Diagnostic Cooling Solutions has created and perfected the concept of diagnostic testing as a new alternative to cooling tower status testing — commonly referred to as cooling tower performance testing, cooling tower capability testing, or cooling tower efficiency testing. In the past, a cooling tower status test would confirm what is usually already suspected, that the cooling tower is short on performance. However, it would not indicate to the owner where and what problems existed. Now, with the aid of diagnostic testing, cooling tower performance can be restored at minimum cost and with minimum, if any, plant downtime by:

1. Identifying cooling tower thermal performance and energy efficiency problems with accuracy and eliminating guesswork.
2. Targeting maintenance to zero-in on only those cells or areas of the tower that need attention.
3. Prioritizing maintenance by only undertaking the most beneficial repairs.
4. Minimizing downtime through prioritized and targeted maintenance.
5. Maximizing the return on maintenance dollars spent as only necessary work is undertaken.

The objective of the Diagnostic Performance Audit™ is to identify and isolate obscure problems at the cell level that are adversely impacting cooling tower thermal performance and energy efficiency, and that may otherwise elude detection during a cooling tower status test or cooling tower inspection. The audit draws upon a body of diagnostic procedures to select specific tests that are relevant to the client’s stated needs and to the type of cooling tower. Ambiguous symptoms revealed during the audit may require additional targeted diagnostic tests to probe their root cause. For a comparison of cooling tower status tests with other cooling tower tests, see Matrix of Test Detection Abilities.

Diagnostic testing options include:

• Status test for determining thermal capability.
• Fan Stack Velocity Profile for checking cell-to-cell airflow balance, blade tip clearance, blade pitting, hub disc effectiveness, fan stall.
• Fan motor loading including line loss, motor de-rating, temperature rise, motor insulation, motor load factor, blade pitching, repitched airflow prediction, and winter motor loading prediction.
• Film fill static pressure drop.
• Cell-to-cell water balance.
• Cell-to-cell power/airflow/heat rejection balance.
• Cell-to-cell fan, pump and total energy requirements and operating energy efficiency.
• Cooling tower fan, pump and total operating energy, and energy efficiency benchmarking.

All the findings are compiled in a comprehensive report. Once the specific causes of poor cooling tower thermal performance or energy efficiency are known, targeted maintenance can be scheduled on the identified tower cell(s) to minimize both repair costs and any required downtime. The aim of the Diagnostic Performance Audit™ is progressive continuous improvement. This audit is not an Acceptance Test for contractual cooling tower performance or contractual energy efficiency verification.