have water splashing from the tower on to the ground surrounding the tower. This water on the ground can be a problem for a number of reasons including slipping and fall hazards (especially in cold weather climates) and environmental/permit issues.

If you have this problem of excessive water splashing from your cooling tower, give ATS a call today and we will dispatch one of our Regional Technical Managers (RTM) to visit your site. The RTM can assess the issue as well as your site and give you recommendations on how to mitigate the problem.