Dust Control Basics
SOME CONCEPTS ON HOW GRAIN FACILITY BAGHOUSE SYSTEMS WORK
Participants at a pre-conference workshop at GEAPS Exchange 2001 view a demonstration of how
to balance the flow of air through ducting in a baghouse dust control system. Photo by Ed Zdrojewski.
This series is based on a pre-confer-
ence workshop held prior to the start of
GEAPS Exchange 2001 in March in
Phoenix, AZ. This first part is based on
remarks by Delmar Mains, dust control
projects engineer for The Boone Group,
Boone, IA (800-265-2010/www.
boonegroup.com).
The first step toward learning how
to manage a grain facility dust control
system is to learn some terms com-
monly used in the dust control indus-
try and some of the physical prin-
ciples governing air carrying particu-
late matter through an enclosed pipe
or duct.
Some Basic Formulas
The two most common measure-
ments used in dust control systems
are:
• CFM – cubic feet per minute, a
measure of a volume of air through a
duct.
• FPM – feet per minute, a measure
of the velocity of air through a duct.
Many of the calculations used in
designing or troubleshooting a dust
Reprinted from March/April 2001 GRAIN JOURNAL
control system involve the cross-sec-
tional area of a duct. Most of the ducts
used in the grain industry for dust
control are round. The formula for
finding the cross-sectional area of a
round duct is:
(Pi) x (radius) x (radius)
Pi is a constant number, approxi-
mately 3.14. The radius is half the
diameter of the duct.
Say you have a round duct, 28
inches in diameter. To determine the
cross-sectional area, calculate:
(3.14) x (14 inches) x (14 inches)
= 615.44 sq. in.
Most formulas used in designing
dust control systems utilize feet, not
inches. To convert this number into
square feet, divide by 144: 4.27 sq. ft.
Occasionally, rectangular ducting
is used in dust control systems. The
formula for determining cross-sec-
tional area in rectangular ducts:
(height) x (width)
FIRST IN A SERIES
For example, take a rectangular
duct measuring 24 inches x 26 inches:
(24 inches) x (26 inches) = 624 sq.
in.
To get square feet, divide by 144:
4.33 sq. ft.
Determining Velocity and Volume
You need a number of things to
determine the velocity of air and par-
ticulate matter moving through a duct:
• Laminar flow, also known as “non-
turbulent flow,” is a gas or fluid mov-
ing in parallel layers. The laminar
flow of air in a duct usually is mea-
sured at five to 10 pipe diameters
downstream from a transition point
such as a change in the diameter of a
round duct or an elbow.
• Measuring laminar flow requires a
pitot tube, an inexpensive device avail-
able from most industrial distributors.
A pitot tube is a double-walled, L-
shaped tube with holes in the outer
wall. The shorter end of the tube is
inserted into the duct and pointed
upstream. The longer end is connected
to a manometer or MagnehelicTM
gauge, to measure velocity pressure.
• A Magnehelic gauge, available from
Dwyer Instruments, Michigan City,
IN (219-879-8000/www.dwyer-
inst.com), registers velocity pressure and
gives a readout in “inches of water.”
• Inches of water (WC) is a measure
of pressure expressed as a weight per
area. One inch of water is the weight
of a 1-inch-high column of water
covering one inch square of area. In
dust control applications, it is the
pressure that 1 cu. in. of water exerts
on 1 sq. in. of area. One cubic inch of
water weighs 0.03606 lbs. Therefore
1 in. WC = 0.03606 psi (pounds per
square inch). Thus 27.7 in. WC exerts
1 psi of pressure.
In dust control applications, inches
of water are used to measure pressure
losses in air conveying ducts, static
pressure in fan applications, and pres-
sure drop across filter bags.
• As air moves through a duct and
strikes a solid unmoving object, say
the end of a pitot tube, it generates a
pressure against that object. This is
the velocity pressure.
Converting Velocity Pressure to FPM
As air moves against the mecha-
nism of a pitot tube, the Magnehelic
gauge reads the pressure generated in
inches of water. To convert the veloc-
ity pressure of air to fpm, the formula
is:
(The square of the velocity pres-
sure in inches water) x (4,004, a
constant number)
For example, take a 14-inch-diam-
eter round duct. A Magnehelic gauge
measures 1.15 in. WC inside the duct.
To find the velocity of air in fpm:
(1.15 inches) x (1.15 inches) x
(4,004) = 5,295 fpm.
The fpm, in turn, is used to calcu-
late the cfm, or volume of air moving
through the duct. In this last example
of the 14-inch-diameter duct, first
calculate the duct’s cross-sectional area:
(3.14) x (7) x (7) / 144 = 1.07 sq.
ft.
Second, use this formula to calcu-
late cfm:
(Velocity) x (cross-sectional area)
In this example:
(1.07 sq. ft) x (5,295 fpm) = 5,666
cfm
Pressure Loss in Round Ducts
Duct manufacturers make available
charts showing pressure loss over a given
distance for the various diameter ducts
they sell. Pressure loss is a measurement
of the pressure required to move a given
volume of air through a given length and
diameter of round duct. These charts
are based on this formula:
(2.74) x (Velocity)1.9 x (Length)
501,187 x (Diameter) 1.22 x (100)
• “2.74” is a constant number for a
particular type of duct commonly
used in grain dust collection systems,
with seams at a given distance.
• “Velocity” is in fpm.
• “1.9” is an exponent to the veloc-
ity in fpm.
• “Length” is in feet.
• “501,187” is the number 1,000
raised to the 1.9 power.
• “Diameter” is the diameter of the
duct in inches.
• “1.22” is an exponent to the
diameter.
Here’s an example of how to use
this formula to calculate pressure loss
in a duct. Take a 5-inch-diameter
duct that is 60 feet long. Using a pitot
tube and Magnehelic gauge, you find
that the duct has an air velocity of
4,589 fpm. Applying the formula:
1.9
(4,589) = 9,062,840
1.22
(5) = 7.12
(2.74) x (9,062,840) x (60)
(501,187) x (7.12) x (100)
Run it through your calculator, and
you get a pressure loss of 4.18 in. WC.
Here are some rules of thumb for
pressure loss in ducts:
• A 10% increase in velocity results
in a 20% increase in static pressure.
• The smaller the duct size, the
greater the pressure loss.
• The longer the duct run, the
greater the pressure loss.
• Elbows and transitions add to the
pressure loss.
• A 90-degree elbow 10 inches in
diameter has the same pressure loss as
20 feet of 10-inch-diameter straight
pipe.
• Pressure loss where the air enters
a hood also must be accounted for in
a ducting system. While this can vary
according to the hood design, a rule
of thumb commonly used in dust
control system design is to use 1 in.
WC.
Fan Selection
You need to know several things to
make a proper fan selection.
• You need to know your applica-
tion. Different types of fans are used
for clean vs. dust-laden air and for
different types of dust.
• You need to know the cfm and
static pressure required in order to
determine proper fan size, rpm, and
horsepower.
• You’ll need to see the fan curve,
available from the fan manufacturer.
The fan curve shows how it will per-
form at a given rpm.
With most fans, the greater the
static pressure, the less air it will
move. There is a maximum static
pressure a fan will produce at a given
rpm. If the baghouse system demands
a greater static pressure, the fan has
reached its peak on the curve and will
go to the “back side of the curve,”
where its performance is very unpre-
dictable.
For this reason, Fan Curve A on page
70 shows a poor choice, because it is in
the unpredictable range. It’s not cer-
tain that it will produce the 20,000
cfm for which it is designed. In fact, it
is not certain it will move any air at all.
Fan Curve B depicted on this page
is a better choice, because if the static
pressure requirement were to go as
high as 12 in. WC, the fan will still
move about 16,500 cfm, sufficient for
many grain elevator applications.
Ed Zdrojewski, editor
Sample Fan Curve A (Poor Choice)
and Sample Fan Curve B (Better
Choice) on page 3.