79-06: Single-Cell Cooling Tower Performance Studies

Union Carbide Corporation- Nuclear Division at the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant has been involved in cooling tower testing for some time. most recent efforts have been directed toward evaluating the effects of reduced blade tip clearance on fan and tower performance. This paper consolidates these efforts which were originally documented in two separate reports.

Data and results are presented herein which show that large improvements in fan efficiency (static and total), significant monetary savings, and substantial increase in tower performance can result from reducing the fan blade tip clearance on cooling towers.