GROUP 1 Distribution of air in an air conditioning system

NASRUL ALIF BIN AMALUDDIN & SURIANI BINTI SHAFIE

DUCTING NETWORK & DISTRIBUTION OF AIR

INTRODUCTION Duct are use in heating, ventilation & air conditioning (HVAC) to deliver and remove air Consist of supply air, return air & exhaust air Duct system also call ductwork

PRESSURE DROP

1. 2. 3.

Pressure drop is cause by: Friction Vertical pipe difference or elevation Change of kinetic energy

to Determine of pressure drop, 1st find the Reynolds number

Where, Re = Reynolds number = Velocity of flow D = diameter of pipe V =Kinematics viscosity

If the Reynolds number < 2000, than you have laminar flow.
Laminar flow is characterized by the gliding of concentric cylindrical layers past one another in orderly fashion. The velocity of the fluid is at its maximum at the pipe axis and decreases sharply to zero at the wall. The pressure drop caused by friction of laminar flow does not depend of the roughness of pipe. If the Reynolds number > 4000, you have turbulent flow. There is an irregular motion of fluid particles in directions transverse to the direction of the main flow. The velocity distribution of turbulent flow is more uniform across the pipe diameter than in laminar flow. The pressure drop caused by friction of turbulent flow depends on the roughness of pipe.

2nd ) Select Absolute Pipe Roughness :

Absolute Roughness, e Pipe Material x 10-6 feet micron (unless noted)

drawn brass
drawn copper commercial steel wrought iron asphalted cast iron galvanized iron cast iron wood stave Concrete riveted steel

5
5 150 150 400 500 850 600 to 3000 1000 to 10,000 3000 to 30,000

1.5
1.5 45 45 120 150 260 0.2 to 0.9 mm 0.3 to 3 mm 0.9 to 9 mm

Included here is a sampling of absolute pipe roughness e data taken from Binder (1973). These values are for new pipes; aged pipes typically exhibit in rise in apparent roughness. In some cases this rise can be very significant. Relative pipe roughness is computed by dividing the pipe diameter D, by the absolute roughness e

Relative roughness = D e

The solutions to this calculation is plotted vs. the Reynolds number to create a Moody Chart.

example

Air at 20o C is flowing at 27.69 m/s through 24 inch GI .Is the flow laminar or turbulent ? velocity = 27.69 m/s V (kinematic viscosity)= 1.51 x 10-5 m2 /s Diameter= 0.610 m Re =

27.69 m/s (0.610 m ) 1.51 x 10-5 m2 /s = 1.118602 x 106 so the flow is turbulent

Determine Relative pipe roughness : Relative roughness = D e e Galvanized iron = 500 x 10 -6 ft Diameter = 0.610 m Relative roughness = 0.610 m 500 x 10 -6 ft = 1220

Apply to moody diagram

Determine Pressure drop in circular pipes:

Where: = Pressure Drop = Pipe Friction Coefficient L = Length of Pipe D = Pipe Diameter p = Density = Flow Velocity

HYDRAULIC DIAMETER

The hydraulic diameter - dh - is used to calculate the dimensionless Reynolds Number to determine if a flow is turbulent or laminar. A flow is laminar if Re < 2000 transient for 2000 < Re < 4000 turbulent if Re > 4000 The hydraulic diameter is also used to calculate the pressure loss in a ducts or pipe.

The hydraulic diameter is not the same as the geometrical diameter in a non-circular duct or pipe and can be calculated with the generic equation dh = 4 A / p (1) where: dh = hydraulic diameter (m, ft) A = area section of the duct (m2, ft2) p = wetted perimeter of the duct (m, ft)

Hydraulic Diameter of a Circular Tube or Duct

Based on equation (1) the hydraulic diameter of a circular duct can be expressed as: dh = 4 r2 / 2 r = 2 r (2) where r = pipe or duct radius (m, ft) As we could expect the hydraulic diameter of a standard circular tube or duct is two times the radius

Hydraulic Diameter of a Circular Tube with an inside Circular Tube

Based on equation (1) the hydraulic diameter of a circular duct or tube with an inside duct or tube can be expressed as

dh = 4 ( ro2 - ri2) / (2 ro + 2 ri) = 2 (ro - ri) (3) where ro = inside radius of the outside tube (m, ft) ri = outside radius of the inside tube (m, ft)

Hydraulic Diameter of Rectangular Tubes or Ducts

Based on equation (1) the hydraulic diameter of a rectangular duct or pipe can be calculated as

dh = 2 a b / (a + b) (4) where a = width/height of the duct (m, ft) b = height/width of the duct (m, ft)

EQUIVALENT DIAMETER

The hydraulic diameter is not the same as the equivalent diameter. The equivalent diameter is the diameter of a circular duct or pipe that gives the same pressure loss as a rectangular duct or pipe.

The equivalent diameter of a rectangular tube or duct can be calculated as (Huebscher) de = 1.30 x ((a x b) ^0.825) / (a + b)0.25) (1) where de = equivalent diameter (mm, inches) a = length of major or minor side (mm, inches) b = length of minor or major side (mm, inches)

Equivalent diameters for some common mm rectangular dimensions are shown in the table below:
Circular equivalent diameter - de (mm) Duct side - b (mm) Duct side - a mm

100

150

200

250

300

400

500

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

2000

100 150 200

109 133 152

133 164 189

152 189 219

168 210 244

183 229 266

207 261 305

227 287 337 310 365

250
300 400 500 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000

168
183 207 227

210
229 260 287 310

246
266 305 337 365 414

273
299 343 381 414 470 517

299
328 378 420 457 520 574 620

343
378 437 488 531 609 674 731 781

381
420 488 547 598 687 762 827 886 939

414
457 531 598 656 755 840 914 980 1041 1096

470
520 609 687 755 875 976 1066 1146 1219 1286 574 674 762 840 976 1093 1196 1289 1373 1451 1523 731 827 914 1066 1196 1312 1416 1511 1598 1680 886 980 1146 1289 1416 1530 1635 1732 1822 1041 1219 1373 1511 1635 1749 1854 1952 1286 1451 1598 1732 1854 1968 2073 1523 1680 1822 1952 2073 2186

Equivalent diameters of some common inches rectangular ducts are shown in the table below:

Equivalent diameter (inches)

Length - a - (inches)

Length - b - (inches)

10

12

16

4.4

4.9

5.3

6.1

4.9

5.5

6.9

7.6

5.3

6.6

7.6

8.4

9.1

6.1

6.9

7.6

8.6

9.8

10.7

12.2

10

7.6

8.4

9.8

10.9

12

13.7

12

9.1

10.7

12

13.1

15.1

16

12.2

13.7

15.1

17.5

Oval Equivalent Diameter

The equivalent diameter of a oval duct or tube can be calculated as (Heyt & Diaz)

de = 1.55 A0.625/P0.2 (2)

where A = cross-sectional area oval duct (m2, in2) P = perimeter oval duct (m, inches)

The cross-sectional area of an oval duct can be expressed as A = ( b2/4) + b(a - b) (2a) where a = major dimension of the flat oval duct (m, in) b = minor dimension of the flat oval duct (m, in) The perimeter of an oval duct can be expressed as P = b + 2(a - b) (2b)

FABRICATION OF DUCTING
Duct materials

1.

There are several type of ducting material :

Galvanized steel Polyurethane duct board (Preinsulated aluminum ducts) Fiberglass duct board (Preinsulated non metallic ductwork) Flexible tubing

2.
3.

4.

Galvanized steel
Various fittings allow transitioning between the various shapes and sizes can easily be cut and bent to form additional shapes when required. commonly wrapped or lined with fiberglass thermal insulation, both to reduce heat loss or gain through the duct walls and water vapor from condensing on the exterior of the duct when the duct is carrying cooled air. Insulation, particularly duct liner, also reduces duct-borne noise. Both types of insulation reduce 'breakout' noise through the ducts' sidewalls.

Polyurethane duct board (Preinsulated aluminum ducts)

Rectangular ducts are more being manufactured from duct board no need any further insulation. Among the various types of rigid polyurethane foam panels available, a new water formulated panel stands out the foaming process is obtained through the use of water instead of the CFC, HCFC, HFC and HC gasses The foam panels are then coated with aluminum sheets on either side, with thicknesses that can vary from 50 micrometers for indoor use to 200 micrometer for external use in order to guarantee the high mechanical characteristics of the duct. The ducts construction starts with the plotting of the single pieces on the panel. The pieces are then cut from the panel (with a 45 cut as explained below), bent if necessary in order to obtain the different fittings, and finally closed through an operation of gluing, pressing and taping.

Fiberglass duct board (Preinsulated non metallic ductwork)

Also the fiberglass panels provide built-in thermal insulation and the interior surface absorbs sound, helping to provide quiet operation of the HVAC system. The duct board is formed by sliding a specially-designed knife along the board using a straightedge as a guide; the knife automatically trims out a "valley" with 45 sides; the valley does not quite penetrate the entire depth of the duct board, providing a thin section that acts as a hinge. The duct board can then be folded along the valleys to produce 90 folds, making the rectangular duct shape in the fabricator's desired size. The duct is then closed with staples and special aluminum or similar 'metal-backed' tape. Commonly available duct tape should not be used on air ducts, metal, fiberglass, or otherwise, that are intended for long-term use; the adhesive on so called 'duct tape' dries and releases with time.

Fiberglass duct board

Flexible tubing

known as flex, have a variety of configurations, but for HVAC applications, they are typically flexible plastic over a metal wire coil to make round, flexible duct. Most often a layer of fiberglass insulation covers the duct, and then a thin plastic layer protects the insulation. Flexible duct is very convenient for attaching supply air outlets to the rigid ductwork. However, the pressure loss through flex is higher than for most other types of ducts. As such, designers and installers attempt to keep their installed lengths (runs) short, e.g., less than 15 feet or so, and to minimize turns. Kinks in flex must be avoided. Flexible duct is normally not used on the negative pressure portions of HVAC duct systems.

Flexible tubing

Duct system components

Vibration isolation

A duct system often begins at an air handler. The blowers in the air handlers can create substantial vibration and the large area of the duct system would transmit this noise and vibration to the inhabitants of the building. To avoid this, vibration isolators (flexible sections) are normally inserted into the duct immediately before and after the air handler. The rubberized canvas-like material of these sections allow the air handler to vibrate without transmitting much vibration to the attached ducts.

Take-offs

Downstream of the air handler, the supply air trunk duct will commonly fork, providing air to many individual air outlets such as diffusers, grilles, and registers. When the system is designed with a main duct branching into many subsidiary branch ducts, fittings called take-offs allow a small portion of the flow in the main duct to be diverted into each branch duct. Take-offs may be fitted into round or rectangular openings cut into the wall of the main duct. The take-off commonly has many small metal tabs that are then bent to retain the take-off on the main duct; round versions are called spin-in fittings. Other take-off designs use a snap-in attachment method, sometimes coupled with an adhesive foam gasket to provide improved sealing. The outlet of the take-off then connects to the rectangular, oval, or round branch duct.

Terminal units

While single-zone constant air volume systems typically don't have them, other types of air distribution systems often have terminal units in the branch ducts. Usually there is one terminal unit per thermal zone. Some types of terminal units are VAV 'boxes' of either single or dual duct, fan-powered mixing boxes of either parallel or series arrangement, and induction terminal units. Terminal units may also include either, or both, a heating or cooling coil.

Air terminals

'Air terminals' are the supply air outlets and 'return' or 'exhaust air inlets'. For supply, diffusers are most common, but grilles, and for very small HVAC systems such as in residences, 'registers' are also used widely. Return or 'exhaust grilles' are used primarily for appearance reasons, but some also incorporate an air filter and are known as 'filter returns'.