Bi-directional fill for use in cooling towers

Abstract

Cooling towers and cooling tower fill configured for the cooling of process water with air by indirect heat exchange, in which the fill is configured with a first set of channels and a second set of channels, said first and second set of channels interleaved with one-another so that heat exchange occurs across material separating said channels from one-another.

1 . A cooling tower comprising cooling tower fill arranged for the cooling of process water with air by indirect heat exchange, in which the fill is configured with a first set of channels and a second set of channels, said first and second set of channels interleaved with one-another so that heat exchange occurs across material separating said channels from one-another. 
     
     
         2 . A cooling tower according to  claim 1 , comprising a first set of spray heads configured to direct said process water only to said first set of channels, and a second set of spray heads configured to direct said process water only to said second set of channels or to all channels. 
     
     
         3 . A cooling tower according to  claim 1 , configured to allow heat exchange between process water in said first set of channels and air in said second set of channels when said first set of spray heads is open, permitting process water to flow through said first set of channels, and said second set of spray heads is closed. 
     
     
         4 . (canceled) 
     
     
         5 . (canceled) 
     
     
         6 . A cooling tower according to  claim 1  in which said channels are created by one or more fill packs, each fill pack comprising layers of stacked corrugated sheets, each corrugated sheet having a longitudinal axis that is shifted 30° to 90° relative to a longitudinal axis of adjacent corrugated sheets, each corrugated sheet separated from an adjacent corrugated sheet by an intermediate sheet. 
     
     
         7 . A cooling tower according to  claim 1 , wherein said corrugated sheets are bonded to adjacent intermediate sheets along corrugation ridges of said corrugated sheets. 
     
     
         8 . A cooling tower according to  claim 6 , wherein said first set of channels are oriented at an angle of 45° relative to vertical, and where said second set of channels are also oriented at an angle of 45° relative to vertical, but perpendicular to said first set of channels. 
     
     
         9 . A cooling tower according to  claim 6 , wherein said fill packs have a length and a width that are approximately equal. 
     
     
         10 . A cooling tower according to  claim 6 , wherein said fill packs have a length and a width, and wherein the length of said fill packs is 1 to 3 times the width. 
     
     
         11 . A cooling tower according to  claim 6 , wherein said fill packs are arranged in a plurality of layers across said cooling tower, 
     
     
         12 . A cooling tower according to  claim 6  comprising open areas between said fill packs. 
     
     
         13 . (canceled) 
     
     
         14 . A cooling tower according to  claim 6 , wherein said each of said fill packs comprise stacked corrugated and intermediate sheets that extend across a plurality of indirect heat exchange zones of said cooling tower. 
     
     
         15 . (canceled) 
     
     
         16 . A cooling tower according to  claim 6 , comprising a plurality of fill packs stacked on top of one-another in said cooling tower, and wherein each said fill pack is oriented 180°, horizontally, relative to a fill pack immediately above and/or below. 
     
     
         17 . A cooling tower according to  claim 1 , wherein said first and second sets of channels have the same dimensions. 
     
     
         18 . A cooling tower according to  claim 1 , wherein said first set of channels is larger in cross-section than said second set of channels. 
     
     
         19 . A cooling tower fill pack comprising a stack of identical plastic sheets, each sheet having a first face and a second face, said first face having a first set of ridges that define a first set of channels, said second face having a second set of ridges that define a second set of channels, and wherein in said fill pack, said plastic sheets are stacked so that a first face of a first sheet, is mated with a first face of a second sheet, turned upside down, and a second face of said second sheet is mated with a second face of a third sheet, turned upside down relative to said second sheet. 
     
     
         20 . A cooling tower fill pack according to  claim 19 , wherein said plastic sheets comprise crenellated portions where at top and bottom sections where said channel-defining-ridges terminate. 
     
     
         21 . A cooling tower fill pack comprising a stack of two different plastic sheets, each sheet having a first face and a second face, said first face having a first set of ridges that define a first set of channels, said second face having a second set of ridges that define a second set of channels, and wherein in said fill pack, said plastic sheets are stacked so that a first face of a first sheet, is mated with a first face of a second sheet, and a second face of said second sheet is mated with a second face of a third sheet identical to the first sheet to form two sets of channels, said first and second sets of channels interleaved with one-another so that heat exchange occurs across material separating said channels from one-another. 
     
     
         22 . A cooling tower according to  claim 5 , wherein said channels define an odd number of input zones and one fewer columns than input zones. 
     
     
         23 . A cooling tower according to  claim 22 , wherein outermost channels are water channels. 
     
     
         24 . A cooling tower according to  claim 22 , wherein said input zones have an equal width, and wherein said columns are of unequal width. 
     
     
         25 . A cooling tower according to  claim 22 , wherein the columns are all the same width and outermost input zones have a width that is ½ a width of interior input zones. 
     
     
         26 . A cooling tower according to  claim 22 , wherein the columns are all the same width and the input zones have unequal width. 
     
     
         27 . A cooling tower according to  claim 1  in which said channels are created by one or more fill packs, each fill pack comprising layers of stacked corrugated sheets, each corrugated sheet having formed thereon at water input zones a plurality of convex ridges and impressions, each ridge corresponding to an impression on an opposite side of a fill sheet on which said ridge is formed; said ridges arranged to direct water that falls in a input zone in which the ridges are formed to move laterally into a corresponding water column. 
     
     
         28 . A cooling tower according to  claim 1 , further comprising adjustable air dampers positioned above water input regions of said fill or below the water exit regions of said fill to restrict the amount of air that passes through water columns of said fill. 
     
     
         29 . A cooling tower according to  claim 28 , wherein said adjustable air dampers are automatically controlled in combination with an automatically controlled variable speed fan.