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Induced draft cooling tower noise and its control

Conference ·
OSTI ID:5218001
Cooling towers generate noise which is not sufficiently loud to cause in-plant noise problems at grade, but some may have an adverse impact on the adjacent community. This paper correlates chiefly noise data measured at Exxon process plants into a prediction technique for estimating induced draft cooling tower noise in communities adjacent to a plant. Predictions are given in ''A'' weighted decibels (dBA) corresponding to the manner in which regulations are commonly expressed, and in the octave band basis required for design purposes when a noise control measure is found to be necessary. Good agreement is observed between estimated and measured noise levels. The fans and falling water are the major noise sources of induced draft cooling towers. The fan noise is radiated from both the fan stacks and louvered faces and the water noise almost exclusively from the louvered faces. This study shows that the fan noise dominates the water noise at locations distant from the cooling tower and that the noise radiated from the louvered faces dominates that from the fan stacks. This information is useful in selecting a method for cooling tower noise control. If the estimated noise levels should exceed noise criteria, general techniques are given for controlling cooling tower noise to achieve compliance.
Research Organization:
Exxon Research and Engineering Co., Florham Park, N.J. (USA)
OSTI ID:
5218001
Report Number(s):
CONF-770151-6
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English