Air Conditioning System Design lecture No.
(2)
Pressure Losses in Ducts
A little consideration will show that the pressure is lost due to friction
between the moving particles of the fluid (i.e. air) and the interior surfaces of
a duct. When the pressure loss occurs in a straight duct, it is usually termed as
friction loss. The pressure is also lost dynamically at the changes of direction
such as in bends, elbows etc. and at the changes of cross-section of the duct.
This type of pressure loss is usually termed as dynamic loss.
1- Pressure Loss due to Friction in Ducts
The pressure loss due to friction in ducts may be obtained by using the
Darcy's formula
𝐿 𝑣2
𝐻 = 4𝑓 (m in H2O)
𝐷 2𝑔
If the friction loss is presented in the form of pressure loss ∆𝑃 in Pa
𝐿
∆𝑃 = 2𝑓 𝜌 𝑣2
𝐷
Where f: friction factor
L: length of duct, (m)
D: diameter of duct, (m)
v: mean air velocity in duct, (m/s)
∆𝑃: Pressure drop in Pa
For rectangular ducts
Because rectangular ducts are widely in air conditioning, an equation
for pressure drop is
𝐿
∆𝑃 = 2𝑓 𝜌 𝑣2
𝐷𝑒
𝐷𝑒 : Is the equivalent diameter of the rectangular duct in (m)
4 × 𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎
𝐷𝑒 =
𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟
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Air Conditioning System Design lecture No. (2)
For the circular ducts
4 × (𝜋 𝐷2 ⁄4)
𝐷𝑒 = =𝐷
𝜋𝐷
For rectangular ducts:
4×𝑎 ×𝑏 2𝑎 𝑏 2𝑎
𝐷𝑒 = = = 𝑎
2(𝑎 + 𝑏) (𝑎 + 𝑏) +1
𝑏
Where:
𝑎
: Aspect ratio (should not be greater than 4)
𝑏
Friction Factor for Ducts
The friction factor f is a function of the Reynolds and the relative
roughness of the pipe surface 𝜖 ⁄𝐷 where 𝜖 is the absolute roughness in
meters.
𝐼𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑎 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝜌𝑣𝐷𝑒 𝑣𝐷𝑒
𝑅𝑒 = = =
𝑉𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑠 µ 𝜈
Where 𝜌: density of fluid, (kg /m3)
𝑣: Velocity of fluid, (m/s)
𝐷𝑒 : Characteristic length, (m)
µ: Viscosity or absolute viscosity (N-s/m2)
𝜈: Kinematic viscosity (m2/s)
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Air Conditioning System Design lecture No. (2)
Material Absolute roughness ε (m)
Riveted steel 0.0009 – 0.009
Concrete 0.0003
Galvanized Iron (GI) sheet 0.0003 to 0.003
Cast Iron (CI) 0.00026
Commercial steel 0.00046
Sheet steel 0.00015
The moody chart is use for determining friction factor, and equation
bellow:
2
1
𝑓=
𝐷 9.3
1.14 + log − 2 log (1 + )
[ 𝜖 𝑅𝑒 (𝜖 ⁄𝐷) √𝑓 ]
Note:
When the friction factor f is obtained from the Moody chart, then the
pressure loss due to friction in a circular duct of diameter D is given by:
𝐿 𝜌𝑣 2 𝑓𝐿
∆𝑃 = 4𝑓 =4 𝑝
𝐷𝑒 2 𝐷𝑒 𝑣
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Air Conditioning System Design lecture No. (2)
Fig.(1)
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Air Conditioning System Design lecture No. (2)
2-Dynamic losses in ducts:
Dynamic pressure loss takes place whenever there is a change in either
the velocity or direction of airflow due to the use of a variety of bends and
fittings in air conditioning ducts. Some of the commonly used fittings are:
enlargements, contractions, elbows, branches, dampers etc. Since in
general these fittings and bends are rather short in length (< 1 m), the major
pressure drop as air flows through these fittings is not because of viscous drag
(friction) but due to momentum change.
𝑝1 𝑣12 𝑝2 𝑣22
+ + 𝑔𝑧1 = + + 𝑔𝑧2
ρ 2 ρ 2
2-1 Sudden enlargement:
The pressure loss due to sudden enlargement, shown in Fig. (2), ΔPde
is given by Borda-Carnot equation as:
Fig.(2)
𝜌 𝑣12 𝐴1 2
∆𝑝𝑑𝑒 = (1 − )
2 𝐴2
Where
𝑣1 : The velocity before enlargement.
𝐴1 : The area before enlargement.
𝐴2 : The area after enlargement.
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Air Conditioning System Design lecture No. (2)
2-2 Sudden contraction:
A sudden contraction is shown in Fig. (3). Similar to sudden
enlargement, the dynamic pressure loss due to sudden contraction ΔPdc can be
obtained analytically. This expression is also known as Borda-Carnot
equation. It is given by:
Fig(3)
2 2
𝜌 𝑣22 𝐴2 𝜌 𝑣22 1
∆𝑝𝑑𝑐 = ( − 1) = ( − 1)
2 𝐴1ˋ 2 𝐶𝐶
𝑣2 : The velocity in the downstream.
𝐴1ˋ : The area van contract.
𝐴2 : The area after contraction.
𝐴1ˋ
𝐶𝐶 ∶ Contraction coefficient =
𝐴2
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Air Conditioning System Design lecture No. (2)
𝐴2 2
𝐶𝐶 1
𝐴1 ( − 1)
𝐶𝐶
0.1 0.624 0.366
0.2 0.632 0.34
0.3 0.643 0.31
0.4 0.659 0.27
0.5 0.681 0.221
0.6 0.712 0.16
0.7 0.755 0.103
0.8 0.813 0.05
0.9 0.892 0.01
1 1 0
Note
Comparing the expressions of pressure loss for sudden enlargement and
sudden contraction, it can be seen that for the same flow rates and area ratios,
the pressure drop due to sudden enlargement is higher than that due to sudden
contraction.
Turns, bends or elbows
o
The most common type of bends used in air conditioning ducts are 90
turns shown in Fig. (4).
Fig.(4)
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Air Conditioning System Design lecture No. (2)
The cross-section of the elbow could be circular or rectangular.
𝑳 𝑹 𝒏 𝑯 𝟎.𝟏𝟐𝟔
= [𝟎. 𝟑𝟑 ] 𝒏 = 𝟐. 𝟏𝟑 ( )
𝑾 𝑾 𝑾
Equivalent length of the
Equivalent length of the
rectangular bends
circular bends
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Air Conditioning System Design lecture No. (2)
The chief requirements of an air conditioning duct system are:
1. It should convey specified rates of air flow to prescribed locations.
2. It should be economical in combined initial cost, fan operating cost and cost
of building space.
3. It should not transmit or generate objectionable noise.
General rules for duct design:
1. Air should be conveyed as directly as possible to save space, power and
material
2. Sudden changes in directions should be avoided. When not possible to
avoid sudden changes, turning vanes should be used to reduce pressure loss
3. Diverging sections should be gradual. Angle of divergence ≤ 20°
4. Aspect ratio should be as close to 1.0 as possible. Normally, it should not
exceed 4
5. Air velocities should be within permissible limits to reduce noise and
vibration
6. Duct material should be as smooth as possible to reduce frictional losses
Note:
Recommended air velocities depend mainly on the application and the
noise criteria. Typical recommended velocities are:
Residences: 3 m/s to 5 m/s
Theatres: 4 to 6.5 m/s
Restaurants: 7.5 m/s to 10 m/s
If nothing is specified, then a velocity of 5 to 8 m/s is used for main
ducts and a velocity of 4 to 6 m/s is used for the branches. The allowable air
velocities can be as high as 30 m/s in ships and aircrafts to reduce the space
requirement.
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Air Conditioning System Design lecture No. (2)
Duct design methods:
Velocity method:
The various steps involved in this method are:
1. Select suitable velocities in the main and branch ducts.
2. Find the diameters of main and branch ducts from airflow rates and
velocities for circular ducts. For rectangular ducts, find the cross-
sectional area from flow rate and velocity, and then by fixing the
aspect ratio, find the two sides of the rectangular duct
3. From the velocities and duct dimensions obtained in the previous
step, find the frictional pressure drop for main and branch ducts
using friction chart or equation.
4. From the duct layout, dimensions and airflow rates, find the
dynamic pressure losses for all the bends and fittings
5. Select a fan that can provide sufficient FTP for the index run
6. Balancing dampers have to be installed in each run. The damper in
the index run is left completely open, while the other dampers are
throttled to reduce the flow rate to
the required design values.
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Air Conditioning System Design lecture No. (2)
Ex. Calculate the dimensions of the main duct and branches using the
velocity reduction method.
Solution:
1) 𝑸𝒕 = 𝑸𝑬 + 𝑸𝑭 + 𝑸𝑫
𝑸𝒕 = 𝟏 + 𝟑 + 𝟒 = 𝟖 𝒎𝟑 /𝒔
2) Choose velocity in AB let 8 m/s
3) From ASHRI chart finds:
D = 1.12m ∆𝒑 = 𝟎. 𝟓 𝒑𝒂/𝒎
4) Each branch chooses velocity and put the result in table
section L Q V D ∆𝒑
(m) (𝒎𝟑 /𝒔) (m/s) (m) (𝒑𝒂/𝒎)
A-B 30 8 8 1.13 0.5
B-C 15 7 7 1.12 0.38
B-E 30 1 3 021 0.65
C-F 15 3 6 0. 78 0.46
C-D 75 4 6 0.92 0.39
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Air Conditioning System Design lecture No. (2)
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Air Conditioning System Design lecture No. (2)
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