PARAMETRIC CFD ANALYSIS FOR THE EVALUATION OF EVAPORATIVE COOLER PERFORMANCES

Air coolers in an industrial plant are often a fundamental device to guarantee optimal conditions for processes. Evaporative air coolers are used to cool an air flow through the injection of water. They are also used to cool water in industrial process. They exploit a closed and pressurized circuit which implements cooling by forced exchange with air. In this paper the Computational Thermo-fluid Dynamics has allowed to evaluate the performance of evaporative cooling provided by the use of a water spray system. The analyzes allowed to study and identify the optimal configuration according to different parameters. The aim is to find out the arrangement that provides higher efficiencies. Configurations analysed differ from each other for droplet size, nozzle arrangement and air velocity. In the CFD analysis, the Discrete Phase Model is used to simulate the water injection on the continuous phase, represented by the air. In this way, heat transfer for droplet evaporation can be evaluated. This knowledge is crucial for designing efficient spray cooling systems. In addition to the efficiency improvement, correctly dimensioning an air cooler involves considerable advantages. In fact, other objectives obtained concern saving of water, necessary for example in arid areas, and the reduction of costs.