Equal Friction Method

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Equal Friction Method

The equal friction method of sizing ducts is easy and straightforward to use
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The equal friction method of sizing ducts is often preferred because it is quite easy to use. The method can be summarized to 1. Compute the necessary air flow volume (m /h, cfm) in every room and branch of the system 2. 3. 4. 5. Use to compute the total air volume (m /h, cfm) in the main system Determine the maximum acceptable airflow velocity in the main duct Determine the major pressure drop in the main duct Use the major pressure drop for the main duct as a constant to determine the duct sizes throughout the distribution system 6. Determine the total resistance in the duct system by multiplying the static resistance with the equivalent length of the longest run 7. Compute balancing dampers
1) 3 3

1. Compute the air volume in every room and branch

Convert Units
Temperature
o o

Use the actual heat, cooling or air quality requirements for the rooms and calculate the required air volume - q.

2. Compute the total volume in the system

Make a simplified diagram of the system like the one above. Use
1)

Free Industry Downloads E&P (Hart's E&P) - in the system.

C F

to summarize and accumulate the total volume - q

total

Length

m km in ft yards miles nautical miles

Note! Be aware that maximum load conditions almost never occurs in all of the rooms at the same time. Avoid over-sizing the main system by multiplying the accumulated volume with a factor less than one (This is probably the hard part - and for larger systems sophisticated computer-assisted indoor climate calculations are often required).

3. Determine the maximum acceptable airflow velocity in the main ducts

Select the maximum velocity in the main duct on basis of the application environment. To avoid disturbing noise levels - keep maximum velocities within experienced limits: comfort systems - air velocity 4 to 7 m/s (13 to 23 ft/s) industrial systems - air velocity 8 to 12 m/s (26 to 40 ft/s) high speed systems - air velocity 10 to 18 m/s (33 to 60 ft/s) Use the maximum velocity limits when selecting the size of the main duct.

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Volume
3

m in ft

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liters
3 3

4. Determine the static pressure drop in main duct

Use a pressure drop table or similar to determine the static pressure drop in the main duct.

us gal

5. Determine the duct sizes throughout the system

Velocity

Use the static pressure drop determined in

1)

4)

as a constant to determine the ducts sizes throughout the system.

m/s km/h ft/min ft/s mph knots

Use the air volumes calculated in for the calculation. Select the duct sizes with the pressure drop for the actual ducts as close to the main duct pressure drop as possible.

6. Determine the total resistance in the system

Use the static pressure from to calculate the pressure drop through the longest part of the duct system. Use the equivalent length which is the actual length + additional lengths for bends, T's, inlets and outlets
4)

Engineering Standards

Pressure
2

7. Calculate balancing dampers

Use the total resistance in and the volume flow throughout the system to calculate necessary dampers and the theoretical pressure loss through the dampers.
6)

Pa (N/m ) bar

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Equal Friction Method

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/equal-friction-method-d_1028.html

mm H2O kg/cm psi inches H O

2 2

Note about the Equal Friction Method

The equal friction method is straightforward and easy to use and gives an automatic reduction of the air flow velocities throughout the system. The reduced velocities are in general within the noise limits of the application environment. The method can increase the numbers of reductions compared to other methods, and often a poorer pressure balance in the system require more adjusting dampers. This may increase the system cost compared to other methods.

Flow
3 3

m /s m /h US gpm cfm

Example - Equal Friction Method

The equal friction method can be done manual or more or less semi automatic with a spreadsheet as shown in the table below.

Free Industry Downloads E&P (Hart's E&P)

The table is based on the diagram above. Air flow and friction loss from a diagram is added. Minor pressure loss coefficients must be summarized for for the actual applications. The pressure loss in each path is summarized on the right and pressure loss is added manually in the dampers to balance the system. The excel template can be downloaded here!
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Related Topics
Ventilation - Systems for ventilation and air handling - air change rates, ducts and pressure drops, charts and diagrams and more

Related Documents
Engineering Standards
Air Ducts Friction Loss Diagram - Major loss diagram air ducts - SI units Air Ducts Friction Loss Diagram - Major loss diagram air ducts - Imperial units ranging 10 - 100 000 cfm Air Velocities in Ducts - Recommended maximum air velocities in ventilation ducts Circular Duct Sizes - Dimensions of circular ventilation air ducts Design of Ventilation Systems - A design procedure of ventilation systems, with air flow rates, heat and cooling loads, air shifts according occupants, air supply principles Duct Velocity - Calculate velocities in circular and rectangular ducts - imperial and SI-units - online calculator Friction Loss in Ducts - Friction loss or major loss in ducts - equations and online calculator for rectangular and circular ducts - imperial units Minor Loss Coefficients for Air Duct Components - Minor loss - pressure or head loss - coefficients for air duct distribution systems components Rectangular Duct Sizes - Dimensions of common rectangular air ducts used in ventilation systems Rectangular and Circular HVAC Ducts - Equivalent Diameter - Equivalent diameters for rectangular and circular ducts - air flows between 100 - 50,000 cfm Sizing Circular Ducts - A rough guide to maximum air volume capacity of circular ducts in comfort, industrial and high speed ventilation systems Sizing Ducts - The ductwork of ventilation systems are often sized with either the Velocity, the Constant Pressure Loss (or Equal Friction Loss) - or the Static Pressure Recovery Methods

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Equal Friction Method

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