Forced Draft Towers

Forced Draft Towers

Forced draft towers utilize a blower, located at the base or side of the tower, to force air into the tower horizontally and then up to meet the falling water droplets.

Drift eliminators at the tower top minimize the amount of water lost, called drift, with the exiting air stream. Because the fans are not within the air water contact zone in this design, they are sheltered from corrosion or deposition.

One of the main disadvantages associated with the forced draft tower is that the hot, humid exhaust vapors coming out of the top of the tower tend to recirculate back to the low pressure air intake region. If winds are unfavorable, recirculation can cut back efficiency by as much as 20%.

During cold weather, this condition often forms ice on nearby equipment, buildings, or in the fan housing itself. Frost in the fan outlet of forced draft towers has been known to actually break the fan blades.

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