Impact of CuO+H2O nanofluid on the cooling towers performance with varying packing densities

Abstract

In this paper, the cooling tower (CT) performance has been experimentally investigated. Four types of packing with varying numbers of layers have been employed to investigate the impacts of packing density on the CT performance when using Copper Oxide (CuO) nanofluid as a working fluid. Three different concentrations (1, 3, and 5 %) of CuO+H₂O nanofluid have been evaluated to assess the influence of nanoparticle concentration on the CT performance. The results show that adding more packing layers improves the thermal performance of the CT, regardless of the use of pure water or nanofluid. The effect is more pronounced when CuO+H₂O nanofluid is employed. Furthermore, at a volume concentration of 5 % CuO+H₂O nanofluid, the water temperature differential, cooling tower characteristic, and cooling efficiency increased by 15.3, 7, and 12.5 %, respectively, compared to pure water. However, the tower characteristic tends to increase for lower concentrations (3 %), but may decrease for higher concentrations (5 %). Nonetheless, the tower characteristic may ultimately increase for all concentration levels. Additionally, the impact of CuO+H₂O nanofluid on temperature difference becomes more pronounced as the packing density increases. For example, the temperature differential of the water increases by around 7.5 % and 24.3 % for 7 and 20-layer packing, respectively. These findings suggest that utilizing CuO+H₂O nanofluid as a circulating fluid in place of pure water can lead to improved thermal performance of CTs.