Chiller Refrigeration Tons

A chiller refrigeration ton is defined as: 1 refrigeration ton = 12,000 Btu/h = 3,025.9 k Calories/h A ton is the amount of heat removed by an air conditioning system that would melt 1 ton of ice in 24 hours.

Cooling Tower Tons

A cooling tower ton is defined as: 1 cooling tower ton = 15,000 Btu/h = 3,782 k Calories/h

Heat Load and Water Flow

A water systems heat load in Btu/h can be simplified to: h = cp q dt = (1 Btu/lbm oF) (8.33 lbm/gal) q (60 min/h) dt = 500 q dt where h = heat load (Btu/h) cp = 1 (Btu/lbm oF) for water = 8.33 (lbm/gal) for water q = water volume flow rate (gal/min) dt = temperature difference (oF) (1)

Example - Water Chiller Cooling

Water flows with 1 gal/min and 10oF temperature difference. The ton of cooling load can be calculated as: Cooling load = 500 (1 gal/min) (10 oF) / 12,000 = 0.42 ton

In a chilled-water system the air conditioner cools water down to 40 - 45oF (4 - 7oC). The chilled water is distributed throughout the building in a piping system and connected to air condition cooling units wherever needed.

Total Heat Removed

The total heat removed by air condition chilled-water installation can be expressed as h = 500 q dt where h = total heat removed (Btu/h) q = water flow rate (gal/min) dt = temperature difference (oF) (1)

Evaporator Flow Rate

The evaporator water flow rate can be expressed as qe = htons 24 / dt where qe = evaporator water flow rate (gal/min) htons = air condition cooling load (tons) (2)

Condenser Flow Rate

The condenser water flow rate can be expressed as qc = htons 30 / dt where qc = condenser water flow rate (gal/min) htons = air condition cooling load (tons) (3)

The table below can be used to compare equivalent diameters for rectangular and round circular ducts. The table is based on the ducts friction loss formula.

The rectangular dimensions and the air flow volume are adapted to the equal friction loss method of sizing ventilation duct systems. An approximate friction loss of 0.8 inches water gauge per 100 ft duct (6.6 Pa/m) is used. Air flow -q(Cubic Feet per Minute, cfm) (m3/s) 200 (0.09) 300 (0.14) 400 (0.19) 500 (0.24) 750 (0.35) 1000 (0.47) 1250 (0.59) 1500 (0.71) 1750 (0.83) 2000 (0.94) Equivalent Rectangular Duct Diameter Sizes Round Duct Sizes (Inches) - de (Inches) 3x7 4x5 4x7 5x6 4x9 5x7 6x6 6x7 5 x 12 6 x 10 7x8 7 x 10 8x9 8 x 10 9x9 8 x 12 10 x 10 8 x 14 9 x 12 10 x 11 8 x 15 10 x 12 4.9 4.9 5.7 6.0 6.4 6.4 6.6 7.1 8.3 8.4 8.2 9.1 9.3 9.8 9.8 10.7 10.9 11.5 11.3 11.5 11.8 12.0 Velocity -v(ft/min) (m/s) 1527 (7.8) 1635 (8.3) 1736 (8.8) 1819 (9.2) 1996 (10.1) 2166 (11) 2386 (12.1) 2358 (11.9) 2469 (12.5) 2589 (13.2) Friction Loss (Inches water gauge per 100 ft duct) 0.88 0.82 0.80 0.78 0.77 0.79 0.88 0.77 0.78 0.81

2500 (1.2) 3000 (1.4) 3500 (1.7) 4000 (1.9) 4500 (2.1) 5000 (2.4) 6000 (2.8) 7000 (3.3) 8000 (3.8) 9000 (4.3) 10000 (4.7) 12500 (5.9) 15000 (7.1) 17500 (8.3) 20000 (9.4) 25000 (11.8) 30000 (14.2)

10 x 14 12 x 12 12 x 14 12 x 15 10 x 22 14 x 15 12 x 19 14 x 16 10 x 25 12 x 20 15 x 16 14 x 20 15 x 18 12 x 26 16 x 20 12 x 30 14 x 25 12 x 34 15 x 25 12 x 36 16 x 25 20 x 20 12 x 45 16 x 30 20 x 24 16 x 36 18 x 30 23 x 25 16 x 40 20 x 32 25 x 25 20 x 35 25 x 28 16 x 55 20 x 43 25 x 38 20 x 50 30 x 32

12.9 13.1 14.1 14.6 15.9 15.8 16.4 16.4 16.9 16.8 16.9 18.2 17.9 19.0 19.5 20.2 20.2 21.4 21.0 21.9 21.7 21.9 24.1 23.7 23.9 24.7 25.2 26.2 27.0 27.5 27.3 28.6 28.9 31.0 31.5 33.5 33.7 33.9

2712 (13.8) 2767 (14.1) 3010 (15.3) 2938 (14.9) 3068 (15.6) 3248 (16.5) 3358 (17.1) 3482 (17.7) 3595 (18.3) 3671 (18.6) 3858 (19.6) 4012 (20.4) 4331 (22) 4337 (22) 4483 (22.8) 4709 (23.9) 4815 (24.5)

0.8 0.75 0.84 0.73 0.76 0.82 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.78 0.83

0.8

0.87

0.79 0.79 0.78 0.74

35000 (16.5) 40000 (18.9) 45000 (21.2) 50000 (23.6)

20 x 55 30 x 35 25 x 48 30 x 40 32 x 40 32 x 45 35 x 40

35.2 35.4 37.4 37.8 39.1 41.3 40.9

5179 (26.3) 5243 (26.6) 5397 (27.4) 5222 (26.5)

0.81 0.77 0.77 0.66

The design of the ductworks in ventilation systems are often done by using the

Velocity Method Constant Pressure Loss Method (or Equal Friction Method) Static Pressure Recovery Method

The Velocity Method

Proper air flow velocities for the application considering the environment are selected. Sizes of ducts are then given by the continuity equation like: A=q/v where A = duct cross sectional area (m2) q = air flow rate (m3/s) v= air speed (m/s) A proper velocity will depend on the application and the environment. The table below indicate commonly used velocity limits: Type of Duct Main ducts Main branch ducts Branch ducts Comfort Systems 4 - 7 m/s 3 - 5 m/s 1 - 3 m/s Industrial Systems 8 - 12 m/s 5 - 8 m/s 3 - 5 m/s High Speed Systems 10 - 18 m/s 6 - 12 m/s 5 - 8 m/s (1)

Be aware that high velocities close to outlets and inlets may generate unacceptable noise.

The Constant Pressure Loss Method (or Equal Friction Loss Method)
A proper speed is selected in the main duct close to the fan. The pressure losses in the main duct are then used as a template for the rest of the system. The pressure (or friction) loss is kept at a constant level throughout the system. The method gives an automatic velocity reduction through the system. The method may add more ducts cross sectional changes and can increase the number of components in the system compared to other methods.

The Static Pressure Recovery Method

With the static pressure recovery method the secondary and branch ducts are selected to achieve more or less the same static pressure in front of all outlets or inlets. The major advantages of the method are more common conditions for outlets and inlets. Unfortunate the method is complicated to use and therefore seldom used.

1TR = cfm/400 1TR x 2.8 gpm = (size of chilled water pumps)