ASHRAE CH 12 (Hydronic Heating and Cooling System Design)
ASHRAE CH 12 (Hydronic Heating and Cooling System Design)
HYDRONIC HEATING
AND COOLING SYSTEM DESIGN
Temperature Classifications ....... ..................... 12.1 Sizing Control Vulves ......................................
CLOSED WATER SYSTEMS ....... ..................... 12.1 Low-Temperature Heating Systems .................
Thermal Components .................. ..................... 12.2 Chilled Water Systems .......................................
Hydraulic Components ............................................................ 12.5 Dual-Temperature Systems ................................................... 12.12
DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS ................................................. 12.8 Other Design Considerations ................................................ 12.13
Piping Circuits ...... ................................................... 12.8 Design Procedures ................................................................ 12.15
Capacio Control of Loud System ............................................ 12.9 Antifreeze Solutions ............................................................... 12.16
, & d‘7
EXPANSION
CHAMBER
D I S T R I T O N SYSTEM where
q = heat transfer rate to or from air,W
Q, = airflow rate, Us
pa = density of air,kg/m3
cF = specific heat of air, kV(kg.K)
-Q Q-
At = temperatureincrease or decreaseof air, K
SOURCE
For standard air with a density of 1.20 kg/m3 and a specific heat
of 1.0 kJ/(kg-K), Equation (1) becomes
q = 1.20QuAt (2)
Fig. 1 Hydronic System-Fundamentai Components The heat exchanger or coil must then transfer this heat from or to
the water. The rate of sensible heat transfer to or from the heated or
cooled medium in a specific heat exchanger is a function of the heat
with no more than one point of interface with a compressible gas or transfer surface area; the mean temperature difference between the
surface. This definition is fundamental to understanding the hydrau- water and the medium; and the overall heat transfer coefficient,
lic dynamics of these systems. Earlier literature referred to a system which itself is a function of the fluid velocities, properties of the
with an open or vented expansion tank as an “open” system, but medium, geometry of the heat transfer surfaces, and other factors.
such a system is actually a closed system; the atmospheric interface The rate of heat transfer may be expressed by
of the tank simply establishes the system pressure.
An open system, on the other hand, has more than one such
q = UA(LMTD) (3)
interface. For example, a cooling tower system has at least two
points of interface: the tower basin and the discharge pipe or nozzles Where
entering the tower. One of the major differences in hydraulics
q = heat transferrate through heat exchanger,W
between open and closed systems is that certain hydraulic charac- U = overaii coefficientof heat transfer, W/(m2.K)
teristics of open systems cannot occur in closed systems. For exam- A = heat transfer surface m a , m2
ple, in contrast to the hydraulics of an open system, in a closed LMTD = logarithmic mean temperature difference, heated or cooled
system (1)flow cannot be motivated by static pressure differences, medium to water, K
( 2 ) pumps do not provide static lift, and (3) the entire piping system
is always filled with water. ‘Coolingand Dehumidification. The rate of heat removal from
the cooled medium when both sensible cooling and dehumiditka-
Basic System tion are present is expressed by
Figure 1 shows the fundamental components of a closed
hydronic system. Actual systems generally have additional compo- qr = 1 m w A h (4)
nents such as valves, vents, regulators, etc., but they are not essen-
tial to the basic principles underlying the system. where
These fundamental components are qt = totai heat transfer rate from cooled medium, W
w = mass flow rate of cooled medium, kg/s
Loads Ah = enthalpy difference between entering and leaving conditions of
Source cooled medium, kJ/kg
Expansion chamber
Pump Expressed for an air-cooling coil, this equation becomes
Distribution system
In the plain steel tank and the open tank, gases can enter the For closed tanks with aidwater interface,
system water through the interface and can adversely affect system
performance. Thus, current design practice normally employs dia-
phragm tanks.
Sizing the tank is the primary thermal consideration in incorpo-
rating a tank into a system. However, prior to sizing the tank,the For open tanks with air/water interface,
control or elimination of air must be considered. The amount of air
that will be absorbed and can be held in solution with the water is
expressed by Henry's equation (Pompei 1981): V,=2V, --1
1 1
[(i: -3aAt
x = p/H (11)
For diaphragm tanks,
where
x = solubility of air in water (% by volume)
p = absolute pressure
H = Henry's constant
where
Henry's constant, however, is constant only for a given temper- V, = volume of expansion tank,m3
ature (Figure 2). Combining the data of Figure 2 (Himmelblau V, = voiume of water in system, m3
1960) with Equation (1 1) results in the solubility diagram of Figure rl = lowertemperature, OC
3. With that diagram, the solubility can be determined if the temper- t2 = higher temperature, "C
ature and pressure are known. Pa = atmospheric pressure, kPa
Pl = pressure at lower temperature, kPa
If the water is not saturated with air, it will absorb air at the Pz = pressure at higher temperature, kPa
air/water interface until the point of saturation has been reached. v1 = specific volume of water at lower temperature, m3/kg
Once absorbed, the air will move throughout the body of water v2 = specific volume of water at higher temperature, m3kg
either by mass migration or by molecular diffusion until the water is CI = h e a r coefficient of thermal expansion, m/(m.K)
uniformly saturated. If the aidwater solution changes to a state that = 11.7 x lo4 m/(m.K) for steel
reduces solubility,the excess air will be released as a gas. For exam- = 17.1 x 1 0 6 m/(m.K) for copper
ple, if the air/water interface is at a high pressure point, the water Af = (rz - Il), K
will absorb air to its limit of solubility at that point; if at another
point in the system the pressure i s reduced, some of the dissolved air As an example, the lower temperature for a heating system is
will be released. usually normal ambient temperature at fili conditions (e.g., 1 0 T )
In the design of systems with open or plain steel expansion tanks, and the higher temperature is the operating supply water tempera-
it is common practice to utilize the tank as the major air control or ture for the system. For a chilled water system, the lower tempera-
ture is the design chilled water supply temperature, and the higher
release point in the system.
temperature is ambient temperature (e.g., 35°C). For a dual-temper-
Equations for sizing the three common configurations of expan- ature hotkhilled system, the lower temperature is the chilled water
sion tanks follow (Coad 1980b):
120
110
1O0
90
80
O.' 70
E-
$2 6o
50
I
40
30
20
10
O
100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
TEMPERATURE, "C PRESSURE, kPa
Fig. 2 Henry's Constant Versus Temperaturefor Kg. 3 Soiubiiity Versus Temperature and Pressure for
Air and Water AidWater Solutions
(Coad 1980a) (Coad 1980a)
design supply temperature, and the higher temperature is the heat- design pressure drop is the relationship between the economics of
ing water design supply temperature. first cost and energy costs.
For specific volume and saturation pressure of water at various Once the distribution system is designed, the pressure loss at
temperatures, see Table 3 in Chapter 6 of the 1997 ASHRAE Hand- design flow is calculated by the methods discussed in Chapter 33 of
book-Fundamentals. the 1997 ASHRAE Handbook-Fundamentals. A system curve
At the tank connection point, the pressure in closed tank systems (Figure 4) can also be plotted.
increases as the water temperature increases. Pressures at the expan- The system curve changes if anything occurs that changes the
sion tank are generally set by the following parameters: flow/pressure drop characteristics. Examples of this are a strainer
that starts to block or a control valve closing, either of which
The lower pressure is usually selected to hold a positive pressure increases the pressure loss at any given flow rate, thus changing the
at the highest point in the system [usually about 70 kPa (gage)]. system curve in a direction from curve A to curve B in Figure 4.
The higher pressure is normally set by the maximum pressure
allowable at the location of the safety relief valve(s) without Pump or Pumping System
opening them. Centrifugal pumps are the type most commonly used in hydronic
Other considerations are to ensure that (1) the pressure at no systems (see Chapter 39). Circulating pumps used in water systems
point in the system will ever drop below the saturation pressure at can vary in size from small in-line circulators delivering 0.3 Us at
the operating system temperature and (2) all pumps have sufficient about 20 kPa to base-mounted or vertical pumps handling hundreds
net positive suction pressure available to prevent cavitation. of litres per second, with pressures limited only by the characteris-
tics of the system. Pump operating characteristics must be carefully
Example 1. Size an expansion tank for a heating water system that will be matched to system operating requirements.
operated at a design temperature range of 80 to 104°C. The minimum Pump Curves and Water Temperature. Performance charac-
pressure at the tank is 170 kPa and the maximum pressure is 270 kPa. teristics of centrifugal pumps are described by pump curves, which
(Atmospheric pressure is 101 Wa.) The volume of water is IO m3. The plot flow versus pressure, as well as by efficiency and power infor-
piping is steel. mation. The point at which apump operates is the point at which the
1. Calculate the required size for a closed tank with an aidwater inter- pump curve intersects the system curve (Figure 5). Chapter 38 dis-
face. cusses system and pump curves.
Solution: For lower temperature t , , use 4°C. A complete piping system follows the same water flow/pressure
From Table 3 in Chapter 6 of the 1997 ASHRAE Handbook-Fun- drop relationships as any component of the system. Thus, the pres-
damentals, sure required for any proposed flow rate through the system may be
determined and a system curve constructed. A pump may be
w,(at 4°C) = 0.001oOO m3/kg selected by using the calculated system pressure at the design flow
w2(at 104°C) = 0.001047 m3/kg rate as the base point value.
Figure 6 illustrates how a shift of the system curve to the right
Using Equation (12). affects system flow rate. This shift can be caused by incorrectly cal-
culating the system pressure drop by using arbitrary safety factors or
[ (0.OO1~7/0.0010~)
- 1 ] - 3( 11.7 x IOs6)( 104- 4) overstated pressure drop charts. Variable system flow caused by
v, = lox
(101/170) - (101/270) control valve operation or improperly balanced systems (subcircuits
3 having substantially lower pressure drops than the longest circuit)
V , = 1.98 m
can also cause a shift to the right.
2. If a diaphragm tank were to be used in lieu of the plain steel tank,
As described in Chapter 39, pumps for closed-loop piping sys-
what tank size would be required? tems should have a flat pressure characteristic and should operate
slightly to the left of the peak efficiency point on their curves. This
Solution: Using Equation (14). characteristic permits the system curve to shift to the right without
causing undesirable pump operation, overloading, or reduction in
v, = lox
[(0.001047/(0.001000))- I ] - 3(11.7 x 10% 104-4) available pressure across circuits with large pressure drops.
1 - (170/270) Many dual-temperature systems are designed so that the chillers
V , = 1.17 rn3 are bypassed during the winter months. The chiller pressure drop,
which may be quite high, is thus eliminated from the system pres-
sure drop, and the pump shift to the right may be quite large. For
HYDRAULIC COMPONENTS
Distribution System
The distribution system is the piping connecting the various
other components of the system. The primary considerations in
designing this system are (1) sizing the piping to handle the heating
or cooling capacity required and (2) arranging the piping to ensure
flow in the quantities required at design conditions and at all other
loads.
The flow requirement of the pipe is determined by Equation (8)
or (9). After Ar is established based on the thermal requirements,
either of these equations (as applicable) can be used to determine the
flow rate. First-cost economics and energy consumption make it
advisable to design for the greatest practical At because the flow rate
is inversely proportional to b,that is, if Ar doubles, the flow rate is
reduced by half. FLOW RATE
The three related variables in sizing the pipe are flow rate, pipe
size, and pressure drop. The primaryconsideration in selecting a Fig. 4 Typical System Curves for Closed System
PUMP Cum7 /
EACH WMP OPERATES
/-AT THIS POINT-BOTH
SYSTEMOPERATING
POINT-BOTH
PUMPS ON
PUMP AND SYSTEM
OPERATINGPOINT PUMP CURVE
ON€ PUMP ON
SINGLE PUMP
Fig. 5 Pump Curve and System Curve Fig. 7 Operating Conäitions for Parallel Pump Installation
PUMP C U M
OPERATING POINT
-IpAED] / / SERIES OPERATON 7
SICToLiI
OPERATING POINT
OPORATES AT
IHIS POINT
BOTHPUMPSON
-
FLOW RATE
such systems, system curve analysis should be used to check winter Fig. 8 Operating Conditions for Series Pump installation
operating points.
Operating points may be highly variable, depending on (1) load Series Pumping. When pumps are operated in series, each pump
conditions, (2) the types of control valves used, and (3) the piping operates at the same flow rate and provides its share of the total
circuitry and heat transfer elements. In general, the best selection pressure at that flow. A system curve plotted across the series pump
Will be curve shows the operating points for both single and series pump
operation (Figure 8). Note that the single pump can provide up to
For design flow rates calculated using pressure drop charts that 80%flow for standby and at a lower power requirement.
illustrate actual closed-loop hydronic system piping pressure
Series pump installations are often used in heating and cooling
drops
systems so that both pumps operate during the cooling season to
To the left of the maximum efficiency point of the pump curve to provide maximum flow and pressure, while only a single pump
allow shifts to the right caused by system circuit unbalance, operates during the heating season. Note that both parallel and
direct-return circuitry applications, and modulating three-way series pump applications require that the actual pump operating
valve applications points be used to accurately determine the pumping point. Adding
A pump with a flat curve to compensate for unbalanced circuitry pressure for safety, using improper pressure drop charts, or incor-
and to provide a minimum pressure differential increase across rectly calculating pressure drops may lead to an unwise selection.
tweway control valves
Multiple-Pump Systems. Care must be taken in designing sys-
Parallel Pumping. When pumps are applied in parailel, each tems with multiple pumps to ensure that if pumps ever operate in
pump operates at the same pressure, and provides its share of the either parallel or series, such operationis fully understood and con-
system flow at that pressure (Figure 7). Generally, pumps of equal sidered by the designer. Pumps performing unexpectedly in series
size are used, and the parallel pump curve is established by doubling or parallel have been the cause of performance problems in
the flow of the single pump curve (with identical pumps). hydronic systems. Wcaiproblems resulting from pumps function-
Plotting a system curve across the parallel pump curve shows the ing in parallel and series when not anticipated by the designer are
operating points for both single and parallel pump operation (Figure the following.
7). Note that single pump operation does not yield 50% flow. The
system curve crosses the single pump curve considerably to the PuruElel. With pumps of unequal pressures, one pump may create
right of its operating point when both pumps are running. This leads a pressure across the other pump in excess of its cutoff pressure,
to two important concerns: (1) the pumps must be powered to pre- causing flow through the second pump to diminish significantly
vent overloading during single-pump operation, and (2) a single or to cease. This phenomenon can cause flow problems or pump
pump can provide standby service of up to 80% of design flow; the damage.
actual amount depends on the specific pump curve and system Series. With pumps of different flow capacities, the pump of
curve. greater capacity may overflow the pump of lesser capacity, which
PUMPNO 1 PUMPNO 27
7
load is between the supply water temperature from the source and
the return water temperature from the load.
could cause damaging cavitation in the smaller pump and could
For example, if Pump No. 1 circulates 1.5 Us of water leaving
actually cause a pressure drop rather than a pressure rise across that
the source at 9 5 T , and Pump No. 2 circulates 3 L/s of water leaving
pump. In other circumstances, unexpected series operation can
the load at 3 5 T , then the water temperature entering the load is
cause excessively high or low pressures that can damage system
components.
íload = 95 - (1.5/3)(95 - 35) = 65°C
Standby Pump Provision. If total flow standby capacity is
required, a properly valved standby pump of equal capacity is The following are some advantages of compound circuits:
installed to operate when the normal pump is inoperable. A single
standby may be provided for several similarly sized pumps. Parallel 1. They enable the designer to achieve different water temperatures
or series pump installation can provide up to 80% standby, which is and temperature ranges in different elements of the system.
often sufficient. 2. They decouple the circuits hydraulically, thereby making the
Compound Pumping. In larger systems, compound pumping, control, operation, and analysis of large systems much less com-
also known as primary-secondary pumping, is often employed to plex. Hydraulic decoupling also prevents unwanted series or
provide system advantages that would not be available with a single parallel operation.
pumping system. The concept of compound pumping is illustrated 3. Circuits can be designed for different flow characteristics. For
in Figure 9. example, a chilled water load system can be designed with two-
In Figure 9, Pump No. 1 can be referred to as the source or pn- way valves for better control and energy conservation while the
mary pump and Pump No. 2 as the load or secondary pump. The source system operates at constant flow to protect the chiller
short section of pipe between A and B is called the common pipe from freezing.
because it is common to both the source and load circuits. Other
terms used for the common pipe are the decoupling line and the neu- Expansion Chamber
tral bridge. In the design of compound systems, the common pipe As a hydraulic device, the expansion tank serves as the reference
should be kept as short and as large in diameter as practical to min- pressure point in the system, analogous to a ground in an electrical
imize the pressure loss between those two points. Care must be system (Lockhart and Carlson 1953). Where the tank connects to
taken, however, to ensure adequate length in the common pipe to the piping, the pressure equals the pressure of the air in the tank plus
prevent recirculation from entry or exit turbulence. There should or minus any fluid pressure due to the elevation difference between
never be a valve or check valve in the common pipe. If these con- the tank liquid surface and the pipe (Figure 10).
ditions are met and the pressure loss in the common pipe can be As previously stated, a closed system should have only one
assumed to be zero, then neither pump will affect the other. Then, expansion chamber. The presence of more than one chamber or
except for the system static pressure at any given point, the circuits of excessive amounts of undissolved air in a piping system can
can be designed and analyzed and will function dynamically inde- cause the closed system to behave in unexpected (but under-
pendently of one another. standable) ways, causing extensive damage from shock waves or
In Figure 9, if Pump No. i has the same flow capacity in its cir- water hammer.
cuit as Pump No. 2 has in its circuit, all of the flow entering Point A With a single chamber on a system, assuming isothermal condi-
from Pump No. 1 will leave in the branch supplying Pump No. 2, tions for the air, the air pressure can change only as a result of dis-
and no water will flow in the common pipe. Under this condition, placement by the water. The only thing that can cause the water to
the water entering the load will be at the same temperature as that move into or out of the tank (assuming no water is being added to or
leaving the source. removed from the system) is expansion or shrinkage of the water in
If the flow capacity of Pump No. 1 exceeds that of Pump No. 2, the system. Thus, in sizing the tank, thermal expansion is related to
some water will flow downward in the common pipe. Under this the pressure extremes of the air in the tank [Equations (12), (13),
condition, Tee A is a diverting tee, and Tee B becomes a mixing tee. and (14)].
Again, the temperature of the fluid entering the load is the same as The point of connection of the tank should be based on the pres-
that leaving the source. However, because of the mixing taking sure requirements of the system, remembering that the pressure at
place at Point B, the temperature of the water returning to the the tank connection will not change as the pump is turned on or off.
source is between the source supply temperature and the load return For example, consider a system containing an expansion tank at
temperature. 200 kPa (gage) and a pump with a pump pressure of 70 kPa (gage).
On the other hand, if the flow capacity of Pump No. 1 is less than Figure 11 shows alternative locations for connecting the expansion
that of Pump No. 2, then Point A becomes a mixing point because tank; in either case, with the pump off, the pressure will be 200 Wa
some water must recirculate upward in the common pipe from Point (gage) on both the pump suction and discharge. With the tank on the
B. Under this condition, the temperature of the water entering the pump suction side, when the pump is turned on, the pressure
dT LDOWNFEED
I 0 7 5 î b 5 0 0548773 O77
SOURCE
A B C D I I I I I I
DIRECT RETURN
SOURCE
IWI
1 %
J I
OT,
H G I-
REVERSE RETURN
A B C
Fig. 17 Load Control Valves
Fig. 19 Load Pumps with Valve Control
'
AT
pump( s 1.
n 100
90
IL
40
z
W
I I I I I
y
h
30
7sc 7SC ESC Bsc esc 20
m r COMMON PIPE 7
EiE!
BALANCE VALVE
LOAD 1 LOAD 2
Four-Pipe Common Load Systems flow into the heating water circuit. The probability of this occurring
increases as the number of loads increases because the number of
In the four-pipe cornmon load system, load devices are used for control valves increases.
both heating and cooling as in the two-pipe system. The four-pipe
common load system differs from the two-pipe system in that both Another disadvantage of this system is that the loads have no
heating and cooling are available to each load device, and the individual capacity control as far as the water system is concerned.
changeover from one mode to the other takes place at each individ- That is, each valve must be positioned to either full heating or full
ual load device, or grouping of load devices, rather than at the cooling with no control in between.
source. Thus, some of the load systems can be in the cooling mode Because of these disadvantages, four-pipe common load systems
while others are in the heating mode. Figure 25 is a flow diagram of should be limited to those applications in which there are no inde-
a four-pipe common load system, with multiple loads and a single pendent load circuits (i.e., radiant ceiling panels or induction unit
boiler and chiller. coils).
Although many of these systems have been installed, many have
not performed successfully due to problems in implementing the
Four-Pipe Independent Load Systems
design concepts. The four-pipe independent load system is preferred for those
One problem that must be addressed is the expansion tank con- hydronic applications in which some of the loads are in the heating
nection(s). Many four-pipe systems were designed with two expan- mode while others are in the cooling mode. Control is simpler and
sion tanks-one for the cooling circuit and one for the heating more reliable than for the common load systems, and in many appli-
circuit. However, with multiple loads, these circuits become cations, the four-pipe independent load system is less costly to
hydraulically interconnected, thus creating a system with two install. Also, the flow through the individual loads can be modu-
expansion chambers. The preferred method of handling the expan- lated, providing both the control capability for variable capacity and
sion tank connection sets the point of reference pressure equal in the opportunity for variable flow in either or both circuits.
both circuits (Figure 25). A simplified example of a four-pipe independent load system
Another potential problem is the mixing of hot and chilled water. with two loads, one boiler, and two chillers is shown in Figure 26.
At each load connection, two three-way valves are required-a Note that both hydronic circuits are essentially independent, so that
mixing valve on the inlet and a diverting valve on the outlet. These each can be designed with disregard for the other system. Although
valves operate in unison in just two positions4pening either Port both circuits in the figure are shown as variable flow distribution
B to AB or Port A to AB. If, for example, the valve on the outlet systems, they could be constant flow (three-way valves) or one vari-
does not seat tightly and Load 1 is indexed to cooling and Load 2 is able flow and one constant flow. Generally, the control modulates
indexed to heating, return heating water from Load 2 will flow into the two load valves in sequence with a dead band at the control mid-
the chilled water circuit, and return chilled water from Load 1 will point.
This type of system offers additional flexibility when some
selective loads are arranged for heating only or cooling only, such as
TWO-POSITION
CHANGEOVER VALM 7 unit heaters or preheat coils. Then, central station systems can be
designed for humidity control with reheat through configuration at
Fig. 25 Four-Pipe Common Load System Fig. 26 Four-Pipe Independent Load System
i- -- (OPEN TO ATMOSPHERE)
I l I
curve and selecting the pump or pump assembly that operates clos- tends to create corrosion problems unless suitable inhibitors are
est to the calculated design point. used, it may be the only practical solution in many cases.
Solutions of triethylene glycol, as well as certain other heat transfer
Freeze Prevention fluids. may also be used. However, ethylene glycol and propylene gly-
AI1 circulaiing water systems require precautions to prcvcnt col are the most cominon substances used in hydronic systems be-
freezing, particularly in makeup air applications in temperate cli- cause they are less costly and provide the most effective heat transfer.
mates í I j where coils are exposed to outdoor air at bclow-freezing
tcnipcratures, (2) where undraincd chilled water coils are in the win-
Effect on Heat Transfer and Flow
ter airstream, or (3) where piping passes through unheated spaces. Tables 6 through 13 and Figures 9 through 16 in Chapter 20 of
Frccziiig will not occur as long as flow is maintained and the water the 1997 ASHRAE Handbook-Fundamentals show density, spe-
is at Icut warm. Unfortunatcly, during extremely cold weather or in cific heat, thermal conductivity, and viscosity of various aqueous
the event of a power failure. water flow and temperature cannot be solutions of ethylene glycol and propylene glycol. Table 4 and Table
guaranteed. Additionally, continuous pumping can bc cncr,y 0 -inten-
' 5 of that chapter indicate the freezing points for the two solutions.
sivc anti causc system wear. The following are precautions to avoid System heat transfer rate is affected by relative density and spe-
iluw stoppage or damage from freezing: cific heat according to the following equation:
I . Select all load devices (such as preheat coils) that are subjected
to outdoor air temperatures for constant flow, variable Ar control.
2. Fojition the coil valves of all cooling coils with valve control where
that are dormant in winter months to the full-open position at q,, = total heat transfer rate, W
those times. Q = flow rate. L/s
3. II' intermittent pump operation is used as an economy measure. p = fluid density, kgim'
use :in automatic ovcrridc to operate both chilled water and heat- = specific heat of fluid, kJ/(kg.K)
ing water pumps in bclow-freezing weather. At = temperature increase or decrease, K
4. Sclcct piimp starters that autoinatically restart after power failure
(¡.e., maintain-contact control). Effect on Heat Source or Chiller
5 . Select n«noverloading pumps. Generally, ethylcne glycol solutions should not be used directly
6. Instruct operating personnel never to shut down pumps in sub- in a boiler because of the danger of chemical corrosion caused by
freezing weather. glycol breakdown on direct heating surfaces. However, properly
7. Do not use aquastats, which can stop a pump. in boiler circuits. inhibited glycol solutions can be used in low-temperature water sys-
8. Avoid sluggish circulation, which may cause air binding or dirt
tems directly in the heating boiler if proper operation can be
deposit. Properly balance and clean systems. Provide proper air ensured. Automobilc antifreeze solutions are not recommended
control or ineaiis to eliminate air. because the silicate inhibitor can cause fouling, pump seal wear.
fluid gelation, and reduced heat transfer. The area or zone requiring
9. Install low temperature detection thermostats that have phasc
the antifreeze protection can be isolated with a separate heat
change capillaries wound in a serpentine pattern across the leav-
exchanger or converter. Glycol solutions are used directly in water
ing face of the upstream coil.
chillers in many cases.
I n fan equipment handling outdoor air. take precautions to avoid Glycol solutions affect the output of a heat exchanger by chang-
siratification of air entering the coil. The best methods for proper ing the film coefficient of the surface contacting the solution. This
niixing of indoor and outdoor air are the following: change in film coefficient is caused primarily by viscosity changes.
Figure 29 illustrates typical changes in output for two types of heat
1 . Select damper5 for presure drops adequate to provide stable exchangers, Curve A for a steam-to-liquid converter and Curve B
control of mixing, preferably with dampers installed several for a refrigerant-to-liquid chiller. The curves are plotted for one set
cquivalcnt diameters upstream of the air-handling unit. of opcrating conditions only and reflect the change in ethylene gly-
2. Design intake and approach duct systems to promote natural col concentration as the only variable. Propylene glycol has a sim-
mi x ing . ilar effect on heat exchanger output.
3. Select coils with circuiting to allow parallel flow of air and water.
Frcezc-up may still occur with any of these precautions. If an I O0
$
In systems in danger of freeze-up. water solutions of ethylene gly- 2
col and propylene glycol are comnionly used. Freeze protection may % 40
be needed í 1 ) in sriow-nielting applications (see Chapter 49 of the
I 999 ASHRAE H~ri7dhook-Ai>~licarions);(2) in systems subjected
to 100% outdoor air, where the methods outlined above may not pro-
vide absolute antifreeze protection; (3) in isolated parts or zones of a
20 I
O
I l
I
10
I
1
20 30
I
I
40
I
l
I
I
50
I
I
60
heating system where intermittent operation or long runs of exposed PERCENT ETHYLENE GLYCOL BY MASS
1.6 I I l l l I I I I l
95
I-
w
$90
a
85
80 -20 -10 O 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
10 20 JO 40 50 60 TEMPERATURE, 'C
VISCOSITY. rnPa.s 1.6
Lockhart, H.A. and GE Carlson. 1953. Compression tank selection for hot Pierce, J.D. 1963. Application of fin tube rlidiation to modern hot waterheat-
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