PIPENET VISION TRAINING MANUAL STANDARD: CHAPTER 2
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PIPENET VISION STANDARD MODULE
CHAPTER 2
COOLING WATER SYSTEMS
1. Introduction
In this chapter, we apply the principles developed in Chapter 1 to a closed-loop cooling
water system.
The objectives of this example are to learn how to do the following:
• To perform a pipe-sizing calculation.
• To select a pump.
• To balance the system in order to eliminate excess flow.
• To model a closed-loop system.
The above items form the main steps in the hydraulic design of a closed-loop system, and
they are considered in detail in this example.
2. Preliminary Discussion
The cooling water system has three heat exchangers in parallel, with a single pump driving
the system. The heat exchangers have the following design data (taken from data
sheets).
Heat Exchanger Flow Rate Pressure Loss
Type (US gpm) (psi)
DE01 250 5
DE02 300 5.5
DE03 350 4.6
The fluid is water at 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
The first step is the pipe-sizing calculation, as the other steps (such as pumps) depend on
the results of this step. The pipe schedule that is to be used is an ANSI Schedule 40 pipe.
When pipe-sizing calculations are performed, it is mandatory to select a pipe schedule.
The maximum velocity for the pipe sizing to be used is 10 ft/sec. In this case, no pipe size
is specified, and PIPENET VISION needs to calculate all of the pipe sizes.
The second step is to fix the pipe diameters. If the pipe diameters are not fixed, they could
keep changing, since the specifications are changed in the case studies.
In general, in any cooling water system, the heat exchangers will not receive exactly the
required water flow rates. Therefore, some external device (such as, for example, an
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orifice plate or a throttle valve) needs to be used with the heat exchangers in order to
balance the flow rates. It is likely that balancing can be achieved during commissioning.
Even so, we need to show that this is feasible, or, at least, we have to determine the
required performance of the pumps when the flows are balanced. The likelihood is that
this approach would give rise to a smaller pump in comparison to an unbalanced system.
If the flow rates were not balanced, the total flow rate through the system would be higher
than in a balanced system. In this example, we consider how to use orifice plates to
balance the flow rates. This calculation would also give the required performance of the
pump.
The schematic form of the network for this example is shown below. When you input the
schematic, please use the same order as shown in the diagram below. If you input the
data in a different order, it will be more difficult to enter subsequent data. The results,
however, will of course be the same.
Pipes 6, 7 and 8 on the schematic represent the three heat exchangers. Actually, the
symbols DE01, DE02 and DE03 are the device fittings that represent the heat exchangers.
User-defined device fittings are a convenient way of modelling heat exchangers for which
the design flowrate and pressure drop can be taken from the data sheets. An example of
how the user-defined device fitting can be input is shown below.
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To create a device fitting, click on the New Button and complete the dialog box, as shown
below. Please do not create a device yet, as we shall create new devices later in this
document.
3. Training Examples
3.1 Case 1: Pipe-sizing Phase
3.1.1 Initialisation
The option groups are displayed in the Options Menu, and we consider the appropriate
groups one at a time.
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Title
Input the title (namely, “Closed Loop Cooling System”).
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Module Options
Choose the following general options.
Units
The units for the model are tabulated below.
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Variable Unit
Length m
Diameter mm
Velocity m/sec
Temperature Celcius
Density kg/m3
Viscosity cP
Power kW
Heat capacity J/kg K
Pressure psi G
Flow type Volumetric
Flow rate US gpm
Specify these units in the Units Page.
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Fluid
Choose the fluid to be water at 20 degrees Celcius.
Pipe Types
Select the Pipe Types Tab, click on the New Button, and choose “AnsiB3610_40” from the
combo box by “Schedule”. Then, for all of the pipes of this type, specify a maximum
velocity of 3.05 m/sec (i.e., 10 ft/sec) in the rows of the table.
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In general, it is better to exclude non-preferred sizes (that is, sizes that are not commonly
used in engineering) because, if they are not excluded, PIPENET VISION may include
these sizes in the design phase. In this example, two non-preferred sizes are excluded
(namely, 65 mm and 90 mm).
Exclude the non-preferred sizes by highlighting them and clicking on the button “Avoid in
Design”. The resulting dialog box is shown below.
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3.1.2 Input the Schematic Drawing
In order to perform pipe-sizing calculations, we must enter the network, which is shown
above, in Section 2 (entitled “Preliminary Discussion”). Begin by entering the network in
the suggested order, to preserve the pipe labels. Then delete Pipes 7 and 8, and the
pump. To delete an item, right click on the item (e.g., a pipe), and then select “Delete”
from the menu. The resulting system is shown below. If you do not follow the same
sequence for the input, it may be difficult to input the attribute data later, as the labels will
not correspond to one another.
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The pipe data is shown below. For simplicity, all fittings are ignored. The pipe roughness is
0.0018 inches for all pipes. Because it is intended that PIPENET VISION will determine
the pipe sizes, the pipe diameters are left unset. For this reason, the following table
contains only the pipe label and the length. Remember that, although the lengths for Pipes
7 and 8 appear in the table below, these must be omitted from the current example. They
will, however, be required in later cases.
Pipe Label Pipe Length (ft) Pipe Length (m)
1 40 12.192
2 30 9.114
3 45 13.716
4 15 4.572
5 15 4.572
6 1 0.3048
7 1 0.3048
8 1 0.3048
9 15 4.572
10 15 4.572
11 45 13.716
12 30 9.144
13 80 24.348
14 20 6.096
The attributes of the pipes are shown below. For convenience reasons, no fittings are
input. These parameters can be input by either (a) clicking on the individual pipes, and
inputting the data using the Properties Window or (b) opening the data window (from the
View Menu) and selecting pipes in the pull-down Browse Menu (which is shown below).
Please note that there are elevation changes associated with Pipes 5 and 10. All of the
pipe diameters are left unset, as these diameters will be calculated in the Design Phase.
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The pump is not yet selected because it depends upon the pipe sizes. As the pump is not
selected, it cannot be input into the network.
There is a choice of whether or not to input the heat exchangers into the network. We
choose to leave out two of the heat exchangers from the network. If we left out all of them,
then we would have a disjoint network, and it is not possible to perform a pipe-sizing
calculation with a disjoint network.
The alternative would have been to leave in all the heat exchangers and then perform the
calculation. The drawback with this approach is that the flow rate through the heat
exchangers may not necessarily be what is required. So, it is possible that PIPENET
VISION would select inappropriate pipe sizes.
3.1.3 Input the Specifications
PIPENET VISION performs the calculation twice in the Design Mode.
Design Phase: During this phase, PIPENET VISION determines the pipe sizes.
Calculation (or Analysis) Phase: During this phase, PIPENET VISION performs
the final analysis calculation.
There are basically two reasons why the calculation is performed twice, and why there are
two sets of specifications.
• Pipe sizing could be based on its own operating conditions, which are different from
the actual operating conditions of today. So, pipe sizing can take into account the
possibility of a future expansion. On the other hand, pipe sizing could be based on
the summer operation, whereas the final calculation could be based on the winter
operation.
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• The pipe sizes are generally a function of the flow rates that they need to handle.
During the Design Phase, all but one specification must be a flow rate; whereas,
during the Calculation Phase the specifications will generally consist of a mixture of
flow rates and pressures.
It is clear, therefore, that two sets of specification must be provided. Firstly, we discuss
the rules governing specifications in the Design Mode. The variables Np and Nf must
satisfy the constraints given in the following table.
Phase Np Nf
Design 1 (mandatory) Nio – 1 (mandatory)
Calculation Np >= 1 Nf = Nio - Np
Here,
Np is the number of pressure specifications,
Nf is the number of flow specifications,
Nio is the number of input/output specifications.
In this case, we shall assume that the same specifications are used during the Calculation
Phase and the Design Phase. To input the node specifications, either (a) click on the
node of interest and input the data in the Properties Window or (b) select the nodes in the
Data Window. The specifications that we use are as follows.
Node Type Design Phase Specification Analysis Phase Specification
Label Pressure Flow Rate Pressure Flow Rate
(psi) (gpm) (psi) (gpm)
1 Inlet - 900 - 900
5 Outlet - 350 - 350
6 Outlet - 300 - 300
7 Inlet - 350 - 350
8 Inlet - 300 - 300
13 Outlet 60 - 60 -
Once these values have been added, double check that all of the data has been entered
correctly by selecting “Design spec.” and “Calculation spec.” under the Browse Option on
View | Data window.
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Note that, as it is necessary to have at least one pressure specification, the pressure of
60 psi on Node 1 is an arbitrary value. Its precise value does not matter in the pipe-sizing
phase, because the value does not affect the flow rates through the pipes.
As the input flow rate is 900 US gpm, and the two output nodes have a total of
650 US gpm, the flow rate through DE01 will automatically become 250 US gpm.
3.1.4 Create the Exchangers as User-defined Fittings
Display the dialog box for user-defined fittings by selecting Fittings from the Libraries Menu
(i.e., Libraries | Fittings). To input a new fitting, select the New Button, then select
“Device”, and input the data for DE01, using values from the following table.
Heat Exchanger Flow Rate Pressure Loss
Type (US gpm) (psi)
DE01 250 5
DE02 300 5.5
DE03 350 4.6
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Note that, in order for the device to be loaded into the library, the Apply Button must be
clicked. Now add the other two devices in a similar way.
An example of the pull-down menu and the dialog box are shown below.
Device fitting
Now input DE01 on Pipe 6 as a fitting, as follows. Firstly, click on the pipe in the Schematic
Window, click on the Fittings Tab (next to the Properties Tab), select “DE01” from the
menu, and click on the Add Button.
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3.1.5 Perform Pipe Sizing
Calculate Icon Design Option
The selection of the Design Option informs PIPENET VISION that pipe sizing is to be
carried out. Now, use either Calculation | Calculate or the Calculate Icon to perform the
Design Calculation.
The diameters calculated by PIPENET VISION are shown below.
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Pipe Label Diameter (inches) Diameter (mm)
1 6 150
2 5 125
3 4 100
4 4 100
5 4 100
6 4 100
9 4 100
10 4 100
11 4 100
12 5 125
13 6 150
14 6 150
The above values were taken from the Data Window of the PIPENET VISION Standard
Module. Please note that the diameters in the Data Window (in the diagram below) have a
yellow background. This background colour is used to indicate that PIPENET VISION is
still in the Design Mode. So, if the operating conditions are changed, and a calculation is
performed, the diameters could still change.
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3.1.6 Results
The pressures at the nodes and the flow rates in the pipes are shown in the schematic
below.
We note the following about the pressure drops that are available to drive the heat
exchangers (by looking at the pressures at Nodes 4, 5, 6, 7,8 and 9).
Heat Required Pressure Available Pressure Difference
Exchanger Drop (psi) Drop (psi) (psi)
DE01 5 68.372 - 63.357 = 5.015 0.015
DE02 5.5 64.452 - 58.758 = 5.694 0.194
DE03 4.6 69.226 - 62.503 = 6.723 2.123
Incidentally, during the calculation step, a K-factor for the heat-exchanger device (fitted to
Pipe 6) has also been calculated, and is illustrated below.
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3.2 Case 2: Balancing the Flow
We can fix the calculated pipe diameters by changing the calculation option from “Design”
to “Calculate”.
Calculate Option
is selected
Until the option is switched to “Calculate”, if a change is made to some data, the diameters
calculated by PIPENET VISION could change. For example, if the flow rate through a
heat exchanger were adjusted, the diameter might change (which may not be the
intention). The objective might be to see what happens if the pipes were fixed (at the
calculated sizes) but the flow rates were increased. In order to achieve this goal, it is at
some point necessary to fix the diameters. Choosing the Calculate option achieves this
goal.
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Once the Calculate Mode is chosen, the yellow background of the diameters disappears,
indicating that the diameters will no longer automatically change. The user can, of course,
change the diameters if required; however, the diameters will not change simply because
an operating condition is changed.
3.2.1 Balancing the Flow
The requirements of the heat exchanger and the pressure availability are shown in the
following table.
Heat Flow Rate Pressure Available Difference
Exchanger (US gpm) Loss (psi) Pressure Drop (psi)
Type (psi)
DE01 250 5.0 5.015 0.015
DE02 300 5.5 5.694 0.194
DE03 350 4.6 6.723 2.123
The Heat exchanger DE01 works exactly as it should. The flow rate is 250 US gpm and
the pressure loss is 5 psi. The reason is because the flowrate in that part of the system is
250 US gpm, and DE01 will give a pressure loss of 5 psi at that flow rate. Therefore, from
a flow balancing point of view, no change needs to be made.
The Heat exchanger DE02 deviates very slightly from the required performance. The flow
rate is 300 US gpm by virtue of the specification, but the pressure difference available is
5.694 psi (64.452 - 58.758). This value is only slightly greater than the required pressure
loss. So, it is a matter of engineering judgement as to whether or not a restriction orifice
plate is needed in this line. In order to achieve an ideal system, we shall place a restriction
orifice plate in our model.
The Heat exchanger DE03, on the other hand, requires a pressure-loss device. The
pressure difference available is 6.723 psi, as opposed to a requirement of 4.6 psi. For this
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reason, it is important to place this pressure-loss device in this line. If this pressure loss is
not used then this heat exchanger is liable to drain the system, starving the other heat
exchangers of water. (An alternative way of rectifying this problem would be to obtain a
larger pump. As well as the additional cost, it is also possible that heat exchanger DE03
would receive more water than desired.) One option is to place an orifice plate in front of
heat exchanger DE03, which creates a pressure loss of 2.123 psi.
Two Discussion Points
• Although we are planning to place restriction orifice plates in the required parts of
the system, what we are really trying to do is to optimise the system so that we are
able to determine the smallest pipe sizes and the smallest pump. So, in the actual
detailed design of the system, we may in fact use throttle valves instead of orifice
plates. What the calculation shows is the actual design performance of the pump
that would exactly meet the requirements of the heat exchangers, if the throttle
valves were set to achieve exactly the required flow rates through the heat
exchangers.
• One question that arises is what it means if the available pressure drop for a heat
exchanger is less than the pressure drop the heat exchanger would produce. For
example, suppose that DE02 had an available pressure drop of 5 psi instead of the
required value of 5.5 psi. In this case, the connecting link in the system would be
DE02, rather than DE01. The network would look as shown below. This
arrangement would ensure that the requirements of DE02 were exactly met.
3.2.2 Adding Orifice Plates
We now return to the task of placing orifice plates to balance the flow.
The icon for the Orifice Plate Tool is indicated below.
Use this tool to place two orifice plates on Pipes
Orifice 4 and
Plate Tool 5, as shown below.
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The Properties Dialog Boxes for the two orifice plates are as follows.
3.2.3 Results
Perform the analysis calculation to obtain the following results.
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We note that the required diameters of the two orifice plates are 72.0202 mm and
89.666 mm. We enter these values for the diameter of the orifice plate, instead of the
required pressure drop. (If we do make this change, the diameter could change between
calculations.)
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As a check, we make sure that the results are the same with the orifice plate diameter
fixed.
We note from the above results that the predicted operating point of the pump is a flow
rate of 900 US gpm, and pressure differential of 10.478 psi (i.e., 70.478 – 60.0). So, in
order to cover ourselves, we select a pump that is a little larger than this requirement.
3.3 Case 3: Comparison With an Un-optimised Case
We now adopt a simple-minded approach and assume that the pump will be rated at
900 US gpm. Also, in order to select that pump, we want to determine the head that is to
be generated by the pump.
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3.3.1 Case 3a
In this case, we must put Pipes 7 and 8 back into the network, with their fittings DE03 and
DE02 respectively. Set the diameter and length of Pipes 7 and 8 to be the same as the
values for Pipe 6. The nodes at the ends of Pipes 7 and 8 are no longer input/output
nodes, so change their properties accordingly. Also, remove the orifice plates.
After performing the calculation, we see that two of the heat exchangers receive less than
the required flow.
3.3.2 Case 3b
On the basis that the most deficient heat exchanger should deliver around 20 US gpm, we
can change the inlet flowrate to 960 US gpm and look at its effect.
We can see from the results below that the pump needs to deliver 960 US gpm with a
head of 4.902 psi. This compares with an optimised requirement of 900 US gpm with a
head of 10.478 psi. In a large system, the difference could be substantial.
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3.4 Case 4: Modelling the System with a Selected Pump and the Heat
Exchangers in Place
It can be seen from the results of the calculation that the required pump should generate a
minimum head of 10.478 psi at a flow rate of 900 US gpm.
3.4.1 Creating a Pump
Let us assume that the performance curve of the selected pump has the following data
points.
Flow Rate (US gpm) Pressure Generated (psi)
1200 10
900 11
600 12
300 12.7
Using the above pump data, the pump is built in PIPENET VISION via Libraries |
Pumps – Coeffs. unknown.
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After the pump data has been entered, the pump can be stored in a library and used in the
network. Also, the heat exchangers can be inserted into the network, after which the final
calculations can be carried out.
3.4.2 Preliminary Calculation
We perform a preliminary calculation and check that we have input the heat exchangers
correctly. It is best to carry out this calculation without the pump, since the pump is slightly
oversized, and would not be a like-for-like comparison. The orifice plates are now put back
(as in Case 2), and the input flow rate is switched back to 900 US gpm.
We can see from the schematic diagram below that the results are comparable to the
results from the previous case. So, we conclude that the heat exchangers have been
input correctly.
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We can now insert the pump into its appropriate place. At this stage, we cannot perform a
calculation with the pump inserted, as there will be no specifications in the system. There
is a particular way in which the specifications should be given for a closed-loop system
and this point is discussed below.
3.4.3 Dealing with the Closed Loop System
The only question that remains is how to deal with a closed-loop system. Strictly speaking,
no system is ever a completely closed loop. If it were, the pressure in the system could, in
theory, reach its potential value. In a closed-loop cooling system, there is usually a point
that provides make up. In fact, no system is ever a completely closed loop, as it will always
have a connection of some sort to the outside world, and this connection would enable us
to set a pressure specification. It could be a make up tank or, indeed, a cooling tower. In
either case, we would know the pressure at some point in the system. We break the
system by creating two input/output nodes at the point where the pressure is known, and
then specify the known pressure at these nodes.
Let us assume that the make up tank creates a pressure of 60 psi at Node 12. Then we
create an open loop using the following steps.
Firstly, we break the loop at Node 12 and create one input node and one output node, and
then set a specification of 60 psig at each of the two nodes. Later, we insert a pump
between the Nodes 13 and 1. Please note that a pump is a directional element and so it
must be entered in the correct direction.
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Break the loop
at this node
Right click and select “Explode Node”.
This command splits the single Node 12 into two nodes (namely, 12 and 14).
Next, left click on Node 14, and then drag it to lie just below Node 12.
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3.4.4 Inserting a Pump into the Network
Create a pump between Nodes 13 and 1, and then select the required pump type from the
library (as there may be more than one type in the library).
Choose the pump
type from the library
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Also change the types of the end nodes of the pump to be internal nodes (by clicking on
each node in turn, and changing the appropriate setting in the Properties Window).
Change from an
input node to an
internal node
Change from
“Input” to “No”
Repeat this procedure for the output node (Node 13).
3.4.5 Pressure Specifications
Apply a pressure specification of 60 psig to Nodes 12 and 14. The procedure for Node 14
is illustrated below.
Specify a pressure of
60 psig at this node
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3.4.6 Results
The final results for the whole system (complete with the pump, heat exchangers and
make up tank) are shown on the schematic below.
This completes the design of the system, including pipe sizing, pump selection, flow
balancing and dealing with the closed loop.