Tag: pressure differential

Compressed Air Distribution System, Keeping Pressure Drop to a Minimum

Published on by johnball2014Leave a comment

Compressed air is used to operate pneumatic systems within a facility, and it can be separated into three categories; the supply side, the demand side, and the distribution system.  The supply side is the air compressor, after-cooler, dryer, and receiver tank that produce and treat the compressed air.  They are generally located in a compressor room somewhere in the corner of the plant.  The demand side is the collection of devices that will use that compressed air to do “work”.  These pneumatic components are generally scattered throughout the facility.  To connect the supply side to the demand side, a compressed air distribution system is required.  Distribution systems are pipes which carry the compressed air from the compressor to the pneumatic devices.  For a sound compressed air system, the three sections have to work together to make an effective and efficient system.

An analogy that I like to use is to compare the compressed air system to an electrical system.  The air compressor would be considered the voltage source, and the pneumatic devices would be marked as light bulbs.  To connect the light bulbs to the voltage source, electrical wires are needed which will represent the distribution system.  If the gauge of the wire is too small to supply the light bulbs, the wire will heat up and a voltage drop will occur.  This heat is given off as wasted energy, and the light bulbs will be dim.  The same thing happens within a compressed air system.  If the piping size is too small, a pressure drop will occur.  This is also wasted energy.  In both types of systems, wasted energy is wasted money.  One of the largest systematic problems with compressed air systems is pressure drop.  If too large of a pressure loss occurs, the pneumatic equipment will not have enough power to operate effectively and efficiently.  As shown in the illustration below, you can see how the pressure decreases from the supply side to the demand side.  With a properly designed distribution system, energy can be saved; and, in referencing my analogy above, it will keep the lights on.

Pressure Drop Chart

To optimize the compressed air system, we need to reduce the amount of wasted energy.  This can be caused from leaks or pressure drop.   Leaks can be hidden and are typically located at connections within the distribution system.  In a poorly maintained system, a study found that 30% of the compressor capacity is lost through air leaks on average.  Even though leaks are the “silent killer” to a compressed air system, they can be found with the Ultrasonic Leak Detector. 

Pressure drop is more of a wide range issue.  It is based on restrictions, obstructions, and piping surface.  Out of these, restrictions are the most common types of pressure drops. The air flow is forced into small areas, causing high velocities.  The high velocity creates turbulent flow which increases the losses in air pressure.  Flow within the pipe is directly related to the velocity times the square of the diameter.  So, if you cut the I.D. of the pipe by one-half, the flow rating will be reduced by 25% of the original rating.  Restriction type of pressure drop can be found in different forms like small diameter pipes or tubing; restrictive fittings like quick disconnects and needle valves, and undersized filters, regulators and valves.

As a rule, air velocities will determine the correct pipe size for the distribution system.  It is beneficial to oversize the pipe to accommodate for any expansions in the future.  For header pipes, the velocities should not be more than 20 feet/sec (6 meter/sec).  For the distribution lines, the velocities should not exceed 30 feet/sec (9 meter/sec).  In following these simple rules, the distribution system can effectively supply the necessary compressed air from the supply side to the demand side.

To have a properly designed distribution system, the pressure drop should be less than 10% from the reservoir tank to the point-of-use.  By following the tips above, you can have the supply side, demand side, and distribution system working at peak efficiency.  If you would like to reduce waste even more, EXAIR offers a variety of efficient, safe, and effective compressed air products to fit within the demand side.  This will include the EXAIR Super Air Knives, Super Air Nozzles, and Safety Air Guns.  This would be the pneumatic equivalent of changing those incandescent light bulbs into LED light bulbs.  If you wish to go further in optimizing your system, an Application Engineer at EXAIR will be happy to help you. 

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

Photo:  Lightbulb by qimono.  Pixabay Licence

Pressure Drop Chart by Compressed Air Challenge Organization.

The Difference Between a Hose and a Tube and Their Effect on Pressure Drop

Published on by johnball2014Leave 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 source 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. In this blog, I will compare the difference between compressed air hoses and compressed air tubes.

The basic difference between a compressed air hose and a compressed air tube is the way the diameter is defined.   A hose is measured by the inner diameter while a tube is measured by the outer diameter. As an example, a 3/8” compressed air hose has an inner diameter of 3/8”. While a 3/8” compressed air tube has an outer diameter that measures 3/8”. Thus, the inner diameter of the tube will be smaller than the hose.

Why do 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.

As an example, we have a 1/2″ black schedule 40 pipe which has an I.D. of 0.622″.  We use this pipe to flow 40 SCFM of compressed air at 100 PSIG through 100 feet.  What would be the pressure drop?  With Equation 1, imperial units, we get a pressure drop of 1.28 * (40 SCFM/60) ^1.85 * 100 feet / ((0.622″)^5 * 100 PSIG) = 6.5 PSID.  Thus, you started with 100 PSIG, and at the end of the pipe, you will only have (100 PSI – 6.5 PSI) = 93.5 PSIG to use.  Sizing pipe is very important when supplying compressed air to your system as pressure drop is a waste of energy.

Let’s revisit the 3/8” hose and 3/8” tube. The 3/8” hose has an inner diameter of 0.375”, and the 3/8” tube has an inner diameter of 0.25”. In keeping the same variables except for the diameter, we can make a pressure drop comparison in Equation 2.

Equation 2:

As you can see, by using a 3/8” tube in the process instead of the 3/8” hose, the pressure drop will be 7.6 times higher.  As an example, if the pressure drop through a 3/8″ hose is 1 PSID, and you decide to switch out to a 3/8″ tube.  The pressure drop will then be 7.6 PSID, and a big loss of pressure.

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 infeed pipe sizes for each air knife at different lengths. (You will have to sign into 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 drop and get the most from your EXAIR products.

With the diameter being such a significant role in creating 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 under performance of your pneumatic products, as well as wasting money within 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

Photo: Manometers by WebLab24_Siti_Web . Pixabay License

How to Calculate and Avoid Compressed Air Pressure Drop in Systems

Published on by johnball2014Leave 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 source for operation, the 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 air compressor.  There are three main ways; pipes, hoses and tubes.  In this blog, I will compare the difference between compressed air hoses and compressed air tubes.

The basic difference between a compressed air hose and a compressed air tube is the way the diameter is defined.    A hose is measured by the inner diameter while a tube is measured by the outer diameter.  As an example, a 3/8” compressed air hose has an inner diameter of 3/8”.  While a 3/8” compressed air tube has an outer diameter that measures 3/8”.  Thus, for the same dimensional reference, the inner diameter for the tube will be smaller than the hose.

Why do 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 reduce waste, we need to reduce pressure drop.  If we look at the equation for pressure drop, DP, we can find the factors that play an important role.  Equation 1 shows a reference equation for pressure drop.

Equation 1:

DP = Sx * f * Q1.85 * L / (ID5 * P)

DP – Pressure Drop

Sx – Scalar value

f – friction factor

Q – Flow at standard conditions

L – Length of pipe

ID – Inside Diameter

P – Absolute Pressure

 

From Equation 1, differential pressure is controlled by the friction of the wall surface, 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, DP, 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.

Let’s revisit the 3/8” hose and 3/8” tube.  The 3/8” hose has an inner diameter of 0.375”, and the 3/8” tube has an inner diameter of 0.25”.  In keeping the same variables except for the diameter, we can make a pressure drop comparison.  In Equation 2, I will use DPt and DPh for the pressure drop within the tube and hose respectively.

Equation 2:

DPt / DPh = (Dh)5 / (Dt)5

DPt – Pressure drop of tube

DPh – Pressure Drop of hose

Dh – Inner Diameter of hose

Dt – Inner Diameter of tube

Thus, DPt / DPh = (0.375”)5 / (0.25”)5 = 7.6

As you can see, by using a 3/8” tube in the process instead of the 3/8” hose, the pressure drop will be 7.6 times higher.

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 infeed pipe sizes for each air knife at different lengths.

There is also 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 any waste from pressure drop and get the most from the EXAIR products.

With the diameter being such a significant role in creating 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 is the reason for pneumatic products to underperform, as well as wasting energy within your compressed air system.  If you would like to discuss further the ways to save energy and reduce pressure drop, an Application Engineer at EXAIR will be happy to assist you.

 

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

Receiver Tank Calculations

Published on by johnball2014Leave a comment

Receiver Tank

My colleague, Lee Evans, wrote a blog about calculating the size of receiver tanks within a compressor air system.  (You can read it here: Receiver Tank Principle and Calculations).  But, what if you want to use them in remote areas or in emergency cases?  During these situations, the air compressor is not putting any additional compressed air into the tank.  But, we still have potential energy stored inside the tanks similar to a capacitor that has stored voltage in an electrical system.  In this blog, I will show how you can calculate the size of receiver tanks for applications that are remote or for emergency systems.

From Lee Evans’ blog, Equation 1 can be adjusted to remove the input capacity from an air compressor.  This value is Cap below.  During air compressor shutdowns or after being filled and removed, this value becomes zero.

Receiver tank capacity formula (Equation 1)

V = T * (C – Cap) * (Pa) / (P1-P2)

V – Volume of receiver tank (cubic feet)

T – Time interval (minutes)

C – Air requirement of demand (cubic feet per minute)

Cap – Compressor capacity (cubic feet per minute)

Pa – Absolute atmospheric pressure (PSIA)

P1 – Tank pressure (PSIG)

P2 = minimum tank pressure (PSIG)

 

Making Cap = 0, the new equation for this type of receiver tank now becomes Equation 2.

Receiver tank capacity formula (Equation 2)

V = T * C * (Pa) / (P1-P2)

With Equation 2, we can calculate the required volume of a receiver tank after it has been pre-charged.  For example, EXAIR created a special Air Amplifier to remove toxic fumes from an oven.  The Air Amplifier was positioned in the exhaust stack and would only operate during power failures.  In this situation, product was being baked in an oven.  The material had toxic chemicals that had to cross-link to harden.  If the power would go out, then the product in the oven would be discarded, but the toxic fumes had to be removed.  What also doesn’t work during power outages is the air compressor.  So, they needed to have a receiver tank with enough volume to store compressed air.  From the volume of the oven, we calculated that they need the special Air Amplifier to operate for 6 minutes.  The compressed air system was operating at 110 PSIG, and the Air Amplifier required an average air flow of 10 cubic feet per minute from the range of 110 PSIG to 0 PSIG.  We are able to calculate the required receiver volume to ensure that the toxic fumes are evacuated from the oven in Equation 2.

Receiver tank capacity formula (Equation 2)

V = T * C * Pa / (P1 – P2)

V = 6 minutes * 10 cubic feet per minute * 14.7 PSIA / (110 PSIG – 0 PSIG)

V = 8 cubic feet.

Receiver tanks are more commonly sized in gallons.  In converting 8 cubic feet to gallons, we get a 60-Gallon Receiver Tank.  EXAIR recommended the model 9500-60 to be used near the oven to operate the special Air Amplifier during power outage.

Another way to look at Equation 2 is to create a timing equation.  If the volume of the tank is known, we can calculate how long a system will last.  In this example for scuba diving, we can use this information to configure the amount of time that a tank will last.  The diver has a 0.39 cubic feet tank at a pressure of 3,000 PSIG.  I will use a standard Surface Consumption Rate, SCR, at 0.8 cubic feet per minute.  If we stop the test when the tank reaches a pressure of 1,000 PSIG, we can calculate the time by using Equation 3.

Receiver tank timing formula (Equation 3):

T = V * (P1 – P2) / (C * Pa)

T – Time interval (minutes)

V – Volume of receiver tank (cubic feet)

C – Air demand (cubic feet per minute)

Pa – Absolute atmospheric pressure (PSIA)

P1 – Initial tank pressure (PSIG)

P2 – Ending tank pressure (PSIG)

By placing the values in the Equation 3, we can calculate the time to go from 3,000 PSIG to 1,000 PSIG by breathing normal at the surface.

T = 0.39 cubic feet * (3,000 PSIG – 1,000 PSIG) / (0.8 cubic feet per minute * 14.7 PSIA)

T = 66 minutes.

What happens if the diver goes into deeper water?  The atmospheric pressure, Pa, changes.  If the diver goes to 100 feet below the surface, this is roughly 3 atmospheres or (3 * 14.7) = 44.1 PSIA.  If we use the same conditions above except at 100 feet below, the time will change by a third, or in looking at Equation 3:

T = 0.39 cubic feet * (3,000 PSIG – 1,000 PSIG) / (0.8 cubic feet per minute * 44.1 PSIA)

T = 22 minutes. 

If you have any questions about using a receiver tank in your application, you can contact an EXAIR Application Engineer.  We will be happy to solve for the proper volume or time needed for your application.

 

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