Codes & Standards Update

2014 IRC R&T Forum May 7-8, 2014

Douglas Reindl, Ph.D., P.E.

Professor, University of Wisconsin
Director, Industrial Refrigeration Consortium
 Overview - Definitions
▪ Regulations  mandatory requirements & issued by
Federal, State or local governments
▪ Standards  documents consensus design and/or operating
practices
▪ Codes  establishes minimum requirements
▪ Guidelines  documents recommended or best practices
▪ Corporate Engineering Standards
▪ Data Sheets or White Papers
 Principal Codes & Standards for Ammonia
Refrigeration
▪ ASME
▪ B&PV Code (Pressure vessels)
▪ B31.5 (Refrigeration Piping)
▪ IIAR
▪ IIAR 1, IIAR 2, IIAR 3, IIAR 5, IIAR 7
▪ ASHRAE
▪ Standard 15 & Standard 34
▪ Codes
▪ International Mechanical Code
▪ International Fire Code
▪ Uniform Mechanical Code
▪ Other State & Local Codes 3
 IIAR Guidelines
▪ Bulletin 107 - Suggested Safety and Operating Procedures When Making
Ammonia Refrigeration Plant Tie-ins

▪ Bulletin 108 - Water Contamination in Ammonia Refrigeration Systems

▪ Bulletin 109 - Minimum Safety Criteria for a Safe Ammonia Refrigeration
System
 IIAR Guidelines
▪ Bulletin 110 - Start-Up, Inspection and Maintenance of Ammonia Mechanical
Refrigerating Systems

▪ Bulletin 111 - Guidelines for Ammonia Machinery Room Ventilation

▪ Bulletin 112 - Guidelines for Ammonia Machinery Room Design
 IIAR Guidelines
▪ Bulletin 114 - Identification of Ammonia Refrigeration Piping and System
Components (new version just released)

▪ Bulletin 116 - Avoiding Component Failure in Industrial Refrigeration Systems

Caused by Abnormal Pressure or Shock

▪ ARTG-GDL1 – Ammonia Refrigeration Training Guideline

Current IIAR Standards
▪ IIAR 1-2012 - Definitions and Terminology used in IIAR Standards
▪ IIAR 2-2008 (Addendum A & B) - Equipment, Design, & Installation of Closed-Circuit Ammonia
Mechanical Refrigerating Systems
▪ IIAR 3-2012 – Ammonia Refrigeration Valves
▪ IIAR 5-2013 - Start-up and Commissioning of Closed-Circuit Ammonia Mechanical Refrigerating
Systems
▪ IIAR 7-2013 - Developing Operating Procedures for Closed-Circuit Ammonia Mechanical
Refrigerating Systems
IIAR Standards Under Development/Revision
▪ IIAR 2 – Safety Standard for Equipment, Design, and Installation of Closed-Circuit Ammonia
Mechanical Refrigeration Systems

▪ IIAR 6 – Inspection and Maintenance of Closed-Circuit Ammonia Mechanical Refrigerating

Systems

▪ IIAR 8 - Decommissioning for Closed-Circuit Ammonia Mechanical Refrigerating Systems

ASHRAE 15 today
▪ Purpose: specifies safe design, construction, installation, and
operation of refrigeration systems
▪ Scope: establishes safeguards for life, limb, health, and
property and prescribes safety requirements
 Fundamental goals of ASHRAE 15
1. Keep refrigerants contained within the system
2. In the event when a refrigerant might be released, mitigate its
impact on people
a) By limiting refrigerant quantity in direct systems
b) Locating refrigeration systems within machinery rooms when system
charge is too large
ASHRAE 15 and ASHRAE 34
▪ ASHRAE 15 defers to ASHRAE 34 on:
▪ Refrigerant safety classifications
▪ Refrigerant concentration limits (RCLs)
▪ Key refrigerant property information that must be submitted with
an application for designation
 ASHRAE 15 - 2013
▪ Highlights of what’s new in the 2013 edition:
▪ Clarifies requirements for machinery room ventilation (8.11.4)
▪ Explicitly states design pressure requirements are expressed as
gauge pressure (Section 3)
▪ Adds locking cap requirement to harmonize with IMC (11.3)
▪ Removes methods for determining RCL and defers to Std. 34
(Appendix A)
▪ Removes requirement for manual discharge of ammonia “fireman’s
control box” (8.13)
▪ Clarifies relief requirements (Addendum a)
 ASHRAE 15 - 2013
▪ §8.11.4
▪ Mechanical ventilation referred to in Section 8.11.3 shall be by one
or more power-driven fans capable of exhausting air from the
machinery room at least in the amount given in the formula in
Section 8.11.5…
The mechanical exhaust inlet(s) shall be located in an area where
refrigerant from a leak is likely to concentrate, in consideration of
the location of the replacement air path(s), refrigerating
machine(s), and the density of the refrigerant relative to air.
 ASHRAE 15 - 2013
▪ Definitions (Section 3)
▪ design pressure: the maximum gauge pressure for which a specific
part of a refrigerating system is designed.
 ASHRAE 15 - 2013
▪ 11.3 Charging, Withdrawal, and Disposition of Refrigerants
▪ 11.3.1 Refrigerant Access Refrigerant circuit access ports located
outdoors shall be secured to prevent unauthorized access.
 ASHRAE 15 - 2013
▪ Appendix A is deleted in its entirety
▪ INFORMATIVE APPENDIX A—
CALCULATIONS OF THE MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE CONCENTRATION (Cm) OF A
BLEND

A1. FOR 100 lb OF BLEND, DETERMINE THE IDEAL GAS VOLUMES OCCUPIED BY
EACHCOMPONENT AND BY THE BLEND AT 70°F AND 1 atm …

A2. DETERMINE THE DILUTION VOLUME REQUIRED FOR THE 100 lb OF BLEND
AND EACH COMPONENT THEREIN …

A3. DETERMINE THE MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE CONCENTRATION (Cm) OF A

BLEND
 ASHRAE 15 - 2013
▪ Section 8.13 is deleted in its entirety
▪ 8.13 Manual Emergency Discharge of Ammonia Refrigerant.
When required by the AHJ, manual emergency discharge or
diffusion arrangements for ammonia refrigerants shall be
provided.
 ASHRAE 15 - 2013
▪ Addendum a
▪ Clarifies safety relief system discharge requirements
▪ Removes requirements for sulfur dioxide because refrigerant is no
longer in use
▪ Revised and clarified requirements for relief systems
 ASHRAE 15 - 2013
▪ Addendum a
▪ Outdoor systems containing Group A1 refrigerant shall be
permitted to discharge [safety relief] at any elevation where the
point of discharge is located in an access-controlled area
accessible to authorized personnel only.
 ASHRAE 15 - 2013
▪ Addendum a
▪ For heavier-than-air refrigerants, point of vent discharge shall not
be less than 20 ft from:
▪ Below-grade walkways, pits, or ramps if a release of entire system charge
can result in a concentration greater than the RCL
▪ Direct discharge into an enclosed outdoor space such as a courtyard is
prohibited if the resulting concentration is greater than the RCL
 ASHRAE 15 - 2013
▪ Addendum a
▪ Drip pockets
▪ Relief vent lines that terminate vertically
upward and subject to moisture entry
shall be provided with a drip pocket at
least 24” deep and of vent pipe size
▪ Located at first change in vent pipe direction
▪ Fitted with a valve or drain plug to permit drainage
 ASHRAE 15 - 2013
▪ Addendum a
▪ Relief valve back-pressure
▪ When outlets of two or more relief devices or fusible plugs, which are
expected to operate simultaneously connect to a common discharge pipe,
the common pipe shall be sized large enough to prevent the outlet
pressure at each relief device from exceeding the maximum allowable
outlet pressure.
ANSI/IIAR 2
Purpose:
The purpose of this standard is to provide minimum
requirements for equipment, design and installation
of closed-circuit ammonia refrigerating systems.

23
 IIAR 2
Pressure Vessels:
9.1.6 In applications where vessels are subject to external corrosion, the
vessels shall be designed and specified with a minimum of 1/16" corrosion
allowance.

24
 IIAR 200X
▪ Evolving to be a safety standard
▪ Intended to be the “go to” standard for ammonia refrigeration
systems
▪ Plans for it to be code-intended
▪ First public review occurred at the end of 2013
▪ IIAR SC is currently revising draft in response to PR comments
▪ Second PR will occur soon – it is your opportunity to review and
comment
IIAR 7

Released in Fall of 2013

 IIAR 7
Contents
1. Purpose 6. Equipment
2. Scope 7. Systems
3. Definitions 8. Tasks
4. References 9. Sources of References
5. Developing and maintaining
operating procedures
 IIAR 7
Purpose
defines the minimum requirements for developing operating procedures
for closed-circuit ammonia mechanical refrigerating systems. These
operating procedures shall be developed with the following primary
goals in mind:
a. Easy to understand and follow
b. Safe
c. Effective
d. Reliable
e. Meeting applicable regulatory requirements
IIAR Bulletin 114 (2014)
▪ Approved in March 2014, this is an updated version
from the original publication in 1991
▪ Intent is to uniform guidelines for identifying piping
and equipment in ammonia refrigerating systems
▪ Adds a color code scheme for refrigerant piping (non-
mandatory)
▪ Includes other small changes
IIAR Bulletin 114 (2014)
▪ High pressure liquid piping – Orange (or Pantone 152 C)
▪ High Pressure Liquid (HPL)
▪ Sub Cooled Liquid (SCL)
▪ Thermosyphon Supply (TSS)
▪ Thermosyphon Return (TSR)
▪ Condenser Drain (CD)
▪ Liquid Injection Cooling (LIC)
▪ Intermediate Pressure Liquid (IPL)
IIAR Bulletin 114 (2014)
▪ High pressure vapor piping – Yellow (or Pantone 109 C)
▪ Booster Discharge (BD)
▪ High Stage Discharge (HSD)
▪ Hot Gas Defrost (HGD)
▪ Foul Gas (FG)
 IIAR Bulletin 114 (2014)

▪ Low pressure / high temperature liquid & vapor piping – Light Blue
(or Pantone 298 C)
▪ High Stage Suction (HSS), High Temperature Suction (HTS), and High
Temperature Recirculated Suction, and High Temperature Recirculated
Liquid (HTRL)
▪ Medium Temperature Suction (MTS), Recirculated Suction (MTRS), and
Recirculated Liquid (MTRL)
▪ Defrost Relief (DR)
▪ Booster Suction (BS)
▪ Economizer Suction (ES)
 IIAR Bulletin 114 (2014)

▪ Low pressure / low temperature liquid & vapor piping –

Dark Blue (or Pantone 3015 C)
▪ Low Temperature Suction (LTS)
▪ Low Temperature Recirculated Liquid (LTRL)
▪ Low Temperature Liquid (LTL)
 IIAR Bulletin 114 (2014)

▪ Low pressure / low low temperature liquid & vapor piping –

Purple (or Pantone 2617 C)
▪ Low Low Temperature Suction (LLTS)
▪ Low Low Temperature Recirculated Liquid (LLTRL)
▪ Low Low Temperature Liquid (LLTL)
 IIAR Bulletin 114 (2014)

▪ Pressure relief vent piping – Gray (or Pantone 430 C)

▪ Pressure Relief Vent Piping (RV)
▪ Secondary fluid piping – Green (or Pantone 3415 C)
▪ Water Piping, Water and Glycol mixtures, other nonvolatile brines
that do not require special labeling
IFC and IMC
▪ The 2015 editions of the International Fire Code and
the International Mechanical Code are final
▪ Overview of changes
▪ Water diffusion tanks are an option – not a requirement
▪ Machinery room ventilation – clarification of requirements
▪ Allows “approved tamper resistant” covered switches as an
alternative to break-glass type switches for on-only control
of machinery room ventilation
▪ IFC adopts ASHRAE 15 and IIAR 2 as mandatory references
ASME B31.5 (2013)
▪ Revised Section 523.2.2 – Impact test requirements
▪ Updated Fig. 523.2.2 – Temperature reduction curve
▪ Updated Table 526.1 – Dimensional standards
▪ Revised sections 536.6.3, 536.6.4, and 536.6.5 on
Radiographic Examination, Ultrasonic Examination, and
Special Requirements, respectively
▪ Other changes
Temperature reduction curves
ASME B31.5 - 2010 ASME B31.5 - 2013
Questions?