AHU Casing

General discussion / Salient features: AHU unit casing plays an important role in the overall energy efficiency, maintainability of the HVAC system. It shall consist of the following: Unit construction shall be modular, double skin insulated panel type with sandwiched insulation. Unit Casing shall have a facility to provide three dimensional restraints in case of seismic activity. All modules to ensure perfect continuity of the air passage tunnel with thermal bridge breakage and a smooth interior finish Avoid any rough points at the joining surfaces to prevent any dust build-ups encouraging microbial growth. The panels shall be double skin type with a uniform thickness of 50 mm, Insulation could be from the following: Glass wool 32 kg/m3, M0 fire class, CE certified; k= 0.64 W/m.K, or Rock wool 70 kg/m3, M0 fire class, CE certified, k= 0.7 W/m.K, or Polyurethane foam 40 kg/m3, M1 fire class, k= 0.58 W/m.K, complying with class 0 requirements as defined in the Building Regulations, with skin thickness as to suit method of manufacture. Thermal insulation shall be fitted without any cavities. The Casing strength shall comply with Class 2A classification, Casing air leakage shall comply with Class B/B, Filter bypass air leakage shall comply with Class F9. The casing Thermal Conductivity shall comply with Class T2, with the casing Thermal Bridge complying with Class TB2, Acoustical Insulation of casing shall comply with Eurovent standard. The AHU filter mounting frames shall be C4 corrosion class such that they do not rot under an urban saline environment. Filter frames shall be fully gasketed, front removal, low energy bag filters to minimise energy use and filter bypass. All internal materials used shall be abrasion resistant, emission free, odourless material and non metabolisable by micro-organisms. Seals shall not absorb moisture nor provide a nutrient substrate for micro-organisms.

Specification: The AHU shall be of the self-supporting type without framework, and of perfectly smooth metallic interior construction without any visible screws. The unit construction shall be modular, double skin insulated panel type with sandwiched insulation. The unit assembly shall be of rigid construction and made corrosion resistant internally and externally. Depending on the type of seismic activity in the area, snubbers shall be provided along the base channel to provide three dimensional restraints in case of seismic activity. During normal

operation, vibration isolation from building structure shall be provided through base foundation. For seismic active zones, seismic cables shall be used to restraint movement in case of seismic activity in accordance to BS ISO 12930 other international standards like SEI/ASCE7 standards and /or relevant local area codes may also be used. The Air handling unit sections, accessories, and components with reinforcement strong enough to withstand seismic forces defined in Division 23"vibration and seismic controls for HVAC piping and Equipment". The AHUs shall be delivered with a continuous base frame. This base frame comprises the required openings of sling hooks / handling as well as openings for attaching rubber pads. The liaisons between modules ensure perfect continuity of the air passage tunnel with thermal bridge breakage and a smooth interior finish without any rough points at the joining surfaces to prevent any dust build-ups encouraging microbial growth. Where the module framework is Penta-post or similar design, the manufacturer shall ensure that the penta-post shall incorporate a thermal break in order to prevent condensation on the AHU outer skin, under no circumstances should condensation be formed on the outer skin of the penta-post or AHU outer skin. Interior wall surfaces shall be smooth without open adsorption surfaces, no porous material in air flow direction shall be used. The panels shall be double skin type with a uniform thickness of 50 mm, Insulation could be from the following: Glass wool 32 kg/m3, M0 fire class, CE certified; k= 0.64 W/m.K, or Rock wool 70 kg/m3, M0 fire class, CE certified, k= 0.7 W/m.K, or Polyurethane foam 40 kg/m3, M1 fire class, k= 0.58 W/m.K, complying with class 0 requirements as defined in the Building Regulations, with skin thickness as to suit method of manufacture. Thermal insulation shall be fitted without any cavities. The Casing strength shall comply with Class 2A classification, Casing air leakage shall comply with Class B/B, Filter bypass air leakage shall comply with Class F9. The casing Thermal Conductivity shall comply with Class T2, with the casing Thermal Bridge complying with Class TB2, Acoustical Insulation of casing shall comply with Eurovent standard. The AHU shall have Eurovent certification or equivalent international certification to guarantee that the published data is accurate. The AHU filter mounting frames shall be C4 corrosion class such that they do not rot under an urban saline environment.

All internal materials used shall be abrasion resistant, emission free, odourless material and non metabolisable by micro-organisms. Seals shall not absorb moisture nor provide a nutrient substrate for micro-organisms. Hexagonal inserts shall be factory-fitted and pre-positioned to ensure perfect compression of the tightness seals between the modules during assembly on site. The modules shall be fastened from the outside by means of a thermal bridge breakage system (angle pieces and bolts). For outside installation, a roof shall be mechanically fixed on top part of AHU. Additional considerations for wind loading on the AHU shall be carried out based on BS 6399-2:1997 Code of practice for wind loads or any other equivalent international standard. Air handling units mounted outdoors shall have a weatherproof outer casing and a pitched roof constructed of weather tight metal decking with water seals in all joints. The inner skin shall be 0.8 mm thick galvanized sheet steel. With an optional skin of 1 mm thick aluminium or stainless sheet steel. The outer skin shall be 1 mm thick sheet steel, pre painted in RAL 9010 colour with an epoxy primer undercoat and a 25 micron thick polyester topcoat with resistance to salt spray test for 750 hours. The panels shall be fastened to each other by means of screws countersunk in the panels (to ensure absence of localized thermal bridges) with screws equipped with panel-coloured plastic caps. The hinges shall be polyamide (anticorrosion) offset type. The door locking system shall comprise progressive tightening, rotor locking handles for door alignment and /or proprietary and proven techniques to ensure perfect seal continuity (on both the positive pressure and negative pressure sides) between the doors and the panels. These handles shall be operated with the aid of a triangular key (in compliance with the EC directive on machinery safety). All localized thermal bridges shall be avoided using proprietary methods. The AHUs shall be designed so that all sections are accessible for cleaning from upstream and downstream by way of access doors or access panels. Alternatively, sections up to 1.6 m interior height may be designed to pull out. All internal electrical components and entire AHU shall be suitably earthed including equipotential bonding in accordance with IEEE 142-2007 (IEEE Recommended Practice for Grounding of Industrial and Commercial Power Systems). Each section shall be identified by a clear stencil description on the casing.