Cooling water system

Cooling water system 

Another system that is integral to EAF operation is the cooling water system. Typically, there are several cooling systems. Some operations require extremely clean, high quality cooling water. Transformer cooling, delta closure cooling, bus tube cooling and electrode holder cooling are all such applications. Typically, these systems will consist of a closed loop circuit, which conducts water through these sensitive pieces of equipment. The water in the closed loop circuit passes through a heat exchanger to remove heat. The circuit on the open loop side of the heat exchanger typically flows to a cooling tower for energy dissipation. Other water cooled elements such as furnace side panels, roof panels, offgas system ducting, furnace cage etc. will typically receive cooling water from a cooling tower.

The cooling circuit typically consists of supply pumps, return pumps, filters, a cooling tower cell or cells and flow monitoring instrumentation. Sensitive pieces of equipment normally have instrumentation installed to monitor the cooling water flow rate and temperature. For most water-cooled equipment, interruption of the flow or inadequate water quantities can lead to severe thermal over loading and in some cases catastrophic failure.