Method and apparatus for evaporatively cooling gases and/or fluids

Claim 1

An air cooling apparatus comprising: (a) a housing defining an intake for a total air flow to be treated and an outlet for cooled supply air; (b) said housing defining at least one wet channel and one dry channel extending between said intake and outlet, said wet and dry channels arranged in adjacent heat exchange relationship and said dry channel having an inlet end communicating with said intake and a discharge end communicating with said outlet, said wet channel having opposite first and second inlet ends, said wet channel first inlet end communicating with said intake and said second inlet communicating with said outlet; (c) evaporative media disposed in said wet channel extending substantially the entire length thereof and water distribution means for delivering water to said evaporative media; (d) substantially solid conductive heat transfer elements extending in heat transfer relationship between the dry and wet channels arranged generally perpendicular to the flow through said channels: (e) an air discharge aperture located in said housing communicating with the wet channel at an intermediate location; and means for directing a part of the air flow discharged from said dry channel through said wet channel and a portion to said outlet whereby sensible cooling occurs in said dry channel with heat being transferred to said wet channel by conduction along said heat transfer elements and wherein said air flow in said wet channel from said first inlet end to said air discharge aperture is generally parallel to that in the dry channel and wherein said air flow in said wet channels from said second inlet and to said air discharge is countercurrent to the air flow in said dry channel.