exported
necessary
cooling tower
IRI:
http://www.inf.ufrgs.br/ontologies/copi#Coolingtower
Generated on 2026-04-15
Natural Language Definition
EN
A cooling tower is a heat exchanger that incorporates a tall tower structure through which air circulates by convection to remove heat from process fluids.
PT-BR
Uma torre de resfriamento é um trocador de calor que incorpora uma estrutura de torre alta através da qual o ar circula por convecção para remover calor de fluidos de processo.
Formal Axioms
Semi-formal (Aristotelian)
Every cooling tower is a heat exchanger that has a tower structure as component part at all times and participates in convective air circulation processes.
First-Order Logic Theory
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▸ Stored override
∀x(CoolingTower(x) ↔ HeatExchanger(x) ∧ ∃t(Tower(t) ∧ hasComponentPartAtAllTimes(x,t)) ∧ ∃p(ConvectiveAirCirculationProcess(p) ∧ participatesIn(x,p)))
OWL 2 / Turtle
@prefix copi: <https://www.inf.ufrgs.br/ontologies/copi/> .
@prefix : <https://www.inf.ufrgs.br/ontologies/copi/> .
@prefix owl: <http://www.w3.org/2002/07/owl#> .
@prefix rdf: <http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#> .
@prefix rdfs: <http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#> .
@prefix xsd: <http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#> .
@prefix bfo: <http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/> .
@prefix iof-core: <https://spec.industrialontologies.org/ontology/construct/> .
@prefix iof-av: <https://spec.industrialontologies.org/ontology/annotation/> .
@prefix skos: <http://www.w3.org/2004/02/skos/core#> .
@prefix qudt: <http://qudt.org/schema/qudt/> .
@prefix dcterms: <http://purl.org/dc/terms/> .
@prefix foaf: <http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/> .
@prefix apv: <http://inf.ufrgs.br/ontologies/apv#> .
### COPI — Core Ontology for Petroleum Installations
### Class module: CoolingTower
<https://www.inf.ufrgs.br/ontologies/copi>
rdf:type owl:Ontology ;
dcterms:title "Core Ontology for Petroleum Installations (COPI)"@en ;
dcterms:title "Ontologia Core para Instalações de Petróleo (COPI)"@pt-br ;
dcterms:description "BFO/IOF-Core conformant ontology of equipment classes for petroleum production plants, developed using the five-step RDL enrichment method."@en ;
skos:scopeNote "Material artifacts (bfo:material_entity) that (i) are part of a petroleum production plant, and (ii) bear at least one function whose realization involves the transport (e.g. production and injection), processing (separation and other processes), control, monitoring, measurement, containment or offloading of material or energy."@en ;
skos:scopeNote "Artefatos materiais (bfo:material_entity) que (i) fazem parte de uma planta de produção de petróleo, e (ii) possuem ao menos uma função cuja realização envolve o transporte (p. ex. produção e injeção), processamento (separação e outros processos), controle, monitoramento, medição, contenção ou escoamento de material ou energia."@pt-br ;
skos:scopeNote "COPI provides high-level equipment categories defined by function to demonstrate the defined-class mechanism. Equipment subtypes are annotated with references to CFIHOS and PCA RDL terms. COPI is not a reference data library; organizations should use CFIHOS, PCA RDL, or ISO 14224 for comprehensive equipment classification."@en ;
skos:scopeNote "COPI fornece categorias de alto nível de equipamentos definidas por função para demonstrar o mecanismo de classe definida. Os subtipos de equipamentos são anotados com referências aos termos do CFIHOS e do PCA RDL. COPI não é uma biblioteca de dados de referência; organizações devem utilizar o CFIHOS, o PCA RDL ou a ISO 14224 para classificação abrangente de equipamentos."@pt-br ;
owl:versionInfo "1.1.0" ;
owl:imports <https://spec.industrialontologies.org/ontology/core/Core/> ;
owl:imports <http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/2020/bfo.owl> ;
dcterms:creator "Nicolau Oyhenard dos Santos"@en ;
dcterms:contributor "Cauã Antunes" ;
dcterms:contributor "Haroldo Rojas" ;
dcterms:contributor "Rafael Petry" ;
dcterms:contributor "Régis Romeu" ;
dcterms:contributor "Mara Abel" ;
dcterms:isPartOf <https://inf.ufrgs.br/projetos/OntoKG> ;
dcterms:publisher "Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS)"@en ;
dcterms:license <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/> ;
dcterms:created "2026-04-08"^^xsd:date ;
dcterms:modified "2026-10-08"^^xsd:date ;
apv:GlobalMinLanguageCoverage "en pt-br" ;
apv:ClassURIFormationRule "https://www[.]inf[.]ufrgs[.]br/ontologies/copi/(COPI_[0-9]{7}|[A-Z][A-Za-z0-9]*)" ;
apv:ClassMinAnnotationCoverage "rdfs:label https://spec.industrialontologies.org/ontology/annotation/naturalLanguageDefinition" .
iof-av:naturalLanguageDefinition rdf:type owl:AnnotationProperty ;
apv:MinAnnotationLength 20 .
### Identity-giving function
:COPI_0000448 rdf:type owl:Class ; # CoolingFunction
rdfs:subClassOf iof-core:DesignedFunction ;
rdfs:subClassOf [
rdf:type owl:Restriction ;
owl:onProperty bfo:BFO_0000054 ; # realizedIn
owl:allValuesFrom :COPI_0000449 # CoolingProcess
] ;
rdfs:subClassOf [
rdf:type owl:Restriction ;
owl:onProperty bfo:BFO_0000054 ; # realizedIn
owl:someValuesFrom :COPI_0000449 # CoolingProcess
] ;
rdfs:label "cooling function"@en ;
rdfs:label "função de resfriamento"@pt-br .
### Process type
:COPI_0000449 rdf:type owl:Class ; # CoolingProcess
rdfs:subClassOf :COPI_0000004 ; # HeatTransfer
rdfs:label "cooling process"@en ;
rdfs:label "processo de resfriamento"@pt-br .
:COPI_0000004 rdf:type owl:Class . # HeatTransfer
:COPI_0000449 # CoolingProcess
rdfs:subClassOf [
rdf:type owl:Restriction ;
owl:onProperty iof-core:hasInput ;
owl:someValuesFrom :COPI_0000038 # PortionOfLiquid
] ;
rdfs:subClassOf [
rdf:type owl:Restriction ;
owl:onProperty iof-core:hasInput ;
owl:someValuesFrom :COPI_0000039 # PortionOfGas
] ;
rdfs:subClassOf [
rdf:type owl:Restriction ;
owl:onProperty iof-core:hasSpecifiedOutput ;
owl:someValuesFrom :COPI_0000038 # PortionOfLiquid
] ;
rdfs:subClassOf [
rdf:type owl:Restriction ;
owl:onProperty iof-core:hasSpecifiedOutput ;
owl:someValuesFrom :COPI_0000039 # PortionOfGas
] .
### Equipment universal: CoolingTower
:COPI_0000236 rdf:type owl:Class ; # CoolingTower
rdfs:subClassOf :COPI_0000235 ; # Cooler
rdfs:subClassOf [
rdf:type owl:Restriction ;
owl:onProperty iof-core:hasFunction ; # Object branch (MaterialArtifact/Assembly/Object/FiatObjectPart)
owl:someValuesFrom :COPI_0000448 # CoolingFunction
] ;
rdfs:label "cooling tower"@en ;
rdfs:label "torre de resfriamento"@pt-br ;
iof-av:naturalLanguageDefinition "A cooling tower is a heat exchanger that incorporates a tall tower structure through which air circulates by convection to remove heat from process fluids."@en ;
skos:definition "A cooling tower is a heat exchanger that incorporates a tall tower structure through which air circulates by convection to remove heat from process fluids."@en ;
iof-av:naturalLanguageDefinition "Uma torre de resfriamento é um trocador de calor que incorpora uma estrutura de torre alta através da qual o ar circula por convecção para remover calor de fluidos de processo."@pt-br ;
iof-av:semiFormalNaturalLanguageAxiom "Every cooling tower is a heat exchanger that has a tower structure as component part at all times and participates in convective air circulation processes."@en ;
iof-av:firstOrderLogicAxiom "∀x(CoolingTower(x) ↔ HeatExchanger(x) ∧ ∃t(Tower(t) ∧ hasComponentPartAtAllTimes(x,t)) ∧ ∃p(ConvectiveAirCirculationProcess(p) ∧ participatesIn(x,p)))"@en ;
iof-av:isPrimitive "true"^^xsd:boolean ;
skos:definition "[ISO 15926-4] A <COOLING TOWER> is an <AIR COOLED HEAT EXCHANGER> and a <TOWER> that is a tall structure through which air circulates by convection"@en ;
skos:definition "[CFIHOS] A cooler and an air cooled heat exchanger that is a tall structure through which air circulates by convection."@en ;
skos:definition "[POSC Caesar] A cooler and an air cooled heat exchanger that is a tall structure through which air circulates by convection"@en .
# Disjointness: CoolingTower and Heater
[] rdf:type owl:AllDisjointClasses ;
owl:members ( :COPI_0000236 :COPI_0000124 ) . # CoolingTower, Heater
# Disjointness: CoolingTower and Boiler
[] rdf:type owl:AllDisjointClasses ;
owl:members ( :COPI_0000236 :COPI_0000217 ) . # CoolingTower, Boiler
Axiomatization Decision Log
1
Identity-Giving Function
Function class
CoolingFunction
⊑ DesignedFunction
Realized in
CoolingProcess
⊑ HeatTransfer
The identity-giving function is cooling - specifically removing heat from a process fluid (typically water) through heat exchange with ambient air. This is what makes a cooling tower a cooling tower rather than just any tall structure or heat exchanger.
2
Genus Determination
Cooler
A cooling tower is a cooler: it is a heat exchanger bearing a CoolingFunction, which is exactly the definition of Cooler. The subsumption was already entailed but never declared (ODR-022 §17); naming Cooler as the genus makes it explicit and keeps the tall-tower/air-circulation differentia as what distinguishes it from other coolers.
3
Necessary Parts
No necessary parts recorded (concept may be primitive at this level).
These parts represent the minimal necessary components for any cooling tower: the tower structure itself, surfaces for heat exchange, and air flow paths for convective circulation.
4
Process Participation Signature ⟨I, O, T⟩
Inputs (I)
PortionOfLiquid
— warm process fluid, typically water
PortionOfGas
— ambient air at atmospheric conditions
Outputs (O)
PortionOfLiquid
— cooled process fluid
PortionOfGas
— heated air, may contain water vapor
Transformation (T)
heat transfer from process fluid to ambient air through convective circulation
Cooling towers have a characteristic two-fluid signature: process fluid (usually water) is cooled while ambient air is heated and potentially humidified. The transformation is purely thermal - no chemical change occurs.
5
Axiom Mode Decision
Necessary conditions only
— modelled as a primitive universal
(⊑, SubClassOf). Identity is grounded in designed
function and cannot be reduced to a property checklist.
Disjointness Axioms
Heater
Boiler
C?: Heater [kind_ambiguous]. C?: Boiler [kind_ambiguous]. Cooling towers remove heat from process fluids while heaters and boilers add heat - these represent incompatible transformation signatures
Cross-Standard Observations
All three sources (ISO 15926, CFIHOS, POSC Caesar) provide highly consistent definitions, all emphasizing the heat exchanger nature, air cooling mechanism, and tower structure. The definitions are remarkably aligned with only minor linguistic variations.
