A novel numerical and experimental analysis was conducted to assess the energy efficiency of alternative fill materials in small cooling towers under tropical climate conditions. The study encompassed two main objectives: first, experimental validation through the manufacturing, construction, and testing alternative fill prototypes in a small cooling tower, evaluating their energy performance under varying air and water flow conditions at inlet temperatures of 34 °C, 37 °C, and 40 °C. The second aspect involved the computational simulation of heat and mass transfer phenomena using the Euler–Lagrange technique for biphasic flow and turbulent airflow modeled using the SST (shear stress transport) turbulence model and heat and mass transfer between air and water calculated via the liquid evaporation model. The parameters identified in the study include temperatures at the cooled water and air outlets, mass fraction of water vapor, and absolute humidity at the outlet. The numerical model was validated against experimental data, followed by a detailed sensitivity analysis of thermal and hydraulic performance comparing alternative and conventional industrial fill materials. The study's main contribution lays in evaluating the energy efficiency and feasibility of utilizing PET bottlenecks for constructing cooling tower fills in the specific climate conditions of northeastern Brazil. Results indicated a 5.0% difference in cooling efficiency between the fill materials, with industrial fill demonstrating approximately 1.25% higher heat and mass transfer coefficients than fill with bottlenecks. Ultimately, the study concluded that utilizing PET bottlenecks in a criss-cross arrangement presents a promising alternative in terms of efficiency, maintaining a temperature difference of less than 1 °C compared to industrial fill at inlet water temperatures up to 8.0 °C. This research contributes to advancing knowledge in cooling tower technology, particularly in material innovation, numerical modeling techniques, and environmental sustainability. The data indicate a tendency to replace polypropylene (PP), frequently used in industrial fillers, with polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a widely consumed recyclable material, resulting in significant environmental damage.

进行了新颖的数值和实验分析，以评估热带气候条件下小型冷却塔中替代填充材料的能源效率。该研究包含两个主要目标：首先，通过在小型冷却塔中制造、建造和测试替代填充原型进行实验验证，评估其在入口温度为 34°C、37°C​​ 的不同空气和水流条件下的能源性能和 40°C。第二个方面涉及使用欧拉-拉格朗日技术对双相流和湍流气流的传热和传质现象进行计算模拟，使用 SST（剪切应力传输）湍流模型进行建模，以及通过液体蒸发计算空气和水之间的传热和传质模型。研究中确定的参数包括冷却水和空气出口处的温度、水蒸气的质量分数以及出口处的绝对湿度。根据实验数据验证了数值模型，然后对替代和传统工业填充材料的热性能和水力性能进行了详细的敏感性分析。该研究的主要贡献在于评估在巴西东北部特定气候条件下利用 PET 瓶颈建造冷却塔填料的能源效率和可行性。结果表明，填充材料之间的冷却效率存在 5.0% 的差异，工业填充的传热传质系数比瓶颈填充高约 1.25%。 最终，该研究得出的结论是，利用纵横交错排列的 PET 瓶颈在效率方面提供了一种有前途的替代方案，与工业填充相比，在进水温度高达 8.0 °C 的情况下，可保持小于 1 °C 的温差。这项研究有助于增进冷却塔技术的知识，特别是在材料创新、数值建模技术和环境可持续性方面。数据表明，人们倾向于用广泛使用的可回收材料聚对苯二甲酸乙二醇酯 (PET) 来取代工业填料中常用的聚丙烯 (PP)，从而造成严重的环境破坏。