Experimental Study on the Performance and Optimization of Packing for Crossflow Cooling Tower

As a core heat exchange component in forced-draft cooling towers, the performance of packing material significantly impacts the power consumption of the equipment. In this study, an experimental platform for crossflow cooling tower packing was developed to examine the effects of wind speed, water spray density, and packing height on the heat and mass transfer performance and resistance characteristics of herringbone corrugated packing. Empirical formulas were derived to analyze fan power consumption in crossflow cooling towers. Results reveal that heat and mass transfer performance improves with increased wind speed and water spray density and decreased packing height. Wind speed was found to be the most influential factor; increasing wind speed from 0.96 m/s to 2.05 m/s raised the mass-transfer coefficient by 70%. At low water spray densities, increasing the density significantly enhanced heat and mass transfer. Air resistance in the packing zone increased with air velocity, approximately proportional to the 1.68-1.91 power of wind speed. When the cooling water volume flow rate was 70 m³/h, sacrificing 20% of heat exchange capacity and reducing the inlet-outlet temperature difference from 5 ℃ to 4 ℃ reduced power consumption by approximately 71%. To maintain a power consumption ratio of 0.035 kW·h/m³, lowering the approach temperature from 4 ℃ to 3 ℃ required a 31% reduction in cooling water volume flow rate.