Tag: pipe restriction

Pressure Drop and Compressed Air Piping

Published on by John BallLeave a comment

EXAIR has been manufacturing Intelligent Compressed Air Products since 1983. They are engineered with the highest of quality, efficiency, safety, and effectiveness in mind. Since compressed air is the utility for operation, the performance limitations can be defined by its supply. With EXAIR products and pneumatic equipment, you will need a way to transfer the compressed air from the source to the point-of-use. There are three main ways; pipes, hoses and tubes.

One of the largest systematic problems with compressed air systems is pressure drop.  If too large a pressure loss occurs, pneumatic equipment will not have enough power to operate effectively and efficiently.  The amount of pressure drop is based on restrictions, obstructions, and piping.  When air is forced into small areas, it will cause a high velocity.  The high velocity will create turbulent air flow which increases the pressure loss.  A restrictive type of pressure drop can be found in different forms, like small diameter pipes or tubing; or restrictive fittings like quick disconnects and needle valves, and undersized filters, regulators and valves. 

Why did I bring this up? Pressure drop… Pressure Drop is a waste of energy, and it reduces the ability of your compressed air system to do work. To cut waste, we need to reduce pressure drop.  If we look at the equation for pressure drop, we can find the factors that play an important role. Equation 1 shows an equation for pressure drop.

Equation 1:

From Equation 1, differential pressure is controlled by the flow of compressed air, the length of the pipe, the diameter of the pipe, and the inlet pressure. As you can see, the pressure drop is inversely affected by the inner diameter to the fifth power. So, if the inner diameter of the pipe is twice as small, the pressure drop will increase by 25, or 32 times.

It is very important to know the inner diameter of the supply lines to your pneumatic devices.  As an example, a model 110006 6” Super Air Knife will need a 3/8″ black, schedule 40 pipe that has an I.D. of 0.493″ (12.5 mm).  We use this pipe to flow 21 SCFM of compressed air at 100 PSIG through 50 feet of pipe.  What would be the pressure drop?  With Equation 1, we get a pressure drop of 1.28 * (21 SCFM/60) ^1.85 * 50 feet / ((0.493″)^5 * 100 PSIG) = 3.15 PSID.  Thus, you started with 100 PSIG, and at the end of the 50 ft. pipe, you will only have (100 PSI – 3.15 PSI) = 96.85 PSIG to use. 

Let’s look at a 3/8” hose and a 3/8” tube. The 3/8” hose has an inner diameter of 0.375” (9.5 mm), and the 3/8” tube has an inner diameter of 0.25” (6.4 mm). In keeping the same variables except for the diameter, we can calculate the pressure drop with the above equation. 3/8″ hose = 1.28 * (21 SCFM/60) ^1.85 * 50 feet / ((0.0.375″)^5 * 100 PSIG) = 12.4 PSID. 3/8″ tube = 1.28 * (21 SCFM/60) ^1.85 * 50 feet / ((0.25″)^5 * 100 PSIG) = 94 PSID.

As you can see, the 3/8” hose has a pressure drop 3.94 times higher than the 3/8″ NPT pipe. Also, the 3/8″ tube has a pressure drop 7.6 times higher than the hose. 

Diameters: 3/8″ Pipe vs. 3/8″ tube

At EXAIR, we want to make sure that our customers are able to get the most from our products. To do this, we need to properly size the compressed air lines. Within our installation sheets for our Super Air Knives, we recommend the in-feed pipe sizes for each air knife at different lengths. (You will have to sign in to the website to download).  We also have an excerpt about replacing schedule 40 pipe with a compressed air hose. We state; “If compressed air hose is used, always go one size larger than the recommended pipe size due to the smaller I.D. of hose”. Here is the reason. The 1/4” NPT Schedule 40 pipe has an inner diameter of 0.364” (9.2mm). Since the 3/8” compressed air hose has an inner diameter of 0.375” (9.5mm), the diameter will not create any additional pressure drop. Some industrial facilities like to use compressed air tubing instead of hoses. This is fine as long as the inner diameters match appropriately with the recommended pipe in the installation sheets. Then you can reduce waste from pressure drops and get the most from your EXAIR as well as all other pneumatic products.

With the diameter playing such a significant role in creating or mitigating pressure drop, it is very important to understand the type of connections to your pneumatic devices; i.e. hoses, pipes, or tubes. In most cases, this could be the reason for the under performance of your pneumatic products, as well as wasting money through operation of your compressed air system. If you would like to discuss further the ways to save energy and reduce pressure drops, an Application Engineer at EXAIR will be happy to help you.

John Ball
Application Engineer
Email: johnball@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_jb

When Sizing Long Pipe Runs, Make Sure to Add in the Pipe Fittings

Published on by John BallLeave a comment

IM on Compressed Air Line Sizes for Cabinet Cooler
Installation and Maintenance information on Compressed Air Line Sizes for Cabinet Cooler

 

EXAIR uses this statement in their installation manuals to help determine the correct size pipe for our products. The above statement came from our large NEMA 4-4X Cabinet Cooler installation manual.  There are some important factors to consider when using this guideline to ensure proper air flow.

A customer installed a model 4840 EXAIR NEMA 4 Cabinet Cooler, and he was not getting the proper cooling. In diagnosing compressed air issues, one of the first things that we ask our customers is “What is the air pressure at the device?”  He attached a pressure gauge at the Cabinet Cooler, and he was reading 45 psig; much too low for proper cooling.  He sent me a photo of the setup and some details of the compressed air system supplying the Cabinet Cooler.  We needed to find the restriction to properly supply enough compressed air to the unit.

Westinghouse Cabinet Cooler

In the details that he sent, they ran 43 feet of 1/2” copper compressed air tubing from the header to the Cabinet Cooler. He mentioned that they had one angled Safety Valve at the beginning and twelve elbows in that run.  (Apparently they had to get around and through things to reach the location of the Cabinet Cooler).  They did have a pressure gauge in the header that read 105 psig.

The first thing that I noticed was that they were using compressed air tubing instead of compressed air pipe or hose. Tubing is measured by the outer diameter while the compressed air hoses are measured by the inner diameter.  So, in the statement above when it references ½” I.D. hose, ½” tubing will have a much smaller I.D., and in this case, it had a 3/8” I.D.  With this smaller flow area, this will increase the restriction.  In calculating the pressure drop in 43 feet of ½” tubing, it would be roughly a 27 psi drop at 40 SCFM.  If they have 105 psig at the header, they should be reading 78 psig at the Cabinet Cooler.  Being that they were only reading 45 psig, where is the rest of the restriction?

The answer to that question is in the fittings. When you have pipe fittings like elbows, tees, reducers, etc., they will add pressure drop to your system as the compressed air travels through them.  There is a method to calculate compressed air runs with pipe fittings in terms of Effective Length.  Effective length is a way to estimate the same pressure drop through a similar length of pipe to a pipe fitting.  This can be very important when running compressed air lines for EXAIR products.  Once we have the effective length of a pipe, then we can use the requirements in the installation manual for sizing compressed air lines properly.  The chart below shows the equivalent lengths by fitting category.

Equivalent Length

In the application above, the customer used 43 feet of 3/8” I.D. line, 12 pcs. of 3/8” regular 90 deg. elbows, and one 3/8” angled valve. The equivalent length of pipe can be calculated as 43 feet + 12 * 3.1 feet + 1 * 15 feet = 95.2 feet.  As you can see, with all the fittings, the equivalent length of pipe extended from 43 feet to 95.2 feet.  If we recalculate the pressure loss for 93.2 feet of ½” tubing, then we get a pressure loss of 58 psi at 40 SCFM.  From the header, this will equate to a pressure of 47 psig at the EXAIR Cabinet Cooler.  This is very close to the reading that he measured.  He asked me to recommend the proper size pipe, and by using the equivalent length and the installation manual, I suggest that he should use either ½” NPT pipe or 5/8” O.D. copper tubing for a 95 feet run.  This would only create a 5 psi pressure drop which would properly supply the model 4840 Cabinet Cooler with 40 SCFM.

If you are wanting to use tubing in your compressed air lines, you will need to use the inner diameter for sizing. Also, if you have many fittings, you can add them to your pipe lengths to get an equivalent overall length.  With the above methods to correctly size the compressed air lines, your EXAIR products will be able to work effectively and properly.

John Ball
 Application Engineer
Email: johnball@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_jb