Category Archives: Cooling Towers

Cooling tower components include: Instrumentation and Electrical Systems, Cooling Tower Nozzles, Cooling Tower Valves, Mechanical Equipment Support, Drive Shafts, Gear Boxes, Cooling Tower Louvers, Fan Deck, Fan Cylinder, Water Distribution Piping, Cooling Tower Fans, Drift Eliminators, Cooling Tower Fill, Cooling Tower Structure, and Cold Water Basin.

Below we go over the individual cooling tower parts and functions.

List Of Cooling Tower Components:

• Instrumentation and Electrical Systems
• Cooling Tower Fan Motor
• Nozzles
• Distribution Valves
• Drive Shafts
• Gear Box
• Cooling Tower Louvers
• Fan Deck
• Fan Cylinder
• Water Distribution Piping
• Cooling Tower Fans
• Cooling Tower Structure
• Cold Water Basin
• Drift Eliminators
• Cooling Tower Fill Media
• Mechanical Equipment Support

Cooling Tower Parts & Functions

Cooling Tower Instrumentation:

Instrumentation systems found in most cooling towers include Blow Down Rate, Flow Meters For Cooling Tower Makeup Water, Thermocouples for Cold & Hot Water Measurement Of Temperature, Water Level Switches For Cold & Hot Water Basins, Low & High Oil Level Switches, and Vibration Switches.

Cooling Tower Fan Motor:

Refinery & Petrochemical cooling tower applications require explosion proof fan motors due to the potentially leaky heat exchangers. Fan motors should be provided with over load relay and Earth fault relay protection systems.

Cooling Tower Nozzles:

Most cooling tower nozzles are made out of plastic. These plastics include glassfilled nylon, polypropylene, ABS, and PVC plastics. Nozzles allow for uniform distribution of the hot water that’s inside a cooling tower cell.

Distribution Valves:

Distribution Valves are a part of the cooling tower that regulates the flow of hot water to evenly distribute in cells. The valve body in a distribution valve is manufactured to stand up to corrosive environments.

Drive shafts:

Drive shafts transmit power the from the motor’s output shaft to the gear reduction unit’s input shaft.

Gear Box:

Gear boxes reduce the amount of speed depending on your cooling tower fan’s requirements. The torque tube permanently alights the gear reducer, driveshaft, and motor.

Cooling Tower Louvers:

Asbestos sheets are what cooling tower louvers are made out of. Louvers serve 2 purposes:  1. Retain the circulating water within a cooling tower. 2. Distribute air flow equally into the fill media.

Fan Cylinder & Fan Deck:

The fan deck is simply a supporting platform for the fan cylinders and also creates an access way to the water distributions system and fan.

Water Distribution Piping:

Water distribution piping requires burial underground or needs to be supported in ground to avoid thrust loading of the cooling tower due to water pressure in the pipe and self weight.

Cooling Tower Fans:

Cooling tower fans are one the major parts/components of cooling towers. Most cooling tower fans are made out of hot-dipped galvanized steel, Glass Fiber, (FRP) Fiber Reinforced Plastic, and Aluminum. FRP is one of the best options because it is light weight and reduces the energy requirements (energy consumption) of the cooling tower fan. Pinch blade angles of cooling tower fan blades are varied depending on the season. For example, the pinch angle is increases during the summer season when the density is low to increase the capacity of the fan.

Cooling Tower Structure:

The most common cooling tower structure is made up of Wood (Chemically Treated). Although, some newer cooling towers are being manufactured using FRP and Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC) depending on the application the cooling tower is need for.

Cold Water Basin:

Cold water basins serve two functions and are normally manufactured using RCC. The first function of a cold water basin is to act as storage and collect cold water from the tower. The second function of a cold water basin is the provide the main structure and foundation for the cooling tower itself. Cold water basins usually lye below ground level or on top of the soil. Cooling tower height is found my measuring the distance between the fan assembly to the top of the water basin.

Drift Eliminators:

Eliminators reduce the amount of water that escapes into the discharge air in the cooling tower.  They project air in multiple directions and prevent unnecessary loss of water. These drift eliminators are manufactured using PVC. More passes through the drift eliminator will decrease the amount of drift loss while also increasing the pressure drop which increases the fan power consumption. For larger industrial applications, some use heavy duty drift eliminators.

Cooling Tower Fill Media:

Cooling tower fill media puts as much air in contact with as much water surface area as possible. The film fills make the water form in thing flowing sheets so that the most amount of water surface area interacts with the flow of air. Fill media is manufactured using either wood, polypropylene, or PVC. There are three different types of fill media including: Vertical fill (Splash Fill), Vertical offset fill (Splash Fill), and cross corrugated fill (Film Fill).

Thank you for reading our “Cooling Tower Components” list. Stay tuned for more from the experts at All Kote Lining Inc.

If you’re searching for “cooling tower replacement cost” you’re facing a costly proposition.  The majority of cooling tower manufacturers say the average life span of a commercial cooling tower is about 15 to 20 years.

After 20 years the cooling towers need to be replaced or rebuilt.  That means commercial spaces built before the year 2000 have cooling towers that need to be replaced or rebuilt.  Commercial property owners can save thousands of dollars having cooling tower refurbishment instead of breaking the bank replacing them.  Read more about the cost of replacing cooling towers below.

Cooling Tower Replacement Cost

The cost of cooling tower replacement is about $50,000 per 200-ton cooling tower.  Large commercial spaces will use more than one of these 200-ton cooling towers so the cost of replacing the cooling tower system can easily reach $200,000 for the units, labor, and crane to lift them into place.

Replacement Cost Per Ton

Cooling towers are rated on how much air they can process in tons.  The replacement cost per ton depends on the brand of cooling tower, size, and any options for water treatment and epoxy coatings.  The larger the cooling tower the more they cost to buy, transport, and have craned onto a roof.  Property owners who already own cooling tower equipment can save an incredible amount of money by refurbishing cooling towers instead of replacing.

Cooling Tower Refurbishment Cost

All Kote Lining Inc. can restore your aging cooling towers and make them like new for a faction of the cost!  Depending on the size of the cooling tower system we can save commercial property owners literally tens of thousands of dollars over cooling tower replacement costs.

For the same type of 4-unit 200-ton cooling tower system refurbishment will cost around $80,000.  That is a $120,000-dollar saving!  And many times, the cost of cooling tower refurbishment isn’t classified as repairs instead of capital equipment.  This can mean some property owners will be able to get funding for the refurbishment.

Phoenix Valley Cooling Tower Refurbishment

If you own a commercial property and your cooling towers have reached the end of their lifespan All Kote Lining Inc. can save you thousands of dollars.  Our team offers complete cooling tower refurbishment that will save your company tens of thousands of dollars over buying and installing new cooling towers.  Cooling tower refurbishment adds about another 15 years of life to your equipment and helps you get your money’s worth out of your original investment in your cooling tower or property.

Should you choose to ignore your cooling tower’s operating condition for an extended amount of time it can prove to be detrimental, costing a lot more in the long run to have it fixed. If your cooling tower looks good, then chances are that it is no longer working well either and you need to have it checked out by a team of professional specialists and get it back to its optimal operating condition, whether it is in need of being repaired or restored.

Cooling Tower Repair Benefits

Here at All Kote, we are considered to be industry leaders and we remain as the forefront in our sector because we provide you with practical solutions to all issues related to cooling towers. Below we will be looking at several of the benefits of cooling tower repair and maintenance.

Health

There can be significant health risks involved when a cooling tower is left to corrode and deteriorate. Cases have been known where a tower that was coated with epoxy or a powder coating caused the internal steel substrates to start corroding, which created a micro aquatic bacterial growth.

This is something that can cause Pseudomonas, Legionella, and Biofilm, which can create severe problems to the health of those in the vicinity of that tower.

Durability

Anytime we carry out repair work to your cooling tower, we always make certain that we leave its structure in its best possible condition, ensuring it remains durable, as well as resilient for future use. We leave your tower protected from an attack of bacteria and capable to handle high levels of chemical resistance and impacts because we apply our own unique coating system of urethane which is an anti-corrosion material.

Cost-Effectiveness

If our team of professionals carry out the repairing of your cooling tower it will reduce the number of repairs, it is going to need in the future. Many towers face an ongoing problem that consists of the mastic in between the joints, and this is prone to getting chemical attacks, and losing its much-needed elasticity over a period of time. When this is left untreated it causes the structure to start leaking, and turning into a very disastrous situation for you to have to manage.”

Future Maintenance

We can prevent the leaking of chemicals and water coming from the mastic/joints by using our special repair techniques and coatings, ensuring that your tower has been left with an easy to clean finish for your convenience in keeping your tower at its optimal condition, having the benefit of less downtime. Our expert repairs to cooling towers has been proved to be beneficial countless times. We are a highly experienced company with the ability to continue ensuring the work, the efficiency, and the excellent condition of your cooling towers to have a long-term future, subsequently, also ensuring the peace of mind of all of our clients.

Phoenix Valley Cooling Tower Repair Service

If you’re looking for the best cooling tower repair and refurbishment, All Kote Lining Inc. is here to serve you.  Cooling towers are expensive investments in your commercial or industrial properties and should last as long as humanly possible.  Taking care of the cooling tower through regular maintenance and refurbishment is the key to getting the maximum amount of years from your equipment and saving money.  Our services save you money in making the equipment last longer and use less energy.  For more information about how our team can help repair and maintain your cooling towers in the Phoenix Valley please call 480-966-4446.

Controlling biofilm in cooling towers is the priority of any property owner.  Biofilm robs your system of it’s efficiency and left unchecked can lead to the development of bacteria. Other than the specter of MIC eating on the metallic parts of your cooling system, aggregations of biofilms additionally repress heat transfer in the condenser tubes and can gather on cooling tower fill to the point where it can crumple the fill support and make serious damage to the cooling tower.

How To Control Biolfilm

The way to keep up control over microbiological populaces in power plant cooling water is to give a steady level of treatment consistently. That is, the treatment should be reliably powerful. The real convergences of biocide required to give this level of treatment may change essentially, contingent upon cooling water conditions and nature.

Some power plants find that they can stun treat the cooling water system for an hour daily amid the greater part of the year and slice back to a few times per week amid the winter while still appropriately controlling biofouling in their system. Other power plants do not just require every day or even consistent bolster of dye, yet additionally need to include extra nonoxidizing biocides amid the midyear months.

Oxidizing Biocide

The most widely recognized strategy for establishing that you are adding adequate oxidizing biocide to control microbiological fouling is the free chlorine test. This is a base and ought to be performed amid every chlorination cycle, or day by day for those that ceaselessly chlorinate. As conditions change the measure of blanch required to create the coveted free accessible chlorine leftover will change, and the plant ought to react by expanding or diminishing the biocide nourish rate likewise. Note that oxidation diminishment potential (ORP) isn’t a decent sign of microbiological control in cooling water. ORP is not a viable replacement for testing free accessible chlorine.

The Role of Chlorine

Getting the Full Benefit from Chlorine. A full exchange of the different sorts of biocides and advancing methodologies for their utilization is past the extent of this article. In any case, it is great to say a couple of words in regards to the most widely recognized biocide utilized as a part of energy plants: chlorine.

Already, the most widely recognized wellspring of chlorine was chlorine gas delivered to control plants as a dense fluid in 1-ton chambers. It was dissipated and cleared into the cooling water lines as a gas. At the point when chlorine gas broke down in water, it shaped hydrochloric corrosive and hypochlorous corrosive. The hydrochloric corrosive brought down the cooling water pH somewhat, which improved the impact of hypochlorous corrosive as a biocide. Evident worries about security were the essential reason that power plants moved far from the utilization of 1-ton chlorine barrels to sodium hypochlorite commercial bleach conveyance.

Commercial bleach can be commonly provided at 10% or 12.5% chlorine. 1 lb of chlorine gas will make 0.74 lb of hypochlorousacid, while 1 gallon of 12.5% bleach can possibly create 0.875 pounds of hypochlorous acid, if there is adequate hydrogen particle in the cooling water to shape the acid.

Commercial bleach is produced by gurgling chlorine gas into a scathing arrangement. Some additional scathing intentionally stays in the sanitizer to moderate the decay of hypochlorite to chlorates. The run of the mill pH of commercial bleach is near 11.5 and 13.5. Bleach arrangements that have a pH of 11 or less deteriorate quickly.

So the use of chlorine gas when compared to the use of bleach has the potential to increase the pH of cooling water. It has been stated that hypochlorous acid is more effective as a biocide than the hypochlorite ion. Thus, bleach loses its activity as a biocide in high pH cooling waters.

Sodium Hypochlorite Solutions

Sodium hypochlorite solutions will begin to decompose the minute they are created. They decompose along with 2 chemical pathways: by forming chlorate and by releasing oxygen. In quality hypochlorite solutions, the formation of chlorate is the main pathway. A variety of factors may accelerate the decomposition of bleach. The most critical are exposure to UV radiation, concentration, temperature, and time.

• Bleach will decompose over time. It is calculated that 90F storage, a 10% bleach solution will lose half of the effective hypochlorite concentration in 95 days. You may use a tank of bleach in a few weeks, you may want to ask the supplier how long it has been in storage before arriving at your facility.
• In just 60 days at 68F storage, bleach will lose 17% of the hypochlorite, where at 90F it will lose 55%. The temperature needs to be a consideration in placing a hypochlorite storage tank.
• UV Radiation. UV rays from sunlight can decompose bleach solutions. Your bleach tanks need to be made from UV resistant materials or coated in a way that it will exclude UV light or place them inside.
• The more concentrated the bleach solution is, the faster it will decompose. If your site is not a big bleach use, it may be best to stick with a 10% bleach solution instead of a higher concentration.

Other factors that will have an effect on the decomposition rate will include concentration of chlorides, and transition metals that may get into the bleach from caustic that was used in the manufacture or in the piping and tank materials where the bleach is stored. The nickel level in bleach needs to be less than 0.1 mg per 1 and copper needs to be less than 1 mg per 1.

Testing Bulk Chemicals

It is essential to test Bulk Chemicals. It becomes the chemistry personnel to check the hypochlorite concentration in every shipment of blanch before it is offloaded into their tank. One plant addressed why it was all of a sudden not accomplishing a free accessible chlorine remaining in its cooling water, as it had previously. A check of the detergent mass tank found that the fixation in the tank was just 2.5% dye. Clearly, the past dye conveyance was not the 10% dye the provider asserted it was. Basic hypochlorite test packs are accessible for this reason.

Avoid Bromine in Towers

Bromine Is Not a Biocide. At times I hear individuals alluding to their cooling water science as “bromine” science. Bromine is a rosy dark colored gas and exceptionally lethal (like its neighbor in the intermittent table—chlorine gas). Isn’t something that ought to ever be created at a power plant. The utilization of sodium bromide to improve the biocidal properties of blanch at higher cooling water pH esteems, in any case, is extremely normal.

It is vital to remember that sodium bromide isn’t a biocide. It is a simple salt that has no biocidal properties. It will only have them it has reacted with hypochlorous acid properly and not bleach that will form the hypobromous acid, which will be the desired biocide.

Stabilized hypobromous acid is also available at various chemical vendors. This helps to eliminate the need to mix sodium bromide and bleach on site. However,it will be more expensive to purchase the stabilized hypobromous acid than to make it.

Cooling Tower Maintenance & Repair

If you own or operate a facility in the Phoenix Valley that needs cooling tower maintenance or repair we can help!  All Kote Lining, Inc. specializes in cooling tower repair and refurbishment.   A big part of cooling tower maintenance is controlling and removing biofilm.  If you’ve got a cooling tower that needs some attention, give us a call. We also provide chiller repair & maintenance and tank coating services.

Call today to schedule an appointment – 480-966-4446

Cooling towers are an integral part of operations for many commercial and industrial facilities.  If a cooling tower is lost, it will likely have a significant impact on the operation of the facility.  Cooling tower fire protection is an important part of managing a large commercial or industrial operation.

Cooling Towers & Materials

Many industrial processes are not possible without the cooling that cooling towers provide.  A cooling tower, as many of us know, is to transfer heat from one medium to another.  Much like a motor and a radiator in a vehicle an industrial process that produces heat will need to be cooled.  Depending on the application you will find all sorts of designs, sizes, and materials used in the fabrication of cooling towers.  The largest cooling towers are found in nuclear power plants and are monoliths.

Cooling Tower Fabrication

Cooling towers are made from a number of materials such as metal frames, metal parts, plastic fill, and wood.  The cooling tower itself or the fill media that is used to maximize air and water contact can be flammable. Depending on the materials it is possible for the dry areas in a cooling tower to be exceptionally flammable.  This might surprise people with the quantity of water cooling towers typically handle.

Mitigating Fire Hazards in Cooling Towers

Clearly there is a risk of fire in a cooling tower so taking proactive preventative steps is important.  It is a best practice if the cooling towers can be located a distance from combustible materials or structures.  Cooling towers should be designed with fire barriers to help prevent fire from spreading through the tower and into the buildings.

It is critical that there are firefighting appliances like standpipes and fire hydrants be installed close to the cooling tower.  Cooling towers also present a potential lightning risk with the metal used in their fabrication and parts.  For this reason cooling towers should be provided with lightning protection.  For more information refer to NFPA 214 Standard on Water-Cooling Towers.

FRP Cooling Tower Fire Protection

With the emergence and popularity operators and manufacturers of fiber-reinforced plastics cooling towers a segment of the industry has become convinced that these towers don’t need fire suppression. Manufactures believe the materials they fabricate the towers from are noncombustible and have no need of an automatic sprinkler system. Many of today’s FRP cooling tower manufacturers state their fill materials and towers have been evaluated to be within codes such as the ASTM E84, this is no guarantee that they are non-combustible. It’s important to realized that the ASTM E 84 does not classify materials heat release rate or combustibility.

FRP Cooling Tower Fire Testing

The only way to know for sure if a automatic sprinkler system is needed is the Factory Mural Research Approval for the tower.  This means that unless the materials and fill are made from masonry, concrete, metal, or tile or have otherwise been proven to be noncombustible they should be treated as combustible.  Following that logic all FRP cooling towers made from materials that are no definitively noncombustible will need automatic sprinkler protection to mitigate the risk of fire in the tower.

The Importance of Cooling Tower Fire Protection

Not assessing or ignoring potential fire hazards is an unnecessary risk in any building, whether it be commercial, industrial, or residential.   If you have substandard fire protection it is a lose-lose situation.  While installing and operating a cheaper cooling tower which doesn’t feature fire mitigation systems might save a few dollar in the short term, it will cost in the long term.

At best the higher insurance premiums will offset any savings from not installing the fire control systems.  And worst the lives of your personnel will be at risk, along with the property itself.  Replacing, rebuilding, and downtime are enormously costly for just about every industrial or commercial facility.  Invest in protecting your cooling tower from fire hazards and have the peace of mind that your cooling tower is not a liability.   For help with all your cooling tower maintenance needs in the Phoenix Valley contact All Kote Lining, Inc.

A lot of building owners and property managers ask the question, “When Does Cooling Tower Fill Need Replacing?”.  There are 5 signs that your cooling tower fill media is worn out and needs to be replaced.  When the fill isn’t doing its job properly the cooling tower is using much more energy to do its job.  Save money, service your cooling tower, and make sure the fill is working properly.

Five Signs To Replace Cooling Tower Fill

There are 5 many signs that your cooling tower fill needs to be replaced.  Read through this list to better understand what to watch for, and know when you need to call your local cooling tower maintenance company.

Increased Energy Consumption

When fill isn’t doing its job properly the water flowing through the cooling tower isn’t getting cooled.  This means that to do the job the cooling tower is designed to do at your location it will take more electricity to do the same job.  While electricity prices to change if you’ve seen a marked increase in your bill you might check the cooling tower and the cooling tower fill.

Calcium Buildup

Makeup water contains a lot of dissolved solids and one of them in calcium.  Calcium from hard water will build up in the fill causing blockages.  When your fill is clogged the air and water cannot pass through and the cooling tower will not work.  In some cases the fill can be cleaned, in others the buildup is severe enough to require cooling tower fill replacement.

Uneven Distribution of Water

All cooling towers are designed to maximize the contact between the water and air running through them.  When the water isn’t being distributed properly because the fill is damaged or clogged it dramatically impacts the performance of the cooling tower.  Much more energy will need to be used to get the necessary cooling needed for your industrial application or HVAC system.

Warped or Sagging Fill Packs

Poor quality or old fill may warp from heat or sag with age.  If this happens you can expect that there is incredibly uneven water distribution.  Replacement of fill is a great option in these cases as one of the common reason fill sags or warps is that it simply old or has been damaged.

Damaged Support Grids

Support grids are the structure that holds your fill in place.  If water has degraded the structure, or there have been other types of damage your fill will not be performing correctly.  This can be a cause for fill packs to sag, warp, or simply fall out of place.  If your fill isn’t sitting where it should be, it isn’t doing its job.  Invest in your cooling tower maintenance and ensure that your support grids are up to par.

Phoenix Valley Cooling Tower Maintenance

There are a number of important cooling tower maintenance tasks to keep your cooling tower running at optimum efficiency.  Fill is one of the most important elements for the performance of the cooling tower.  It is where the hot cycle water goes to be cooled by the air flowing through the fill.  If your fill has buildup, clogging, or is damaged we can help!

Contact us for help with your cooling tower needs – 480-966-4446

If you’re searching for “What are cooling towers?” you’re probably trying to understand the role of cooling towers in a property you either live or work near.  Cooling towers are a vital part of commercial and industrial properties.  Read more below to understand the types of cooling towers and what they are used for.

What A Cooling Tower Is

 A device used for taking the heat from a system is called a ‘Cooling Tower’. These devices are used as heat rejecters. They reject the heat by cooling down a stream of water that is channeled from industrial processes and/or channeled from an HVAC system, whereas, the unwanted heat gets taken out of the liquid by way of the cooling tower, using different methods. There are two types of cooling towers, the dry bulb & the wet bulb. Each of which use a process different than the other for cooling the liquid in the cooling tower down.

The dry bulb system

This type has to rely on a cooling tower that has a closed circuit, operating close to the dry bulbs air temperature. The dry bulb temperature gives a reading that comes from a thermometer which hangs freely in the air, however, it is being shielded to keep from the moisture, and also from the radiation.

 The wet bulb systems

This type has to rely on the evaporation. The towers function is solely based on the temperature reading of the wet bulb, and it is taking into account the humidity in the air, circling the cooling tower.

 Cooling towers, what are they used for?

Some of the cooling towers are used for the HVAC systems that are used to cool down huge commercial buildings, which also includes cooling down the water used by thermal power stations, chemical plants, oil refineries, and petrochemical plants. There are two different kinds of cooling towers, depending on their location, as well as their applications. The air to be cooled is channeled through in two different ways from the cooling towers, they are the induced draft and the natural draft.

 Industrial cooling towers

The size of a cooling tower on an industrial site will depend on the amount of heat their processes are producing. In industries that need to have a higher level of heat rejected away from their system will be using cooling towers like the ones used in nuclear power plants. They are monolithic structures standing more than 600 feet in height. However, not all of them are as tall as that, there are many processes requiring a cooling tower that is more than just roof mounted, which is common for the HVAC systems.

The cooling towers of an industry can reject heat at the highest levels. For instance, there is a whole lot of heat produced in power plants that run off of burning coal, and this requires a whole lot of water to keep the plant cooled down. That is the reason that it is piping around 315,000 gallons of water every hour through its system. Theoretically speaking, a cooling tower could be cooled down using water that comes straight from a pipe or another water source near the plant. Although, the system would need more than 2 million gallons of water every hour to stay cooled down. The same amount of water would need to go back to the source it came from, which means taking it from the plant again.

It is very clear that that kind of exchange in heated water, the water in the ponds, rivers, and lakes, will certainly change. A significant change in the waters temperature combine with the delicate ecosystem could kill all the plant and animal life. Now that the astronomical heat levels being created during the industrial processes is clear that it is rejecting the heat back into the cooling towers, and instead is destroying our eco system.

 Heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC)

Trying to cool down huge commercial building with the same type of air-conditioning as we use for residential applications would not only be costly, but impractical as well. The cooling towers used for huge commercial buildings can generally be found on their roof tops. However, you will find that these cooling towers are much smaller than the ones used for industrial plants. Cooling towers that are used by HVAC applications is meant to reject heat that is being produced from the chiller. The cooling tower and the water cooled chiller work together.

Cooling Tower Maintenance & Repair

If you own or manage a property that uses cooling towers for HVAC or industrial cooling they need to be maintained and repaired when necessary.  All Kote Lining, Inc. offers cooling tower maintenance & repair as well as refurbishment

Even with the best mix and pour concrete deteriorates over time. Reinforced concrete structures require continual maintenance and inspection. This helps find and repair small issues before they compromise the entire structure. Structural elements of the cooling towers are many times made of concrete. Concrete can comprise the foundation, housing for mechanical elements, and even be the liquid containment area. Deterioration occurs in both mechanical draft and natural draft technologies. How quickly the deterioration occurs in these aggressive environments is dependent on regular maintenance. It is also affected by the consistency of the processes. If the processes shift drastically, it can also reduce cooling tower concrete life. This is based on the assumption that the cooling tower’s concrete elements were constructed using the best practices.

Unfortunately for the end user and responsible party for maintaining cooling towers the quality of initial construction plays a very large role in the lifespan of the cooling tower. In addition exposure to unusually harsh chemicals or environmental exposure can accelerate deterioration. Which can lead to structural failures and complete rebuilds or replacements. A quality assessment of the structure will help understand any deficiencies in the structure. Along with an understanding of the cooling tower’s individual environmental load from weather and chemical exposure can help develop deterioration trends. Knowing the current condition and the projected deterioration schedule helps owners project their maintenance costs and cooling tower costs over longer periods of time.

Adequate preparation for the future is the key to successful business. For private companies or public municipalities it is critical to have a plan in place to prepare for all costs. Proper evaluation, investigation, and planning will help understand and plan for the life-cycles of cooling towers. Many owners and civil divisions use an LQQ method for understanding and planning for their assets. This can simplify and make planning maintenance much easier and more effective. An LQQ system means Locating, Qualifying, and Quantifying the condition of the concrete structure. Once the root-cause issues are identified planning can be made to regularly maintain and extend the serviceable life of the concrete cooling tower. This makes the budgeting for these eventualities realistic and avoids surprise maintenance issues that can be fairly costly.

Original Cooling Tower Construction

The costs of conducting effective quality control and quality assurance during the construction phase of concrete cooling tower elements is absolutely critical to the lifespan of the cooling tower. Documentation can be made during the construction phase, yet without visually inspecting during the actual construction there is little assurance that it is being done correctly. The ways that construction mistakes or failures can manifest are varied. Here’s a list of common issues during cooling tower construction.

• Ignoring manufacturer recommendations with regard to construction and application methods.
• Failure to accurately follow the original construction documents.
• Substitution of inferior materials.
• Inaccurate or inappropriate materials specified for construction.
• Substandard construction documentation
• Damage or abuse to the structure during the original construction process.
• Inferior craftsmanship during construction.

Unfortunately many of the defects in the construction process manifest themselves in obvious visual failure until after negotiated warranty periods. This leaves owners or municipalities stuck having to maintain inferior concrete. Maintenance that is far more involved and costly that what is normal wear and tear on the concrete elements of cooling towers. Incorporating the walk through lists that are carefully followed by qualified construction professionals during the concrete construction phase is fundamental in catching and addressing original construction problems.

Simply seeing and fixing a problem area in the concrete isn’t a total repair solution. Owners need to ask for and get root-cause assessments that point to the root reason the concrete is failing or deteriorating more quickly. This will point out a potential quality and longer lasting repair solution. This avoids putting a series of “band aid” repairs on top of each other.

Planning Scheduled Cooling Tower Maintenance

Even if the cooling tower’s concrete is built to specifications everything degrades over time. When a cooling tower in installed a plan should be put in place for the inspection and regular maintenance. This makes predicting expenses easier. It also ensures that the inspections, preventative maintenance and repairs are actually carried out. Many times downtime for the cooling tower is limited and maintenance must be done quickly. During these downtimes deterioration may be noted but not acted upon. These reports are critical in preparation for following scheduled maintenance. Extra time should be scheduled for the repair of any problem areas. The type of damage or issues that might be noted regarding the reinforced concrete structure might include;

• Joint sealant failures
• Wall or base slab cracks that leak water
• Deterioration and/or leaking from expansion joints
• Mechanical penetration leakage
• Deficient foundation support for the cooling tower
• Corrosion of the anchor bolts
• Spalling or corrosion of embedded concrete rebar
• Vegetation or algal growth in the cooling tower
• Deterioration of surface paste or coatings

Each cooling tower structure poses unique obstacles for cooling tower repair contractors. An engineered solution is a must to address each of the issues fully. This is true for both minor and major structural issues. Whether the problem is a crack, foundational stabilization issue, deteriorated containment liner, or halting cooling tower water egress a proper repair strategy should include the following.

1. Inspect and identify the root cause
2. Use the right techniques and raw materials in repair
3. Employ a quality control program for the repairs
4. Hire only qualified and experienced cooling tower repair contractors

Assessing Concrete Deterioration

During the regularly scheduled maintenance it is the responsibility of cooling tower crews to watch for, note, and report any deteriorated sections of the cooling tower. If issues are found a structured assessment should be done. The approach for that evaluation should follow this pattern.

• Find the deteriorated area
• Determine the root cause and affected elements
• Determine what repairs are needed
• Weigh repair vs. replacement for these repairs

One the damage or deterioration is accurately assessed, a detailed and through repair plan be developed. This plan will include variables relevant to each cooling tower’s particular operating environment. It will take into account all of the variables that affect the cooling tower and its concrete. The chemical, construction material, and thermodynamic variables that affect cooling towers should be addressed specifically. This approach should produce a longer lasting repair plan that will increase the serviceable lifespan of the cooling tower.

Quality Cooling Tower Concrete Inspection & Repair

If your cooling tower concrete is showing signs of failure, or if you want to develop a quality maintenance plan All Kote can help. Having a accurate idea of the condition of your cooling tower concrete elements helps with budgeting and avoids unnecessary surprise costs. Call All Kote today to get your appointment scheduled at 480-966-4446.