Adiabatic Dry Cooler (ADC)™
The Adiabatic Dry Cooler (ADC)™ is an advanced heat rejection solution designed to deliver energy-efficient, reliable and sustainable cooling for industrial and commercial applications. By combining the principles of dry cooling and adiabatic pre-cooling, ADC™ enhances heat transfer performance while significantly reducing water consumption compared to conventional cooling towers.
Engineered to operate efficiently across varying ambient conditions, the ADC™ offers an ideal solution for industries seeking to optimise cooling performance, reduce operating costs, CO2 emission and minimise their environmental footprint.
Working Principle of Adiabatic Dry Cooler (ADC)™ – Three Intelligent Operating Modes
The Adiabatic Dry Cooler (ADC)™ is designed with an advanced three-mode cooling concept that intelligently adapts to changing ambient temperatures and cooling requirements. By combining conventional dry cooling, adiabatic air pre-cooling and direct water-assisted booster cooling, ADC™ ensures optimum heat rejection, high energy efficiency and reduced water consumption throughout the year.
An intelligent PLC-based control system continuously monitors ambient air temperature and RH to maintain fluid outlet temperature, automatically switching between three operating modes as explained below :desired cooling temperature with minimum energy and water consumption.
1. Dry Mode – Efficient Cooling with Zero Water Consumption
Under normal and favourable ambient temperature conditions, the ADC™ operates in Dry Mode, functioning as a conventional air-cooled heat exchanger.
The hot process fluid circulates through a high-efficiency finned-tube heat exchanger, while ambient air is drawn across the coil by energy-efficient axial fans. Heat from the process fluid is transferred to the surrounding air through sensible heat exchange, thereby reducing the fluid temperature.
During this mode, the adiabatic water mist system and booster system remain deactivated, ensuring zero water consumption.
2. Adiabatic Mode – Enhanced Cooling through Air Pre-Cooling
When ambient temperatures increase and Dry Mode alone is insufficient to maintain the required process fluid outlet temperature, the ADC™ automatically activates Adiabatic Mode.
In this mode, incoming ambient air passes through a specially designed adiabatic pre-cooling chamber equipped with high-efficiency mist nozzles and Airscreen Filter. A controlled quantity of water is introduced into the incoming air stream, where partial evaporation absorbs heat from the air and reduces its dry-bulb temperature. The unevaporated will be collected by the drain tray and will be reused to optimize the water consumption.
The pre-cooled air subsequently passes through the finned-tube heat exchanger, increasing the temperature difference between the process fluid and cooling air. This improves heat rejection capacity and helps maintain the desired process fluid temperature even during elevated ambient conditions.
The intelligent control system continuously regulates water flow based on actual cooling demand, ensuring that water is consumed only when required.
3. Booster Mode – Additional Cooling for Peak Ambient Conditions
During extremely high ambient temperatures or peak process load conditions, when Adiabatic Mode alone cannot maintain the required process fluid outlet temperature, the ADC™ automatically activates Booster Mode.
In this mode, an additional controlled water-spray arrangement directly wets the heat exchanger coil or designated heat transfer surfaces. The evaporation of this water absorbs additional heat, further enhancing the heat rejection capacity of the system.
The PLC-based control system regulates the booster spray operation in stages, depending on the actual cooling requirement. Any excess water is collected through a suitable drainage or water recovery arrangement, depending on the system configuration.
Booster Mode operates only when the first two modes are insufficient, providing additional cooling capacity during extreme summer conditions and peak thermal loads.
Key Benefits of Adiabatic Dry Cooler (ADC)™
- Significant Water Savings: Operates predominantly in dry mode, using water only during high ambient temperature conditions.
- Enhanced Cooling Performance: Adiabatic pre-cooling lowers incoming air temperature, improving heat rejection capacity during peak summer conditions.
- Energy Efficiency: Optimised fan operation and improved heat transfer help reduce overall energy consumption.
- Reduced Operating Costs: Lower water consumption, efficient operation and reduced maintenance requirements contribute to lower lifecycle costs.
- Environmentally Sustainable: Minimises water wastage and eliminates the need for conventional cooling tower operation.
- Reliable Performance: Designed to deliver consistent cooling across changing ambient conditions and varying process loads.
- Flexible Applications: Suitable for HVAC systems, data centres, power plants, process industries, manufacturing facilities and other industrial cooling applications.