Cooling tower

Claim 1

A cooling tower comprising a casing having side wall means with air inlet opening means for atmospheric air near the lower end thereof, said casing having outlet opening means at its upper end for discharging heated air; a basin disposed below said casing for receiving cooled liquid therefrom; an air-moving impeller associated with said outlet opening means for drawing air into said casing through said inlet opening means and discharging the air through said outlet opening means; gas-liquid contact means comprising a plurality of generally upright porous sheet-like screens each having an undulating configuration, said screens being arranged in association with each other to define upright passages for flow of upwardly rising air which air is adapted to contact liquid flowing downwardly on the screens; a plurality of liquid distributors mounted inside said casing between the upper ends of said screens and said outlet opening means, said liquid distributors being arranged in a generally horizontal array for distributing liquid substantially uniformly onto the upper ends of said screens, each liquid distributor comprising an elongated outer tube which is closed at both its axial ends and which has a series of axially spaced openings of essentially the same size along its lower side for discharging liquid substantially vertically downwardly onto the upper ends of the screens, an elongated inner tube fixed to and projecting through one axial end of said outer tube and extending axially therein substantially to the other axial end of said outer tube, said inner tube being radially spaced from the interior wall of said outer tube to define therewith an annular zone for holding a quantity of the liquid, the axial end of said inner tube disposed within said outer tube being closed and the other axial end of said inner tube being connected to a source of the liquid, the portion of said inner tube located within said outer tube having a series of axially spaced openings along its upper side, so that liquid supplied to said inner tube overflows therefrom upwardly through said openings in said inner tube and then flows downwardly in said annular zone and accumulates to a substantial depth therein and the liquid flows downwardly through the openings in said outer tube under substantially uniform pressure along the entire length of said outer tube and onto the upper ends of said screens; and eliminator means mounted in said casing above said liquid distributors for minimizing the flow of splash liquid through said outlet opening means.