FLO-Master

Training Seminar
PIPE-FLO® FLO-Master Training Guide

Engineered Software, Inc.

Copyright © 2008 by Engineered Software, Inc.

Engineered Software, Inc. can be found on the web at: [Link]

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 FLO-Master Training Guide

Table of Contents

SECTION 1: Introduction to PIPE-FLO

Program Interface......................................................................................... 1-1
FLO Sheet....................................................................................................................... 1-1
Menu Items ..................................................................................................................... 1-2
Toolbars .......................................................................................................................... 1-2
Fly-By Viewer .................................................................................................................. 1-4
List Window..................................................................................................................... 1-5
System Devices ............................................................................................ 1-6
Tank ................................................................................................................................ 1-6
Pump............................................................................................................................... 1-8
Actuated Control Valve ................................................................................................. 1-11
Component ................................................................................................................... 1-14
Flow Meter .................................................................................................................... 1-15
Demand ........................................................................................................................ 1-16
Node ............................................................................................................................. 1-17
Pipeline ......................................................................................................................... 1-18

SECTION 2: Building a System

Getting Started ............................................................................................. 2-1
Main Menu ...................................................................................................................... 2-1
The Design File ............................................................................................................... 2-2
Units.............................................................................................................. 2-3
Specifications ............................................................................................... 2-4
Fluids ............................................................................................................ 2-6
Drawing Options ........................................................................................... 2-8
Colors ......................................................................................................... 2-10
Summary .................................................................................................... 2-11
Notes .......................................................................................................... 2-12
Links ........................................................................................................... 2-12
DXF Files ...................................................................................................................... 2-13

Table of Contents 1
 Installing Devices ....................................................................................... 2-14
Tank.............................................................................................................................. 2-14
Pump ............................................................................................................................ 2-15
Components ................................................................................................................. 2-16
Controls ........................................................................................................................ 2-18
Flow Meter .................................................................................................................... 2-19
Installing Pipelines ..................................................................................... 2-20
Drawing Pipelines ......................................................................................................... 2-20
Designing Pipelines ...................................................................................................... 2-21
Copy Features .............................................................................................................. 2-26
Pipeline Graph .............................................................................................................. 2-28
Increasing Presentation Value .................................................................. 2-29
Manipulating Symbols and Text ................................................................................... 2-29
Adding Text Notation and Callout Boxes ..................................................................... 2-30

SECTION 3: System Calculations

Calculating the System ................................................................................ 3-1
Initial Calculations .......................................................................................................... 3-1
Setting the Flow Rates ................................................................................................... 3-3
Balancing the System..................................................................................................... 3-5
Pump Selection ............................................................................................. 3-7
Pump Catalogs ............................................................................................................... 3-7
Search Criteria ............................................................................................................... 3-8
Pump Selection List........................................................................................................ 3-9
Pump Evaluation .......................................................................................................... 3-10
Control Valve Specification ....................................................................... 3-12
Specifying Control Valve Data ..................................................................................... 3-12
Copying Control Valve Data ......................................................................................... 3-13
Estimating Control Valve Data ..................................................................................... 3-14
Color Gradients........................................................................................... 3-15
Design Gradients .......................................................................................................... 3-15
Calculation Gradients ................................................................................................... 3-16

2 Table of Contents
SECTION 4: Lineups and Reports
Lineups ......................................................................................................... 4-1
Lineup Overview ............................................................................................................. 4-1
The Design Case Lineup ................................................................................................ 4-1
Creating Lineups ............................................................................................................. 4-2
Copying Lineups ............................................................................................................. 4-3
Sizing a Balancing Orifice ............................................................................................... 4-4
Changing Fluid Properties Between Lineups ................................................................. 4-5
FLO-Links...................................................................................................... 4-6
Adding FLO-Links ........................................................................................................... 4-6
PIPE-FLO Reports ........................................................................................ 4-7
FLO Sheet Reports ......................................................................................................... 4-7
Graph Reports ................................................................................................................ 4-9
Multiple Pipeline Graph Reports ................................................................................... 4-10
List Reports ................................................................................................................... 4-11
Bill Of Materials Reports ............................................................................................... 4-11
Text File Reports .......................................................................................................... 4-11
Piping System Viewer (PSV) Files ............................................................ 4-12
Piping System Viewer Files .......................................................................................... 4-12

SECTION 5: Engineering Data Tables

Engineering Data Tables ............................................................................. 5-1
Website Fluid Tables ...................................................................................................... 5-1
Website Pipe Tables ....................................................................................................... 5-2
Managing Data Tables ................................................................................. 5-3
Table Manager ................................................................................................................ 5-3
Pipe Tables ..................................................................................................................... 5-4
Customizing Pipe Tables ................................................................................................ 5-6
Valve & Fitting Tables ..................................................................................................... 5-7
Customizing Valve & Fitting Tables ................................................................................ 5-8
Fluid Tables .................................................................................................................... 5-9
Creating Custom Specifications ............................................................... 5-10
Creating a Custom Pipe Specification .......................................................................... 5-10
Creating a Custom Pipeline .......................................................................................... 5-11

Table of Contents 3
SECTION 6: Advanced Pumps
Advanced Design Point Search ................................................................... 6-1
The Advanced Pumps System ....................................................................................... 6-1
Static Head and Dynamic Head ..................................................................................... 6-3
Determining the Design Point Total Head ...................................................................... 6-4
Downloading Pump Catalogs ......................................................................................... 6-5
Design Point Search....................................................................................................... 6-6
System Data ................................................................................................................... 6-7
Advanced Criteria ......................................................................................................... 6-10
Evaluating the Pumps .................................................................................................. 6-12
Manual Pump Selection ............................................................................. 6-14
Manual Pump Selection ............................................................................................... 6-14
Manual Pump Data Entry ........................................................................... 6-16
Specifying a Pump from a Manufacturer‟s Curve ........................................................ 6-16
Fixed Speed vs. Variable Speed Operation .............................................. 6-19
Fixed Speed Operation ................................................................................................ 6-19
Variable Speed Operation ........................................................................................... 6-20
Energy Cost Analysis ................................................................................. 6-21
Fixed Speed Operating Costs ...................................................................................... 6-21
Variable Speed Operating Costs ................................................................................. 6-23
Printing an Operating Costs Report ............................................................................ 6-24

SECTION 7: Using X-Link

X-Link............................................................................................................. 7-1
Enabling X-Link .............................................................................................................. 7-1
Querying Data from PIPE-FLO ...................................................................................... 7-2
Assigning Data back to PIPE-FLO ................................................................................. 7-4
X-Link Controls ............................................................................................................... 7-6

SECTION 8: Balancing a System Expansion

Primary/Secondary System ......................................................................... 8-1
The Existing System....................................................................................................... 8-1
The Expanded System ................................................................................................... 8-5
Balancing the Expanded System ................................................................ 8-6
Pump Reconfiguration .................................................................................................... 8-6
Pipeline Reconfiguration ................................................................................................ 8-9
Conclusion .................................................................................................. 8-10

4 Table of Contents
SECTION 9: Campus Chilled Water System
Campus Chilled Water System .................................................................... 9-1
The Preliminary Campus System Design ....................................................................... 9-1
System Requirements .................................................................................................... 9-2
Sizing the System Pumps ............................................................................ 9-2
Sizing the Primary Pumps .............................................................................................. 9-2
Sizing the Secondary Pumps.......................................................................................... 9-4
Sizing the Tertiary Pumps............................................................................................... 9-6
Balancing the Building dP’s ........................................................................ 9-8
Calculate the Building dP‟s ............................................................................................. 9-8
Balancing the Building dP‟s ............................................................................................ 9-9
Conclusion .................................................................................................. 9-10

SECTION 10: Overtime

Overtime Introduction ................................................................................ 10-1
The Cooling Tower System .......................................................................................... 10-1
Running an Overtime Simulation .................................................................................. 10-2
Playback Mode ........................................................................................... 10-4
Running Playback Mode ............................................................................................... 10-4
Results Graphs ........................................................................................... 10-5
Reading Results Graphs ............................................................................................... 10-5
Creating Results Graphs .............................................................................................. 10-6
Events ......................................................................................................... 10-9
The Liquid Transfer System.......................................................................................... 10-9
Reading Events .......................................................................................................... 10-10
Creating Events .......................................................................................................... 10-12
Duplicating Events ...................................................................................................... 10-13
Input Curves ............................................................................................. 10-14
Creating Input Curves ................................................................................................. 10-14
Printing in Overtime ................................................................................. 10-16
Printing Results Graphs .............................................................................................. 10-16
Conclusion ................................................................................................ 10-16

Table of Contents 5
Appendix A: Flow Theory and Equations
Flow Theory and Equations ........................................................................ A-1
Bernoulli‟s Equation........................................................................................................ A-1
The Darcy Formula......................................................................................................... A-3
Determining the Friction Factor ...................................................................................... A-4
Valve and Fitting Losses ................................................................................................ A-7
Determining the Total Pipeline Pressure Drop ............................................................... A-8
Balancing Flows and Pressures ............................................................... A-10
Kirchhoff‟s Laws ........................................................................................................... A-10
Hardy Cross Method .................................................................................................... A-10
Linear Method .............................................................................................................. A-10

Appendix B: Calculation of Fluid Properties

Calculation of Fluid Properties Flow Chart ............................................... B-1

Appendix C: Valve Capacity Factors

Valve Capacity Factors Table ..................................................................... C-1

6 Table of Contents
 SECTION

Engineered Software Incorporated

FLO-MASTER Training Guide

Balancing a
System Expansion
I. Primary/Secondary System
In this example we will look at a balanced and operational primary / secondary system and
observe the effects of a major expansion to the system. We will then investigate the possible
methods of re-balancing the system.

A. The Existing System

In PIPE-FLO, open the system titled System [Link]:

This system consists of a primary loop which is the Power Plant, and a secondary loop
which feeds chilled water to several different buildings. The existing system includes two
primary pumps, two chillers, two secondary pumps, and eight of the loads. The proposed
expansion will include an additional primary pump, chiller, secondary pump, and four more
loads as shown in Figure 8-1.

Figure 8-1 – Primary / Secondary System

Balancing a System Expansion 8-1

 Run system calculations on the Design Case as shown in Figure 8-2:

Figure 8-2 – Primary / Secondary System Design Case

The isolated portions of the system are grayed-out. This is the part of the system which will
be opened up for the expansion.
The design flow for each individual coil load is 5.5 US gpm.
The control valves‟ pressure drops range from about 15 psi to about 27 psi.
The chillers are rated at a capacity of 350 US gpm with a head loss of 25 ft.
Current system load is 660 US gpm.
Expansion will add 396 US gpm to the system load for a total of 1056 US gpm.

Note the performance of the Primary Pumps and graph them as shown in Figure 8-3:
Pumps are balanced vertical inline 3x2-13 1750 rpm pumps with 15 hp motors and 10.5 inch
impellers.
Current system requirements are about 330 US gpm and 94 ft of head per pump.
Expansion tank is pressurized at 10 psig thus providing 56 ft of NPSHa at the pumps.

Note the performance of the Secondary Pumps and graph them as in Figure 8-4:
Pumps are balanced vertical inline 3x2-10 3560 rpm pumps with 25 hp motors and 6.5 inch
impellers.
Current system requirements are about 330 US gpm and 145 ft of head per pump.
Primary pumps are currently providing about 72 ft of NPSHa to the secondaries.

8-2 Balancing a System Expansion

 Figure 8-3 – Primary Pump Graph Window

Figure 8-4 – Secondary Pump Graph Window

Balancing a System Expansion 8-3

 Use Color Gradients for Pipe Nominal Size to note the Header pipe sizes on a sliding
blue scale as shown in Figure 8-5:

Figure 8-5 – Primary / Secondary System Pipe Nominal Sizes

All header pipelines are currently 6 inches nominal size.

Return System to Standard Colors for the Expansion Analysis:

The current design case lineup indicates that the system is balanced and operating properly as
it was designed. In the next step, we will open up the expanded system and observe the
system operation.

8-4 Balancing a System Expansion

 B. The Expanded System
In the expanded system, we will bring the new buildings online as well as add a primary
pump, chiller, and secondary pump. The pumps and chiller must match the current ones for
balanced operation.

Switch to the Expansion Lineup shown in Figure 8-6:

Figure 8-6 – Expanded Primary / Secondary System

The following problems are indicated after the system is calculated:

All control valves indicate that the set flow rate cannot be achieved.
Secondary pumps indicate insufficient NPSHa.
Many header pipelines are indicating high velocity.

Balancing a System Expansion 8-5

II. Balancing the Expanded System
We will look at a couple different methods for overcoming the problems and balancing this
system. First we will investigate a reconfiguration of the pumps. Then we will investigate a
reconfiguration of the header pipelines.

A. Pump Reconfiguration
First let‟s look at the problems resulting from insufficient pressure in the system. The
NPSHa problem at the secondary pumps, and the control valves‟ inability to meet the set
flow rate can both be attributed to insufficient pressure.

Increase the NPSHa to the Secondary Pumps:

1. Point your mouse to the Secondary Pump CW-S {01}.

2. Press the Shift key to read the NPSH available which is 14.07 ft.
3. Graph this pump as shown in Figure 8-7.

Figure 8-7 – Expansion Secondary Pump Graph Window

4. Note that for this design flow rate, the NPSH required by the pump is 19.3 ft.
5. Calculate the amount of NPSHa you would need to satisfy the margin ratio of 1.2.
(an additional 8.87 ft of NPSHa).

8-6 Balancing a System Expansion

 6. Now graph Primary Pump CW-P {01} shown in Figure 8-8. Note that the total head is
89.6 ft.

Figure 8-8 – Expansion Primary Graph Window

7. Increase the impeller diameter by clicking the Up elevator button to the right of the
Dia button until the Head reads above 99 ft (roughly 89.6 ft plus 8.87 ft). This should
increase the diameter to 11 inches.
8. Click OK to save the pump change.
9. Change the impeller diameters on the other two Primary pumps to 11 inches.
10. Again point your mouse to the Secondary Pump CW-S {01}. The pump no longer
indicates insufficient NPSHa. Instead it now indicates that the pump is running outside
of its Preferred Operating Region. We will address this issue in the next section.
11. Press the Shift key to read the NPSH available which is now 25.01 ft. The NPSHa is
now sufficient to run the Secondary pumps.
Note: This change in impeller diameter increases the Primary pumps‟ power to 14 hp.
At the design flow, we could get away with keeping the same 15 hp motors, but
if the motors needed to be sized to the Max Power on Design Curve as they
were originally sized, then this would require larger 20 hp motors.

Balancing a System Expansion 8-7

 Check the Pressure Requirements of the Expanded System Load:

1. Open the List Window and view the Controls. Notice that all of the controls have an
Invalid status.
2. Sort the controls according to the dP column in ascending order. Note the valve at the
top of the list FCV F{016} (which is also the most hydraulically remote loop) requires an
increase in pressure of about 73 psi, or an increase in head of about 169 ft in order to
achieve the set flow rate.
3. Close the list window.

Next, we will see if an increase of 169 ft of head is possible from the Secondary pumps.

Check the Capabilities of the Secondary Pumps:

1. Highlight the Secondary Pump CW-S {01} and graph it. Refer back to Figure 8-7. At
the expanded design flow rate of 352 US gpm, this pump is currently supplying 136 ft of
total head.
2. Calculate the amount of total head you would need to satisfy the requirements of the
expanded system load:
(Now add a 10% safety margin of about 30 ft)

3. Look at the graph to see if the point 352 US gpm and 335 ft head is in the range of the
pump. It appears to be so.

Next, we will increase the system pressure by increasing the impeller diameters on the
Secondary pumps.

Increase the System Pressure:

1. Increase the impeller diameter by clicking the Up elevator button to the right of the
Dia button until the Head reads at or above 335 ft. This should increase the diameter
to 9.125 inches.
2. Click OK to save the pump change.
3. Change the impeller diameters on the other two Secondary pumps to 9.125 inches.
Note that the invalid control valves have now been fixed.
4. Again open the List Window and view the controls. Note that the control dP‟s are now
ranging from about 13 psi to about 33 psi. This is right where we want them.
5. Close the List Window.
6. Graph one of the Secondary Pumps. Note that the pumps are now operating much
more efficiently, and are no longer outside of the Preferred Operating Range.
Note: This change in impeller diameter increases the Primary pumps‟ power to about
46 hp. This is up from about 20 hp in the unexpanded system. This pump
reconfiguration would require new 50 hp motors in addition to the new impellers.

This method of balancing the Expanded piping system focuses solely on the pumping
configuration. The requirements included replacement pump impellers, and even
replacement motors. We solved the pressure related problems in the system; however, we
still have an issue with high fluid velocities in the header pipelines. In the next section we
will address these issues.

8-8 Balancing a System Expansion

 B. Pipeline Reconfiguration
This time we will look at the pipelines which have high velocities. In the long term, the
higher velocities can have an erosion effect on the pipelines so this is a problem which
should be addressed. The design flow rates through the header pipelines are not going to
change, so the only way to drop the fluid velocity is to increase the pipe size. In this
example we will change the header pipe sizes and show you how this affects the pressure
and friction losses in the system.

Reopen the System [Link] example:

1. From the File menu in PIPE-FLO, reopen the System Expansion piping project.
2. DO NOT save the changes.
3. Switch to the Expansion lineup and calculate the system.

Open the System [Link] spreadsheet:

1. Start Microsoft Excel and open the System Expansion spreadsheet which is located in
the Projects directory of My Engineering Files. The spreadsheet should resemble
Figure 8-9.

System Expansion Example

Header Current Assignment Assigned
Pipelines Nominal Size Code Nominal Size
Chiller Feed 6 6 6
Pri Supply 6 6 6
Sec Supply 6 6 6
SH {001} 6 6 6
SH {002} 6 6 6
SH {003} 6 6 6
SH {004} 6 6 6
SH {005} 6 6 6
SH {006} 6 6 6
SH {007} 6 6 6
SH {008} 6 6 6
SH {009} 6 6 6
SH {010} 6 6 6
SH {011} 6 6 6
Bypass 6 6 6
RH {012} 6 6 6
RH {011} 6 6 6
RH {010} 6 6 6
RH {009} 6 6 6
RH {008} 6 6 6
RH {007} 6 6 6
RH {006} 6 6 6
RH {005} 6 6 6
RH {004} 6 6 6
RH {003} 6 6 6
RH {002} 6 6 6
RH {001} 6 6 6
Return 6 6 6
Figure 8-9 – System Expansion Spreadsheet

Balancing a System Expansion 8-9

 This spreadsheet contains X-Link queries for all of the header pipe sizes. It also contains
assignment codes to assign new pipe sizes to the header pipelines. Right now, all of the
header pipelines have a nominal size of 6 inches.

The headers which are taking the full system capacity have a fluid velocity of 11.74 feet per
second. The velocity slows at you move further away from the Secondary pumps. But the
system specifications call for a fluid velocity at or below 8.5 feet per second. Let‟s see what
happens if we bump the header pipelines up to 8 inches.

Increase Header Pipelines to 8 inch Nominal Size:

1. In the System Expansion spreadsheet highlight the first numerical cell in the green
“Assigned Nominal Size” column (cell E4).
2. Enter a value of 8.
3. Drag this value down through all of the green cells. Notice the “Assignment Code”
column values have also turned to the value of 8 and are ready to be written back into
the PIPE-FLO system.
4. Click the Read/Write button from the X-Link toolbar to reassign the header pipeline
nominal sizes. Now the “Current Nominal Size” column is updated.
5. Switch to PIPE-FLO and recalculate the system. Note the following:
The system resistance has decreased significantly enough to allow all of the control
valves to operate properly.
Control valves are dropping between 26 psi and 39 psi.
All of the pipeline velocities are within specs (less than 8.5 ft/sec).
The NPSH available to the Secondary pumps has increased from 14.07 ft to 75.97 ft
thus avoiding cavitation issues.
The only remaining issue is that the Secondary pumps are operating outside of their
preferred operating region. This is more of a warning than an issue.
6. Graph Secondary Pump CW-S {01}. Refer back to Figure 8-7. With the same design
flow rate being demanded of the Secondary pumps, the curves are going to look the
same. However, now with much less system resistance, the pumps provide a dramatic
increase in pressure to the system, thus allowing the control valves to operate. The
operating points are just barely outside of the preferred operating region, so this isn‟t so
much of an issue.
Note: If you wanted to, you could increase the impeller diameters of the Secondary
pumps to bring those pumps into the preferred operating region, however that
would require the additional cost of impeller replacement, and you would also
run the risk of over pressurizing the system.

III. Conclusion
The conclusion here is that there are several ways to go about balancing a system. In our case,
an increase in header pipe size took care of most of the problems with the Expanded system.
However, header replacement is by no means an inexpensive project. It is quite an involved
process. But if the fluid velocities must be kept in check, then this would be the first step in
rebalancing the system. Reconfiguring the pump impellers and motors is another option, but
this doesn‟t relieve the high fluid velocities. The final solution may be a combination of these
methods.

8-10 Balancing a System Expansion

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