A Guide to Using

Piping Systems
Fluid Flow V2.x

By Flite Software Ltd

Last Revision Date April 2004.
This manual was produced by Flite Software Ltd.

Flite Software Ltd.

Block E, Balliniska Business Park
Springtown Rd, Derry
Northern Ireland.
+44 2871 279227

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Contents
Piping Systems Fluid Flow V2.x.........................................................................i
Introduction.........................................................................................................1
Product Overview............................................................................................1
Disclaimer, Quality and Update Policy...........................................................3
Installation...........................................................................................................5
Installing and Uninstalling..............................................................................5
What you will need.....................................................................................5
Program Installation....................................................................................6
Updating an existing installation.................................................................8
Uninstalling.................................................................................................8
What Gets Installed.....................................................................................9
Notes for Network Administrators................................................................12
Running the installation program setup.exe..............................................12
Accepting the licence terms......................................................................13
Ready to Install..........................................................................................13
Selecting a location for the installation, for upgrades skip this section....14
Copying Files............................................................................................14
Setting up the server to recognise users and passwords............................15
Logging on for the first time.....................................................................15
Setting up clients.......................................................................................17
Upgrading the number of licences............................................................18
Guided Tour.......................................................................................................19
Starting the application Piping Systems FluidFlow......................................19
A First Example Liquid Calculation..............................................................19
Evaluating the Results from the Example.....................................................28
A First Example Gas Calculation..................................................................31
Flowsheet..........................................................................................................33
Component selection and placement.............................................................33
Making pipe connections..............................................................................34
Changing Component Types.........................................................................36
Component and Pipe Deletion.......................................................................37
Zooming........................................................................................................38
Display options..............................................................................................39
Undo operations............................................................................................40
Dragging and dropping individual components............................................40
Multi Marking...............................................................................................42
Multi marking individually...........................................................................43
Multi marking within an area........................................................................45
Marking an entire network............................................................................46
Multi marked cut, copy and pasting..............................................................47
Find a Component by Number......................................................................47
Fly By Hints..................................................................................................47
Showing Text on the Flowsheet....................................................................48
Build and Calculation Errors.........................................................................49
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 Result Tables.................................................................................................51
Graph Results................................................................................................53
Warnings / Hints............................................................................................54
User Notes.....................................................................................................55
Component Lists...........................................................................................56
Component Types..............................................................................................59
Pipes ........................................................................................................60
Entry and Exit Points.....................................................................................63
Flow Component .................................................................................63
Pressure Component ............................................................................63

Junctions ..................................................................................................64
Valves, Manually Operated .....................................................................65

Pumps and Fans ......................................................................................66

Pipe Reductions and Expansions ............................................................67
Non Return Valves ..................................................................................68
Sprinklers ...............................................................................................69
Orifice Plates ..........................................................................................70

Control Valves and Controllers ..............................................................70

Connectors ...............................................................................................71
Generic Flow Coefficient Components ..................................................71
Generic K Factor Components ................................................................72
Generic Kf Components .........................................................................73
User Defined Component .......................................................................73
Pressure Relief Valve ..............................................................................74
Interpreting Result Tables.................................................................................77
Density......................................................................................................78
Viscosity....................................................................................................78
Vapour Pressure.........................................................................................78
Flow into / from Network.........................................................................79
Total Head / Pressure.................................................................................79
Head / Pressure..........................................................................................80
Warnings / Hints........................................................................................81
Flow through "Component Name"............................................................81
"Component Name" Loss..........................................................................81
Mean "Component Name" Loss................................................................81

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 Mean Total Head / Pressure.......................................................................81
Branch to (n) Head / Pressure...................................................................82
Branch to (n) loss......................................................................................82
Corner Loss...............................................................................................82
D and D/2 Loss..........................................................................................82
Flange Loss...............................................................................................83
Valve Position @ Set Point.......................................................................83
Cv Value@ Set Point..................................................................................83
NPSH Available.........................................................................................83
NPSH Required.........................................................................................84
Duty Flow..................................................................................................84
Duty Head / Pressure.................................................................................84
Duty Efficiency.........................................................................................84
Duty Power................................................................................................85
Affinity Law Corrected.............................................................................85
Viscosity Corrected...................................................................................85
Pipe Size....................................................................................................86
Flowrate.....................................................................................................86
Average Velocity.......................................................................................86
Pipe Friction Loss.....................................................................................86
Absolute Roughness..................................................................................86
Reynolds Number......................................................................................87
Friction Factor...........................................................................................87
Hydraulic Gradient....................................................................................87
Hazen-Williams Coefficient......................................................................87
Mach Number............................................................................................88
Gain/Loss due to Velocity Change............................................................88
Default Data for Components...........................................................................91
Default Connector.........................................................................................92
Default Entry/Exit with known Flow............................................................92
Default Entry Exit with known Pressure.......................................................93
Default Fan....................................................................................................94
Default Flow Control Valve..........................................................................95
Default Junctions...........................................................................................96
Default Generic Fittings................................................................................98
Default Manually Operated Valves...............................................................99
Default Non Return Valve...........................................................................100
Default Orifice Plate Sizes..........................................................................101
Default User Defined Component...............................................................101
Default Pipe Properties................................................................................102
Default Pressure Control Valves.................................................................103
Default Pump..............................................................................................105
Default Reducers.........................................................................................106
Default Sprinklers.......................................................................................107
Default Pressure Relief Valves....................................................................108
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Application and Calculation Properties...........................................................109
Current Network Properties........................................................................109
Convergence Criteria...................................................................................110
Application Available Resources.................................................................111
Calculation Options.....................................................................................112
Report Units................................................................................................114
Table Report Units...................................................................................114
Pump & Fan Chart Curve Visibility........................................................114
Pump & Fan Chart Colours and Line Widths..........................................115
Pump & Fan Chart Display Units............................................................116
Warning Limits............................................................................................117
Databases.........................................................................................................119
Database Overview......................................................................................119
Access Levels..............................................................................................119
Data Connections........................................................................................122
Operations Common to all Databases.........................................................124
Control Valve Database...............................................................................127
Fan/Compressor Database...........................................................................129
Gas Physical Properties Database...............................................................131
Generic Fittings Database...........................................................................133
Liquid Physical Property Database.............................................................136
Junctions Database......................................................................................137
Manual Valves Database.............................................................................138
Non Return Valves Database.......................................................................139
Pipe Database..............................................................................................140
Pump Database............................................................................................141
Relief Valve Database.................................................................................143
Sprinkler Database......................................................................................145
Units of Measurement Database.................................................................146
User Defined Component Database............................................................147
Merging Databases......................................................................................148
Automating Excel............................................................................................151
Export / Data Linking Options....................................................................151
Defining the type of Excel Link..................................................................153
Printing............................................................................................................155
Print Design.................................................................................................155
Setting Print Inclusions...............................................................................155
Project Description..................................................................................157
Setting Print Margins..................................................................................158
Table and Export Content............................................................................158
Print Preview...............................................................................................161
Printing a Bill of Materials..........................................................................162
Example Designs.............................................................................................163
Flow balancing............................................................................................163
A pump feed system with flow controllers..................................................169
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 Setting Pressure Reducing Valves in a Gas Collection System..................174
Time Variation of Gas Pressure in an Air Receiver.....................................177
Tools and Add-Ins...........................................................................................183
Configuring Tools and Helper Applications................................................183
Technical Background, Equations and Correlations Used..............................185
A description of the network solution algorithm used by Piping Systems
FluidFlow....................................................................................................185
Cv Equations for Pressure and Flow Controllers........................................188
K, Kf, Kv and Ki Losses.............................................................................188
Diverging Tee..........................................................................................189
Converging Tee.......................................................................................189
Diverging Cross.......................................................................................189
Converging Cross....................................................................................189
Other Types of Cross...............................................................................190
Equations for Relief Valves.........................................................................190
Limitations in use of Pressure and Flow Controllers..................................193
Gas Flow Definitions and Correction Factors.............................................195
Estimation of Gas Physical Properties........................................................196
Quality Assurance...........................................................................................197
Unit Conversion Consistency......................................................................197
Pressure Units Consistency checking......................................................197
Pressure Drop Units Consistency Checking...........................................198
Head Loss Units Consistency Checking.................................................199
Density Units Consistency Checking......................................................199
Viscosity Units Consistency Checking...................................................200
Length Units Consistency Checking.......................................................200
Volumetric Flow Units Consistency Checking.......................................201
Mass Flow Units Consistency Checking.................................................202
Velocity Units Consistency Checking.....................................................202
Power Units Consistency Checking........................................................203
Reynolds Number, Friction Factor and Pipe Friction Loss.........................203
Roughness Factor and Pipe Friction Loss...................................................204
Orifice Plate Head Loss...............................................................................205
Valve, K, Kv and Kf Head Loss..................................................................205
Pressure Controller Checking......................................................................206
Calculation of Idelchik Tee.........................................................................208
Nomenclature..................................................................................................209
Appendix I – Published data formats for data import.....................................211
FLUID CONTROL VALVES ASCII FILES...............................................211
PUMPS ASCII FILES.................................................................................212
Index................................................................................................................217

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Introduction
Product Overview
Piping Systems FluidFlow has been developed to provide you with a total
working environment for the design, analysis and troubleshooting of new and
existing piping systems. This product combines over 12 years experience in the
supply and development of fluid flow design products with our extensive
knowledge gained from working with major international pumping and fluid
equipment manufacturers.
A fluid network can range from a single pipe to any complex arrangement of
fluid components and pipes. The core module of Piping Systems FluidFlow
allows for the solution of incompressible or compressible fluid networks
containing many different types of network components.
The software can be used to accurately simulate network performance before a
network has been built or modified. This means potential problems can be
quickly identified and corrected within the interactive environment so that
expensive errors can be avoided. Interactive design naturally leads to better
design quality while maintaining or improving operational flexibility.
For existing plants you can use Piping Systems FluidFlow to identify
bottlenecks and problem areas, to view how your plant will perform at different
operating conditions or production rates.
In hazop and hazan studies you can use Piping Systems FluidFlow to
determine how your plant will operate at start up and shut down as well as
under abnormal conditions, which means the software helps improve safety.
Piping Systems FluidFlow can be used with very little computing experience
and appreciated by those more expert.
Context sensitive help is available at all times.
Piping Systems FluidFlow uses a familiar flowsheet format, which allows the
representation of the fluid network to be easily and quickly built on the screen.
As you would expect, dragging, scrolling, zooming, undo, point and click, as
well as clipboard cut, copy and paste operations are all available within the
flowsheet allowing you to design your network with minimum effort and
maximum flexibility.
The connectivity and data within the flowsheet is continuously checked as the
network is constructed and you are notified of any build errors as they occur.
This unique feature reduces the time it takes to build the network and helps
eliminate data entry errors during your design.

1
The flowsheet, data entry and various views of the calculation results are ‘hot-
linked’ and visually available from within the application. This provides a
unique, intuitive feel for the network without the need for cross-referencing.
The calculation engine is 32-bit speed optimised, which means fast
convergence to a solution and for small and medium sized networks virtually
instantaneous results. This convergence speed has been utilised to provide a
unique ‘AutoCalculate’ feature. This further enhances the intuitive feel for the
network by immediately updating calculation results after any data change.
Flowsheet, data input, and results view integration, together with immediate
feedback on data changes aids problem comprehension and allows for easily
accomplished ‘what if’ type analysis.
The ability to change the design or operating conditions at any component is
easily accomplished. This ability enables your design to be optimised for low-
cost, operating flexibility, or used in hazop or hazan studies.
Additionally it is possible to make global changes on selected components.
Extensive calculation warnings are provided together with engineering hints on
how to overcome potential problems.
A summary of all hints and warnings in any given piping network can be found
by using the Warnings/Hints view.
Multiple non-connected systems within the same flowsheet are solved
individually. This ability together with the clipboard operations allows for
consideration of design alternatives within the same flowsheet.
User notes can be attached to any component.
Preferences of the user interface are configurable which means the software
can adapt to work the way you want. All data input and result units are
changeable with immediate effect and the application makes extensive use of
graphs to illustrate results and equipment performance.
All pipe and component source data are stored in data tables. There are
separate tables for pumps, fans/compressors, sprinklers, pipes, manual valves,
control valves, relief valves, pipe dimensions and types, non-return valves,
measurement units, fluid physical properties, and generic tables for
components which can be defined as flow coefficients, K Values, etc.
Databases can be locally or centrally administered, enabling team working and
data consistency. It is possible to log to any Piping Systems FluidFlow
database in any location throughout your organisation at any time. Use of
database tables greatly reduces the volume of data input and encourages the
use of consistent design data throughout your organisation.
The default data values for all fluid components can be set at any time, this
reduces data entry volume.

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The report designer enables you to determine report content and style. Headers
and footers can be designed and included in the printout together with
configurable tables and the flowsheet at various sizes. Alternatively it is
possible to utilise Microsoft Excel as the basis for any reports.
Using Piping Systems FluidFlow you can effectively solve your fluid flow
problems because of :
 Proven calculation reliability.
 Rapid network construction, with build error feedback.
 Flowsheet, data input and results view integration enable the effect of
changes to be immediately available for evaluation.
 Databases encourage the use of consistent design data and reduce the
volume of data input.
 Hints and warnings help ensure you select the correct component,
operating within acceptable conditions.

Disclaimer, Quality and Update

Policy
Every effort is made to ensure correct calculation results.
Flite Software Ltd does not guarantee calculation accuracy.
As such Flite Software Ltd specifically disclaims liability for any loss of profit,
or commercial damage including special, incidental, consequential or other
damages arising from the use of Piping Systems FluidFlow.
By using the software you agree to the above disclaimer.
If you do not agree with the above disclaimer please return the software to
where you purchased for a full refund.
You can be confident that every effort is made to achieve the highest quality
possible and to this end we have a strict quality policy that is rigorously
adhered to. You should read the Quality Assurance Chapter describing our
procedures and the QA sample calculations that are run prior to each release or
update.
Since our working policy is one of continuous improvement we encourage you
to provide comments and ideas for enhancements at any time. You can use our
Internet site at www.fluidflowinfo.com, use the fax back form generated by the
application or email us directly to support@fluidflowinfo.com
Program errors and bugs should be reported as soon as possible. We undertake
to fix any reported errors quickly and will post a minor release to our Internet
site. All users are encouraged to download minor releases as often as desired.
There is no charge for this service.
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Installation
Installing and Uninstalling
What you will need
To use Piping Systems FluidFlow you will need the following:
 Microsoft Windows 95, 98, 2000, XP or Windows NT 4.0 with service
pack 5 or above.
 At least 64MB of memory.
 Approximately 3-4 megabytes of free disc space.
 A video display and card capable of displaying at least 800 x 600
resolution.
 If you have purchased a single user copy then you will need a hardware
key (sometimes called a dongle), inserted in the parallel port of your
machine. If you have purchased a network version you do not need a
dongle, however you will need an unlock code which is shipped with the
software, or provided by your supplier.
The application is supplied on a CD titled ‘Piping Systems FluidFlow’. All
discs or the CD contain just one file called setup.exe. This file contains the
application and all necessary files needed to run Piping Systems FluidFlow
together with the help file, a copy of the printed documentation in Word
format and some example calculations.
If you have purchased a multi-user licence and wish to run the application
across a local area network from a central server then you should run setup.exe
to install the application on the server. See the section "Notes for Network
Administrators" at the end of this chapter for an explanation of how to set up
client users.
If you have purchased a single licence copy of Piping Systems FluidFlow there
is little advantage to running the software from a server because only one user
will be able to run the application at any time. In addition your user preferences
will not be saved correctly.
If you are evaluating the software or have simply downloaded from our
website, then you will not have a dongle. In this case the full product
functionality is available to you with the exception that you cannot change the
fluid component. This is fixed and titled 'ForDemonstrationOnly'.

5
ForDemonstrationOnly is a fictitious fluid and is available for use both as a
liquid and as a gas.
If you are installing the software on a server or on your own local machine
or as a demonstration copy the first step is to run setup.exe
Important Note: Before running setup please ensure that your machine or the
server has write access to the Windows directory and all sub -directories from
this directory. Once installed it is not necessary to have write access to any
Windows folders.
If you are updating an existing installation then run the update.exe program on
the update disc(s)

Program Installation
Insert the floppy disc labelled 'Disk 1’, or CD into your computer and open the
run dialog by clicking the Start menu and select Run. Start the setup program.
The setup program creates the following dialog over the install splash screen.

Press the next button and then read the text in the next dialog to ensure that you
are happy with the content before proceeding. By continuing the installation
you accept the disclaimer.

6
Press the next button to continue after you have accepted the licensing terms
and conditions. The following dialog allows you to change the installed
directory by using the Browse button:

7
Pressing next gives the final dialog before the file installation commences. The
installation copies all the files you will need to run Piping Systems FluidFlow,
places an icon on the desktop and places an entry in the start menu.
You should insert the dongle into the parallel port of your computer before you
run the application; otherwise the program will not offer full functionality.

Updating an existing installation

Any existing installation can be updated from update.exe file found on an
update disc. When update is run it automatically detects for an existing
installation and updates accordingly. Please note that updating does not
overwrite existing databases or project files.

Uninstalling
From the start menu, select the Piping Systems FluidFlow option then select
Uninstall Piping Systems FluidFlow.
A confirmation dialog will appear; if you confirm FluidFlow will remove all
installed files from your hard disc and undo changes made to the Windows
registry.

8
The uninstall process will not remove any files you have created or any copies
of databases you have made. You should remove these yourself using Windows
explorer or similar.

What Gets Installed

FluidFlow installs all working files to the directory you selected during the
installation process and additionally creates the following directories (folders)
from the user installed directory:
 Add -Ins
 Data or NewDB
 Documentation
 Examples
 Help
 Preferences
 Quality Assurance
 Updated Data

There are several files copied into the user selected install directory:
ff.exe or ffnet.exe which is the application executable file.
fflang.lmn, fflang.lnp, fflang.log, fflang.mld which are language files.
engunits.fdb is the engineering units database.
V x.xx Enhancements.txt is a text file that contains a complete list of bugs and
enhancements dating back to the original release.
Unwise.exe and Install.log are files that are used during installation removal.
FFReport and FFStrict.xlt files which are Excel templates.
The Add Ins Directory contains a number of helper applications. The number
of helper applications is designed to increase over time. Helper applications are
small stand-alone applications that enhance the functionality of the Piping
Systems Fluid Flow program. Flite Software distributes these helper
applications as freeware, which means you can freely copy the helper
applications.
Currently there are 3 helper applications which ship with Piping Systems Fluid
Flow these are:
PipeSizer.exe – an application that allows you to find the economic pipe
velocity for any fluid by solving the Generaux equation.

9
KC.exe - a utility for converting between K, Kf and Kv values. K, Kf and Kv
are used to express head loss across various types of pipe fittings.
VolumeCalculator.exe – an application that calculates tank levels in horizontal
and vertical tanks with dished ends if the volume is known or calculates
volume if the height is known.
Please check our website regularly for more free applications. You are
encouraged to feedback ideas for future helper applications.
The Data Directory contains a total of 13 files which correspond to the 13
databases used by the program, all files have the extension *.fdb:
CValve contains control valve information used by both pressure and flow
controller components.
Generic contains data for Kf, Kv and K defined components.
Junction contains data for open pipes, bends, T-junctions and cross-junctions.
Liquid contains the physical property information stores as a function of
temperature.
Nrv contains data for Non Return valves.
Pipes contains pipe sizes, descriptions and roughness factors for all pipes used
by the application.
PressureReliefValve contains relief valve performance data.
Pump contains pump performance data.
Sprinkler contains performance data of sprinklers.
Valve contains data for manually operated valves.
UserDefined contains performance data for components whose head loss
characteristics are not simple functions of flow squared. Typical components
are constant head loss components, filters etc.
If you have purchased the gas module then there are additionally two databases
installed:
Fan contains the fan/compressor performance data.
Gas contains the physical property information stored as a function of
temperature and pressure.
The NewDB Directory is empty after a new installation. This directory is only
used during updates to existing installations. Since the contents of the
databases are constantly being added to the very latest data files are always
written to this folder after an update has occurred. It is the users responsibility
to merge contents with existing databases if required.
Caution: This dirctory is overwritten at each update. Do not store working
databases in this folder or they will be overwritten during update and you
may loose data

10
The Documentation Directory contains a copy of the printed documentation in
Microsoft Word format.
The Examples Directory contains various example files, the exact content will
change from release to release. All fluid network files have the *.ffl extension.
All gas network files have the extension *.ffg.
The Help Directory contains the application help files, any help macros and
table of contents.
The Preferences Directory contains configuration information, fax back
information and hard copy report templates. Configuration information has the
extension *.cfg, faxback information has the extension *.fxb and *.idx, whilst
print report templates have the extension *.ffr. You should have at least the
following files installed in this directory:
Default Landscape.ffr is a report (print) template for printing in landscape
mode.
Default Portrait.ffr is a report template for printing in portrait mode. The
program allows you to create additional report templates either by modifying
the default templates or by creating your own.
Default.fxb and Default.idx are default fax back, bug reporting, addition
requesting, comment files.
ffDefaults.cfg contains information on the default properties for all
components. If the gas module is installed you should also have a file called
ffgasDefaults.cfg which contains the default component properties for all
components used when composing gas networks.
After you have run the program once an additional file called ffState.cfg will be
written to this directory. This file records state information about your
preferences such as preferred units, state of the flowsheet, logged databases
etc.
The Quality Assurance Directory contains example fluid networks etc. that are
used by Flite Software to check program results before all releases. It may be
interesting to view these files to feel assured on the work we do prior to each
release with regard to calculation checking.
The Updated Data Directory is empty after a new installation. This directory is
only used during updates to existing installations. Each time you run setup the
databases distributed with the application are written to the Updated Data
folder.

11
Notes for Network Administrators
Follow this procedure to Upgrade an existing installation or Install a new
version.
The upgrade and installation process is split into two parts. Part 1 deals with
running the setup program which copies all necessary files to your server hard
disk.
Part 2 deals with setting up users from the server and setting up clients.

Running the installation program setup.exe

Before running setup, please ensure that you have read/write access rights to
the system registry. On the server run the setup.exe installation program. The
first screen you see should be

Note that the top left hand corner of the installation screen describes the type of
installation. This should be "Piping Systems FluidFlow. Release 2.xx Network
Version". Ensure that the descriptive text includes the words Network Version.

12
Accepting the licence terms

Press the Next button from this screen and then the Accept button from the
following dialog. Pressing Accept means that you agree with the licensing
conditions.

After pressing the Accept button you will get the Ready to Install dialog as
shown below.

Ready to Install

Press the Next button to continue.

13
Selecting a location for the installation, for upgrades skip
this section.

If you are installing for the first time (i.e. a new copy), you will be asked first
to specify the location you wish to install to. If you are upgrading you will not
see the following dialog and can skip directly to section.

For new installations you are provided with the opportunity to change the
installed location. You can affect this by using the browse button. Once the
install location has been selected press the Next button and file copying will
begin.

Copying Files

During this process you will see the following dialog.

Once file copying has been completed the installation program is complete as
shown in the final dialog.

14
Setting up the server to recognise users and passwords
This section only applies to new installations, if you are upgrading you can
skip this complete part.

Logging on for the first time

After setup has been completed on the server you should carry out the
following steps from the server in order to complete the installation process.
Run the application from the server and you should be presented with the
following Log On screen.

15
Set the following conditions before pressing the OK button.
The password required is "psff".
You must enter the licence details correctly. These are shown on the enclosed
sheet found in the product box.
For example if you have a 6 user, liquid and gas licence the dialog should be
filled as follows. Note that the unlock code is provided with the package and is
not 12345678. The unlock code that is provided will only work with the
licensing conditions that you purchased.

16
Press OK and you are then logged into the application as the administrator.
As the administrator you are allowed to add new users and this facility can be
accessed from the File | Configure User File ... menu option (note that this
option is only enabled for the administrator.) Select this option and you are
presented with a dialog to add new users.
Use the add button to add as many users, together with passwords, as you
require. The application will prevent more concurrent users than the licence
allows. Make a note of all user names and passwords from the list. There are
also utilities to delete users and change passwords from this dialog.

Setting up clients
The application software is now set up to run. All that remains is that you
create a short cut to the main exe file ff.exe from each client machine and then
allocate the user names and passwords to each client.
It is only necessary to carry out the above operations once.
Once installed the normal log on screen that the users will experience is shown
below.

17
Note that it is not required to enter an unlock code each time your users need to
log on. They will only need their password.
The unlock section is normally disabled/greyed.

Upgrading the number of licences

The Upgrade button on the above dialog does not refer to updating product
but to upgrading the number of licences only. For example if you have a
licence for 4 concurrent users and wish to upgrade to say 8 then after purchase
of the extra 4 licences you will be issued with a new unlock code. At this time
press the Upgrade button and reset the licence conditions. From V2.23 onwards
the text on the Upgrade button has been changed to CHANGE LICENCE in
order to avoid confusion.

18
Guided Tour
Starting the application Piping
Systems FluidFlow
Before you start the application check that the dongle is inserted into the
parallel port on your machine.
After installation, the Piping Systems FluidFlow icon should be available from
the desktop. Double click this icon. Alternatively you can start the program
from the Start button ¦ Programs ¦ Piping Systems FluidFlow ¦ Piping Systems
FluidFlow menu option. At start up the application appears as:

A First Example Liquid Calculation

Consider as a first example a water head tank with an outlet pipe of length 20
m consisting of two sections. A vertical section 3 m long, a standard 90 bend,

19
followed by a straight horizontal section of 17 m. The pipe is 1” Schedule 40
commercial steel and the water temperature is at 15 C. The overflow in the
head tank is 1.05m above the vertical outlet pipe.

What will be the flow from the pipe outlet?

This can be represented schematically as:

To model the above example we will need a total of 3 components (the head
tank, the bend and the pipe exit) and 2 pipe sections.
Using the component toolbar select the tank icon by clicking on it. As you
move across the flowsheet the cursor will change to show a tank. Click again
on the flowsheet and the tank will be dropped as illustrated in the following
diagram.

20
Click (left mouse button) on the pipe icon and move the cursor to lie over the
tank.

Click again once the pipe is over the tank. After the click one end of the pipe
will snap to the tank. As you move the pipe around, the pipe will follow the
current cursor position.

21
Move to a suitable location on the flowsheet and click again. This operation
completes a pipe addition. Notice that the pipe is terminated with an open pipe
component. If you make a mistake click the Undo button and the last operation
will be undone.

The termination component is actually a junction. Junctions can be bends, tees,

open pipes or cross-junctions. The junction component changes itself
automatically depending on the number of pipes connected. The maximum
number of pipes that can be connected to this type of component is 4. With the
pipe cursor still over the junction click again and a new pipe will be created
that will snap to this junction. Move the cursor horizontally right (the new pipe

22
should be following) and click again to complete the network connectivity as
shown below.

We have now completed the first part of data entry, i.e, placing the components
on the flowsheet and using the pipe tool to connect them. Since we do not wish
to add more components click on the Deselect Button and then click on the
tank. You should notice that as you click on each component the data entry and
results window changes appropriately. The data entry area always lies to the
right of the flowsheet area.

Notice that as you click on each component both the results and data entry
update. As you can see there is already data for each component and the results
show a no flow situation. This is because there is, as yet, no head or pressure
difference throughout the network.
Click the results tab now to obtain the view shown in the next illustration.

23
All components have a default value as they are clicked into the flowsheet. The
default values can be changed. More on this later.
In our system we have a head driving force determined by the height of the
head tank above the pipe discharge.
Before we continue with the solution perhaps it is useful to review and define
the terminology used in Piping Systems FluidFlow. At any point within a
piping system the total energy of the fluid (per unit weight) is given by:
Total Energy ( H ) = z + p / g + v2 / 2g---------- (Eqn 1) in terms of head
or ….
Total Energy ( P ) = zg + p + v2 / 2 ---------- (Eqn 1) in terms of pressure
Within Piping Systems FluidFlow energy levels can be expressed in either
pressure or head units. You can also mix pressure and head units as desired. It
has become common in many branches of fluid mechanics, particularily within
Europe, to use the terms total head and velocity head instead of total pressure
and velocity pressure. This approach has been used prior to versions 2.1. To
avoid confusion we now follow a more strict approach and use either pressure
or head terminology depending upon context.
You can find context sensitive help for each row in the results table by clicking
the left mouse button over the table row. For convenience a summary is
presented below.
24
Datum Level refers to the z term in Eqn 1, and represents the potential
energy at any point relative to an arbitrary datum. This is also called the
elevation or hydrostatic head. Throughout Piping Systems FluidFlow we use
the term Datum Level

Pressure refers to the P / g + v2 / 2g term in Eqn 1. This is the sum of the

static and dynamic pressures of a fluid and is often called stagnation pressure.
Throughout Piping Systems FluidFlow the term stagnation is usually dropped
and this property is referred to as either head or pressure. It is worth noting that
the pressure of a flowing fluid will rise when brought to rest as the velocity
term in Eqn 1 becomes zero, the static pressure will rise.

Velocity Head The term v2 / 2g is often referred to as velocity or dynamic

pressure. Within Piping Systems FluidFlow velocity head changes can only
occur at reducers, expanders and Idelchik type reducing bends, tees or wyes.

Pressure Drop (or Gain) is the difference between the stagnation

pressures between any two points in a network. Normally we are interested in
the pressure loss across a fluid equipment item such as a valve or bend.

Total Pressure refers to the summation of all the terms in the energy
equation. Eqn 1.
Continuing with the problem, in all systems, we need to select an arbitrary
datum position. Once we select a datum position all total head results will
show relative to this datum.
In this example we will select the datum at the lowest level in the system
,i.e,the centreline of the horizontal pipe. (We could select the datum as the top of
the liquid level in the tank and the same pressures and flows would result.)
The driving force for flow is the hydrostatic head difference between the liquid
levels. This driving head can be entered either as a Datum Level (4.05) or as a
Pressure at the head tank (4.05 m Fluid g), or as a combination of the two. We
will enter the data as a combination, which means we are entering data relative
to the tank base, i.e. the boundary condition for our simulation lies in the tank
at a level 1.05m below the liquid (on a level with the centre line of the outlet
pipe). As a user you should always enter stagnation pressures/heads at entry
exit points with known pressures. Since we need to define the total
pressure/head at a boundary we need to include any velocity term, therefore
we are entering stagnation pressure.
Click on the tank, to ensure you are entering data for the tank and then enter
3.0 into the Datum Level field and 1.05 into the Pressure field, be sure to
25
change the pressure units to m Fluid g. Here we are neglecting the velocity in
the supply tank. This is shown in the next illustration.

As the data is entered you should notice that the results immediately update
and arrows appear to show a flow direction. (assuming 'AutoCalc' is active).
The displayed results are not giving a solution to our original problem because
we have yet to set the pipe lengths and sizes, since they are different than the
currently set default values. Click on the vertical pipe leaving the head tank and
change the Pipe Length to 3 m and the nominal size to 1” as shown below.

26
Click on the horizontal pipe and change the length to 17m and the Nominal
Size to 1”.
Assuming a standard bend this completes data entry and the results should now
be correct.
Note that if you are running a demo version of the software the
results will be different from those provided here since you can only
carry out calculations with the imaginary fluid
'ForDemonstrationOnly'.

27
Click on the other components and also the pipes and you should see that
obviously all flows are the same at 3.81 m3/h. If you prefer you can view
results in any units, simply click the right mouse button over the results grid
and change to your preferred units. For now stick to the default units shown.

Evaluating the Results from the

Example
You can view the component and pipe results as you move around the network.
Considering the component heads and pressures in the following table;

Total Head Head Flow

m Fluid a m Fluid a m3/h
Head Tank (1) 14.40 11.40 3.81
Junction (2) 13.85 (Entry) 13.85 (Entry) 3.81
Open Pipe (3) 10.60 (Entry) 10.60 (Entry) 3.81

28
Remember that Total Head includes the potential and pressure energy (per
unit weight) measured relative to the arbitrary datum, i.e, z + p / g + v2/2g
and that Head refers to the pressure term in ( Eqn 1 ), i.e p / g + v2/2g .
To help consolidate our understanding of the terms you might like to consider
the results if we would have selected the datum position at the base of the head
tank. You can try this yourself by entering 0 into the datum level at the head
tank, -3.0 into the datum levels at the bend and at the open pipe. This results in
the following table:

Total Head Head Flow

m Fluid a m Fluid a m3/h
Head Tank (1) 11.40 11.40 3.81
Junction (2) 10.85 (Entry) 13.85 ( Entry) 3.81
Open Pipe (3) 7.60 (Entry) 10.60 (Entry) 3.81
The flow and head results are identical, however since the total head is shown
relative to the datum the results differ.
Before leaving this example consider the case where all Datum Levels are
considered to be zero. Which means that we should enter a head of 4.05 m of
Fluid g into the Pressure field at the supply tank. Remember to set all datum
levels to zero and you will obtain the following results.

Total Head Head Flow

m Fluid a m Fluid a m3/h
Head Tank (1) 14.40 14.40 3.81
Junction (2) 13.85 (Entry) 13.85 (Entry) 3.81
Open Pipe (3) 10.60 (Entry) 10.60 (Entry) 3.81
Again the calculated flow is 3.81 m3/h. Notice also that the calculated head
loss across the bend, open pipe and the pipe friction losses remain the same in
each scenario.

Which way should I enter my data? This is a matter of choice and there
are many reasons for and against each method. You should use the entry
scenario you are familiar with. If you use any of the first two scenarios
remember to put a note into the network file so that other people viewing your
results are aware of the basis you have used.

29
For the remainder of the examples in this manual we will by preference use
first approach, i.e, the arbitrary datum will be chosen to lie at the lowest point
in the fluid network.
For a solution to have occurred the Total Head at any component outlet less the
pressure (or head) loss in the outpipe must be equal to the Entry Total Head at
the inlet of the downstream connecting component
You might like to check this out by considering the Total Head at the head tank
14.40 m Fluid a. The pressure loss in the vertical pipe section is 0.55m of Fluid
(from the pipe results), which means that the Total Entry Head to the bend must
be 14.40 – 0.55 = 13.85 m Fluid a. The results show 13.85. In liquid only
systems, sometimes the Hydraulic Grade Line is used, this is simply a locus
provided by a series of piezometer taps at each component.
One final point if you use Datum Levels the convention used is; levels above
the datum are entered as positive values, whilst levels below the datum are
entered as negative values. This should be clear from the above example.
At this stage you should feel confidant that you can;
 Enter a simple problem
 Evaluate and understand what the results mean.
See the Example Designs chapter for further examples.

30
A First Example Gas Calculation
It is only possible to carry out compressible flow or gas calculations if you
have the gas module installed. To switch from a liquid to a gas calculation or
vice versa click on the liquid button as shown below:

Selecting the Compressible Fluids option automatically changes to a

compressible flow calculation.
Consider as the first gas example, we are required to find the pressure drop for
30 standard m3/min of air at 15° C discharging through 100m of 4” Schedule
40 pipe into a vessel at 7 bar g.
Click on the ‘entry/exit point where flow is known’ component and move to
any location on the flowsheet and click again to insert this component. Fill in
the data entry values as shown:

Click on the tank icon and drop this onto the flowsheet as shown below. Fill in
the data values as shown below:

31
Finally click on the pipe icon then move the cursor over any one of the
components and click once. Move the connecting pipe to lie over the other
component and click again in order to connect the pipe. Change the pipe length
to 100 m. the result should be as shown below:

The pressure loss in the pipe should show 0.049 bar, which means the driving
force at the supply point must be 7 + 0.049 bar. Note that this is the static
pressure required.

32
Flowsheet
The flowsheet is the main work area within the program.
This is the area where you build the network model.
The flowsheet area is extensive and only a subsection is visible at any time.
You can scroll the visible area in the normal manner, i.e, by clicking on the
scroll bars. Dragging the scrollbar thumbtrack causes the flowsheet to be
immediately repainted and this is useful when looking around large models.
Flowsheet operations have been designed to be as intuitive as possible, while
keeping a similar operation methodology to the more common Windows
applications.
The flowsheet is dynamically linked with various views. The views are
accessed via a tab bar in the main application window (Errors, Tabular Results,
Graphs, Engineering Warnings/Hints, User Notes and Component Lists). This
means that clicking on the flowsheet automatically updates a view and vice
versa.

Component selection and placement

To place any component on the flowsheet simply select the component from
the side component palette/toolbar.
The selected component will show as a depression, then move the cursor over
the flowsheet and click at the location you wish to add the component.
As you move over the flowsheet the cursor shape will change to reflect the
selected component.

If it is not possible to place the component in any location the cursor will
change to reflect this.

33
When you place a component onto the flowsheet the component ‘snaps’ to the
nearest available location. The available locations are bounded by the small
dots within the background, you can decide not to show these if you find them
distracting.
Pressing the Ctrl key at any time deselects any component that is already
selected. This means that the deselect button is activated.

Making pipe connections

Pipe connections are made in a similar manner. Select the pipe tool from the
left toolbar and the simply click over an existing component.

The pipe is continuously redrawn as you move the cursor. Pipes must have two
connections so move the cursor over another component and then click again
in order to complete the connection.

If you click on an empty space the application adds an open pipe automatically.
An open pipe is classified as a junction component with one connecting pipe.
34
Junction types adjust themselves automatically depending on the number of
pipe connections. Junctions can have up to 4 connections, which means they
can become open pipes, bends, T-junctions, or cross-junctions.
If you are connecting a pipe and move the cursor outside of the visible
flowsheet area, the flowsheet automatically scrolls. This enables you to connect
to components outside of the initial visible area.
It is possible to connect pipes to pipes, by moving the pipe cursor over a pipe
and clicking.

Notice that the cursor shape changes to indicate the fact that the pipe will be
split. If you click whilst in this position a junction component is automatically
inserted into the pipe.

It is possible to decide whether the existing pipe will be split or whether a new
pipe will be added. This option is accessed either from a right mouse button
click via the flowsheet popup menu or from the main menu Properties ¦
Flowsheet.

If the option ‘Split existing pipe’ is checked the effect of connecting a pipe to a
pipe is to split the pipe length equally.
If the option ‘Add new pipe’ is checked the effect of connecting a pipe to a
pipe is to connect one end of the junction to the existing pipe and then create a
new pipe, whose properties of size, length, type, temperature and roughness are

35
equal to the default properties. In the above diagram the new pipe was created
to the right of the junction. You can change the default pipe properties at any
time. This means that the existing pipe was not split in two.
If it is not possible to connect a pipe to any particular component then the

cursor shape will change.

The most probable reason is that you are trying to connect to a component that
already has the maximum allowable connections. In the above example we are
trying to connect to a valve that already has 2 connecting pipes attached. Other
reasons for disallowing pipe connections are that a pipe already exists between
the two components or that you are trying to connect a pipe to the same
component.

Changing Component Types

If you make a mistake you can either undo, delete or change the component
type. You are allowed to change the component type at any time. Click on the
desired component, click the right mouse button to obtain the flowsheet pop
-up menu and select a new component from the available types displayed in the
Change Component Type drop menu. If some components are greyed they are
not available because the number of pipe connections will not allow it, i.e, you
cannot join 3 pipes to a pump.

36
If you change component the datum level and temperature fields do NOT
change from existing values.

Component and Pipe Deletion

To delete any component or pipe simply click the left mouse button on the
component you wish to delete (or use the cursor keys to move the highlight).
Press the Delete key to remove the component.
If you attempt to delete a component that would result in an unconnected pipe
then the attached pipes will ALSO be deleted. Before this occurs the following
dialog will appear …

37
To illustrate this, in the diagram below deleting the highlighted component will
not produce this message but will simply remove the valve and join the pipes
(assuming pipe sizes are equal). If you attempt to delete the pipe end pointed to
below then the above dialog will be displayed.

You should note that a delete operation currently clears the undo stack, this is
in order to conserve memory.

Zooming
It is possible to zoom in and out within the flowsheet. This can be useful when
working on larger networks. You can zoom either from the top toolbar

or by right clicking the mouse button.

Right clicking pops up a flowsheet menu from which you can select zoom as
shown below

Alternatively the keyboard accelerator keys Ctrl – I and Ctrl – U can also be
used. If you zoom to the smallest size it is not possible to display an icon or
component number and all components are shown as rounded rectangles.

38
Display options
There are many properties of the flowsheet that you can customise to your
personal preference. All options are available either from the pop up menu
(right mouse click whilst over the flowsheet) or from the top button bar or from
the main menu Properties / Flowsheet.

39
Undo operations
If you make a mistake during flowsheet editing you can use the undo button

. There is an undo stack which is set by default to allow 250 undo

operations. This can be altered from the Properties ¦ Flowsheet ¦ Undo Level
menu option.

Remember that there is a memory overhead for each undo level, 250 undo
operations require about 30K. Currently component deletion clears the undo
stack. This occurs in order to conserve memory and to allow operation of the
undo function within a 16MB machine.

Dragging and dropping individual

components
Any individual component may be moved by clicking on the component to

highlight it (assuming you have clicked the arrow button first)

Tip: Pressing the Ctrl key has the same effect.
Hold down the left mouse button and drag the component to the desired
location.
You cannot drag pipes, however pipes are dragged automatically as you drag
components.
This is shown in the next illustration. It is also possible to drag a selection of
components at the same time and this is covered in the next section.

40
Dragging any component(s) over a pipe and then dropping the component(s)
whilst over the pipe has the effect of inserting the components within the pipe.
The same rules for pipe insertions apply as outlined in the previous sections,
i.e, a component will not be inserted if the number of connections exceeds the
maximum allowable or a pipe connection already exists between the two
components. As before insertions create a new pipe at the default properties
and do not split the pipe. The status line updates whilst dragging to inform you
that a component(s) will be inserted.

41
Dragging to illegal locations is prevented and again the status line updates to
provide the reason.

Multi Marking
An advanced feature within the flowsheet is the ability to select or mark more
than one component at a time and this is called multi-marking.
Multi-marking allows for ‘grouped or global’ edit changes, clipboard
operations as well as grouped dragging and dropping. There are several
available methods for selecting ‘groups’ of components.

42
Multi marking individually
The first method is to hold down the Shift key and click on a component. The
illustration below shows a number of pipes marked and a ‘global’ edit change
being made.

The marked components are shown highlighted above.

Making a property change or edit, as shown effects all marked pipes.
If you mark a selection of components or components and pipes then the
common properties only are available for global changing.
For example a marked pipe and valve only have the one common property of
temperature. Two valves marked will allow all valve properties to be changed.
A valve and pump marked will allow both Temperature and Datum Level
changes since these properties are common.
Components marked in this way can be dragged, cut, or copied to the
clipboard, or pasted from the clipboard. The diagram below shows a set of
marked components being dragged. Notice that the pipes are automatically
dragged.

43
Components can be ‘ungrouped’ by holding the shift key and clicking again on
the component you wish to ungroup. To clear a marked component group, click
anywhere within the flowsheet other than on a marked component.
It is not necessary to permanently hold the shift key down you should only
hold the shift key down whilst grouping or ungrouping.
A third way of multi selecting components is to click on the List tab, and mark
the components from the component list by using the mouse and the Ctrl or
Shift key. Clicking with the shift or Ctrl key pressed allows you to toggle the
individual items on or off. This is shown in the next illustration.

44
Multi marking within an area
A second way of grouping components is to mark of a rectangular area. This
can be done in three different ways:

1. Hold down the Ctrl key, click and hold the left mouse button as if to drag.
A rectangular box appears, the position of which is adjusted as you drag
the corner. On the release of the left mouse button both the components
and pipes within the enclosed area are grouped or marked. See the next
illustration.

2. To select only the components in this way, you repeat the procedure above
but instead hold down both the Ctrl and Alt keys while marking out the
rectangle.

3. To select only the pipes in this way, you again repeat procedure (1), but
hold down the Ctrl and Shift keys which marking out the rectangle.

45
On release of the left mouse button the components and pipes within the area
are grouped or marked.

Marking an entire network

It is also possible to mark an entire network by using the options in the Edit
menu, or from a right mouse button click whilst on the flowsheet.
When you go to Edit ¦ Select… a sub menu will appear with the options:

By clicking on Whole Network you are able to select all the components and
pipes on the entire flowsheet.
By clicking on All Pipes you are able to select all the pipes on the entire
flowsheet.
By clicking on All Components you are able to select all the components on
the entire flowsheet.

When this is done a rectangular box appears around the entire network and the
relevant components and/or pipes are highlighted.
These types of selections can also be carried from the context/pop -up menu,
which appears upon clicking the right mouse button while on the flowsheet.
46
Multi marked cut, copy and pasting
Once an area or individual components have been marked you can carry out
the normal windows clipboard operations. There are, however, a few rules that
govern the clipboard operations. Since a pipe must be connected at both ends,
if you copy a single pipe then the connecting components are also inherently
copied, even if they are not marked. Pasting a single pipe also pastes the
connecting components.
It is not possible to paste between application instances.

Find a Component by Number

To find any particular component use the Ctrl-G key combination from
anywhere within the application. The following dialog appears.
This dialog can also be accessed via the Edit¦Goto ComponentNumber menu
option.

Fly By Hints
It is possible to set the data you wish to show in the fly by hints window.
Alternatively you can turn this option off.

By clicking on the icon shown above or from the menu Properties ¦ Flowsheet ¦
Fly By Hints option you can display the data shown above.

47
Showing Text on the Flowsheet
It is possible to show up to 20 characters of text on the flowsheet for each
component and pipe. This option can be turned on via the menu Properties ¦
Flowsheet ¦ Show Ids for …This is shown below:

The text is anchored to the component and the position cannot be changed.

48
Build and Calculation Errors
As you build up the network in the flowsheet the application continuously
checks for network build errors, bad data links and calculation errors.

Any errors that prevent a calculation from solving successfully can be viewed
at any time by clicking on the Errors tab in the main application window as
shown above.

Network Build Errors occur and are reported in the network as you add and
connect components. A build error occurs if a particular component does not
have sufficient pipe connections. A component with no pipe connections does
not create a build error and is automatically removed from the calculation. The
diagram below shows a build error for the highlighted globe valve because it
only has one pipe connected. Valves must have two pipe connections. Different
component types have different connection requirements.

49
If you click on the build error list the highlight moves to the component giving
the error. Making a second pipe connection automatically clears the error and
removes the error item from the list.
Network Build&Data Link Errors occur only after a network load from disk or
if you make a new connection to a database and a component in the current
network is not contained in the newly connected database. This is shown in the
next illustration.
In the following illustration the build error 'Junction(248) has invalid data
connection means that the piping network contains a junction that is not
present in the currently connected junctions database. The (248) refers to the
component number.

50
Calculation Errors are reported as they occur. Since all known errors are
trapped and reported prior to calculation an error in this list means that a
mathematical exception has occurred during solution. If you get an error
message in this list please email your piping network together with all
databases (fdb files) directly to Flite Software Ltd at
support@fluidflowinfo.com.

Result Tables
Detailed results for each component or pipe can be viewed by clicking on the
Result tab in the main application window. The results are displayed in a grid
and the grid content is dependent on the type of component you are displaying.
The grid contains 3 columns. The first column gives a description of the
property. The second column gives the calculated value and the third column
displays the units.

51
The results grid for a pump is shown above. Clicking the right mouse button
shows a pop up menu that allows you to change the report units.
All components have 4 common properties Density, Viscosity and Vapour
Pressure of the fluid at the temperature of the component, together with any
Hints/Warnings that may exist. Gas results do not have an entry for vapour
pressure. All other properties are dependent on the component type.
As you click on the flowsheet, or use the cursor keys, the result table is
updated. Hence the contents of the result table always refer to the highlighted
component. If you have a build error that disallows a calculated solution then
this is reported in the middle column.
Occasionally N/A may be visible against any property value. This only occurs
if there is insufficient data to provide a result. An example of this would be to
try to see the operating efficiency of a pump if the efficiency data was not
entered into the pump database.
In cases where the calculation has failed to converge to a solution, all result
data is shown as N/A. For more detailed information on table results see the
chapter "Interpreting Result Tables"

52
Graph Results
A graph for each component or pipe can be viewed by clicking on the Graph
tab in the main application window. A typical graph for the pump component is
shown below. Clicking the right mouse button over the graph allows you to
change graph properties (only for pumps, fans and compressors.)

As with all tabbed views, the graph is linked to the flowsheet and automatically
updates as you move around the flowsheet.
Graphs are also available for all resistive components such as valves, non-
return valves, generic components, etc.

53
Warnings / Hints
The application provides numerous warnings and hints which can be viewed by
clicking on the Warnings/Hints tab. Warnings and hints displayed on this page
always refer to how a particular component is operating within the fluid
network. There are many engineering warnings that can occur and the example
below shows the effect of placing an unsuitable pump within a fluid network.

The tabbed warnings view contains a list of all warnings/hints in the current
network together with a more detailed description of the highlighted warning.
As before, clicking on the flowsheet updates the view, or clicking on the
warnings list updates the position of the highlight in the flowsheet.
If any component has a warning associated with it then it shows up with a RED
border within the flowsheet. Some minor warnings can be turned off via the
menu Properties ¦ Warning Limits Dialogue.

54
User Notes
It is possible to attach unlimited text notes against each component. Use the
component ID field to hold small amounts of text (up to 20 characters)
otherwise use the memo control on the Notes tab as shown below.

Use the right mouse button to access Undo and other clipboard operations. Use
the clipboard operations to copy notes between components.
If you have multimarked a number of components the notes memo becomes
unavailable, this is to avoid overwriting existing notes by mistake.

55
Using Component ID to hold small amounts of text can be useful because the
Component ID can be sorted from the Lists tab.

Component Lists
A list of all components in the current network can be obtained from the Lists
view.

The above example shows a fluid network with all of the orifice and pump
components shown in the component list. Checking or unchecking each
component type controls the contents of the component list.
Clicking on an item in the component list updates the flowsheet and vice versa.

56
The component list allows for multi selection when the mouse is used in
conjunction with the Ctrl and/or Shift keys. This provides an alternative
method for multimarking and thus for making global changes or deletions.
The position of the dividing line between the component types and the detailed
list can be adjusted by moving the mouse to lie over the dividing bar and
dragging the bar vertically.
The list can be sorted either by component name or by component ID.

57
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58
Component Types

It is possible to model any fluid component within Piping Systems

FluidFlow. Components are classified into various groups and the icons shown
in the component toolbar represent these groups. The top icons represents a
selection tool, whilst the remaining icons represent groups of fluid
components.
The position of the toolbar by default aligns itself to the left of the application
main window. Dragging the toolbar from the base to align to an alternative
location can change this position. Available alignment locations are top,
bottom, left and right of the application. If you make a mistake when adding
any component or whilst connecting pipes, you can always recover by using
the Undo button or from the Edit ¦ Undo menu option. Alternatively,
components can be deleted by clicking on the component and then pressing the
Delete key.

59
If a component is located in a visually inconvenient location then clicking on
the component and holding the left mouse button down allows you to drag the
component to a new location. Attached pipes are also dragged.
Dragging, deletion, cut ,copy, paste and data input changes also work when sets
of components are marked. There are three methods for selecting a set of
components. If you click on a component and hold down the shift key the
component is selected. Alternatively, you can hold down the Ctrl key and drag
the cursor to enclose a group of components and pipes. A third method is to
view the Lists and multiselect via the list box contents. See the flowsheet
section for a detailed explanation.

Pipes
The Pipe icon is used to represent a pipe connecting any two components. All
components must be connected by pipes to be included in the calculated
solution. All pipe dimensions are stored within data tables, since it is possible
to add to the dimension table all types and pipe sizes can be included in the
calculations. Pipes can be opened or closed as desired thereby enabling
analysis at various conditions to be studied. To use the Pipe tool click on the
icon to activate the tool then move over the flowsheet and simply click again at
a desired location to start a pipe connection. If you click on a blank position
within the flowsheet area a Junction component will automatically be placed at
the clicked location. If the Pipe tool is clicked over an existing component then
a pipe connection will start from that component and the pipe start will snap to
that component. Move the pipe cursor to the desired connecting location and
click again to complete the connection.

As the Pipe tool is moved around the flowsheet, its representation changes if
you move over an existing pipe.

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Clicking a pipe onto an existing pipe automatically creates a Tee Junction in
the existing pipe and starts the pipe connection process at the added tee
junction.
This facility can be turned off if desired.
Some components may only have two pipe connections e.g. valves, pumps,
orifice plates etc. Obviously this reflects the real life situation. If you try to
connect more than two pipes, to say a pump, the software will not allow this
and you will receive a warning. Conversely a pump with only one pipe
connection is invalid and you will not be able to calculate a solution.
Components with insufficient pipe connections are shown in the build error list
box. Click on the Errors tab to view build and calculation errors at any time.
It is a valid condition that any component may be placed on the flowsheet
without any connecting pipes. The calculation can proceed and solved flows
are always zeroed and pressures are always at entered values.
Data entry for pipe information consists of defining or changing the following
fields :

Component ID. All components and pipes have this field available. This field
allows you to enter up to 20 characters to describe or identify the component.
In the example above we are describing the pipe CW (cooling water duty) 1001
(the individual pipe section number) 4 (nominal size) MS (mild steel material
of construction). You may already be familiar with alternative component
identification methods, since this field is freeform any alphanumeric characters
can be used.
Pipe Temperature and temperature units represent the average fluid
temperature within the pipe.
Pipe Length and length units represent the pipe section length.

61
Pipe Type, is changed by selecting from a drop down list. The list contains the
pipe types that exist in the currently connected database. Changing the Pipe
Type also changes the pipe roughness value since the default roughness is
stored as a function of each pipe type.
Nominal Size is changed by selecting from a drop down list. The drop down
contents depend on the pipe sizes defined for the selected pipe type and is
therefore also dependent on the currently connected database. Changing the
Nominal Size also changes the Internal Diam field value since the pipe internal
diameter is stored as a function of each Nominal Size.
Pipe Status can be open or closed and the status is selected from a drop down
list. Closing any pipe has the effect of removing the pipe from the network and
the calculated results always show the flow through a closed pipe as zero.
Internal Diam. represents the pipe internal diameter. This value is obtained
directly from the pipe database. You can override the database value by typing
in a different value. If you override the database value the edit control turns a
blue colour as shown below :

Overridden values can be reset to original database values by pressing the

Reset button. If you reset to the database value then the edit control colour also
resets to normal.
Roughness represents the Absolute Roughness value of the pipe. The
roughness is obtained directly from the pipe database. You can override the
database value by typing in a different value. If you override the database value
the edit control turns a blue colour. Overridden values can be reset to original
database values by pressing the Reset button. If you reset to the database value
then the edit control colour also resets to normal.
Pipe Colour Class can be selected from a drop down list of colours. The colour
class has no significance with regard to calculation. The ability to change pipe
colours on the flowsheet is useful for grouping purposes.

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Entry and Exit Points
There are 4 different types of entry and exit points to and from the network.
 Components where the pressure is known or is a design condition.
 Components where the flow is known or is a design condition.
 Open Pipes are exit points only. See Junctions for further description.
 Sprinklers are exit points only. See Sprinklers for further description.

Flow Component
A Flow Component is used to represent an entry or exit point where the
pressure is known or is a design condition; this is called a Flow Component
because the flow is calculated at this point. Typically this component type is
used to represent a supply tank, a stab into or from a header, or a receiving
vessel. Flow Components have no resistance to flow and you may only connect
one pipe to a flow component. Note that both the flow and flow direction is
determined by the network solution and is a function of the Datum and
Pressure values entered for the component.

Data entry for a Flow Component consists of editing the default values for
Component ID, Temperature, Datum Level and design or known Pressure.
Measurement units can be selected from a drop down list. Note that the
pressure entry assumes you will enter the static pressure or head.

Pressure Component
A Pressure Component represents an exit or entry point in the fluid network
where the inflow or outflow is known or set as a design condition. This is
called a Pressure component since the pressure is calculated at this point.
Typically this component type is used to represent a supply tank, or a receiving
vessel. Pressure Components have no resistance to flow and you may only
connect one pipe to a pressure component. Note that pressure is determined
and is dependent on the flow direction.
Data entry for a Pressure Component consists of editing the default values for
Component ID, Temperature, Datum Level and design or known Flow and
Flow Path. Flow Path can be Flow Out or Flow In to the network and is
selected from a drop down list.

63
Measurement units can be selected from a drop down list.

For open pipe exit points see the section on Junctions.

For sprinkler exit points see the section on Sprinklers.

Junctions
Junctions can represent an open pipe, a bend, a tee or a cross-junction. The
number of pipes connected to the component determines the actual component
type used. Piping Systems FluidFlow automatically adjusts the component
type. For bends you can enter the number off which can significantly reduce
data entry by allowing you to model long pipes containing many bends as a
single component. Sub -types within each group, i.e, long radius bends, mitre
bends, etc, are stored in data tables, again enabling any bend, tee or crossover
to be successfully included. For junctions with one or two connections the
entry and exit pressure or head can be displayed as a result. For junctions with
more than two connections a mean pressure or head is displayed in the results
grid.
Data entry requirements for each junction are slightly different. Data entry
requirements for a Tee junction consists of editing the following:

Data entry for a T-Junction consists of editing the default values for
Component ID, Temperature and Datum Level.

64
Junction Type is selected from a drop down list. The contents of the list depend
on the number of connections, the filtering, and the contents of the currently
connected database. Changing the junction type changes the Kf value.
Junctions are hydraulically defined by a Kf or Ki value.
The default Kf value is obtained from the currently connected database. You
can override the database value by typing in a different value. If you override
the database value the edit control turns a blue colour. Overridden values can
be reset to original database values by pressing the Reset button. If you reset to
the database value then the edit control colour also resets to normal.
Ki is an Idelchik coefficient, this is a resistance coefficient as defined by the
text book "Handbook of Hydraulic Resistance"-3rd Ed – Begell House- I.E.
Idelchik. We recommend that Idelchik type fittings are used for all junctions
where possible. For Tee junctions of this type the yellow dot refers to the
branch, for Symmetrical Wyes the yellow dot refers to the channel.
Number Off can be changed for junctions having 2 pipe connections only.
Selections allow you to filter on manufacturer or any other classification
hierarchy you have used. Filtering will reduce the number of entries in the
Junction Type drop down list.
Measurement units can be selected from a drop down list.

Valves, Manually Operated

Manually operated valves of any kind, and from any manufacturer, can be
included. As with all but the simplest components the data representing the
valve is stored in a data table. If the flow resistance V’s valve opening is
known then the effect of modulating the valve can be achieved. It is possible to
model a number of valves in any pipe.
Data entry requirements for manually operated valves consists of editing the
following fields :

65
Data entry for a valve consists of editing the default values for Component ID,
Temperature and Datum Level.
Valve Name is selected from a drop down list. The contents of the list depend
on the filtering and the contents of the currently connected database.
%Open refers to the valve open position. This option allows you to throttle the
valve if desired.
You can enter the Number Off, which can significantly reduce data entry by
allowing you to model long pipes containing many valves as a single
component.
Selections allow you to filter on manufacturer or any other classification
hierarchy you have used.

Pumps and Fans

Any pump or fan or compressor from any manufacturer can be represented
within Piping Systems FluidFlow. The data stored contains head, efficiency,
and NPSH needed and, by inference, power curves, application areas the
component can be used are selectable which allows for screening from large
databases.
Operating speed range and operating impeller size range can be entered and if
present the effects of speed or impeller size change can be easily considered.
Viscosity effects are also automatically taken into account if appropriate and
are calculated according to H.I. guidelines.
When connecting a pipe to a pump the first pipe connected is assumed to be
connected to the suction side of the pump. The second pipe connected is
assumed to be the discharge line.
The discharge line is always shown starting with a red dot.

You can always change the direction by clicking on direction button in the data
entry window.

66
Changes to pump operating speed and/or impeller diameter can be reset at any
time by using the revert button.
Data entry requirements for pumps consists of editing the following fields :

Data entry for a pump consists of editing the default values for Component ID,
Temperature and Datum Level.
Pump Name is selected from a drop down list. The contents of the list depend
on the filtering and the contents of the currently connected database.
Op Speed of the pump can be changed providing a speed range has been set
within the currently connected database.
Impeller Dia of the pump can be changed providing an impeller range has been
set within the currently connected database.
Clicking on the orientation button can change the pump orientation. Clicking
the button toggles the supply and discharge pipes. The discharge pipe is always
denoted by a red dot on the flowsheet.
Selections allow you to filter on manufacturer or any other classification
hierarchy you have used.

Pipe Reductions and Expansions

Pipe concentric or eccentric expansions and reductions can be effectively
included. The size is automatically determined from the size of the connecting
pipes. Reducer length dimensions are automatically taken from ASME/ANSI
B16.5-1986 source. You can override the length dimension if you have a
special reducer. The type eccentric or concentric can be easily changed.

67
Data entry for a reducer consists of editing the default values for Component
ID, Temperature and Datum Level.
Reducer Type can be selected from a drop down list that contains either
concentric or eccentric types.
The default reducer length value is obtained from an internal database. You can
override the database value by typing in a different value. If you override the
database value the edit control turns a blue colour. Overridden values can be
reset to original database values by pressing the Reset button. If you reset to
the database value then the edit control colour also resets to normal.

Non Return Valves

Any Non Return Valve from any manufacturer can be included. As with
pumps, when connecting a pipe the first pipe connected dictates the direction
of flow. The flow direction is also shown with a red dot. The red dot represents
the valve outlet.
You can always change the direction of the valve by clicking on the orientation
button in the data entry window.

Data entry for a non return valve consists of editing the default values for
Component ID, Temperature and Datum Level.
NRV Name is selected from a drop down list. The contents of the list depend
on the filtering and the contents of the currently connected database.

68
All non return valves are hydraulically defined by a Kf value. The default Kf
value is obtained from the currently connected database. You can override the
database value by typing in a different value. If you override the database value
the edit control turns a blue colour. Overridden values can be reset to original
database values by pressing the Reset button. If you reset to the database value
then the edit control colour also resets to normal.
Clicking on the orientation button can change the NRV orientation. Clicking
the button toggles the valve direction. The red dot on the flowsheet denotes the
outlet direction of the valve, i.e, flow can only occur with the red dot denoting
the outlet pipe.
Selections allow you to filter on manufacturer or any other classification
hierarchy you have used.

Sprinklers
Any sprinkler from any manufacturer can be included. Sprinklers may have
one or two connecting pipes. Sprinklers can be connected within a ring or
along a sprinkler bar or in any other arrangement.
Data entry requirements for sprinklers consists of editing the following fields:

Data entry for a sprinkler consists of editing the default values for Component
ID, Temperature and Datum Level.
The sprinkler is selected from a drop down list. The contents of the list depend
on the filtering and the contents of the currently connected database.
Exit Pressure and pressure units. Exit pressure refers to the pressure
downstream of the sprinkler, this is normally atmospheric pressure. Nozzles
used in spray towers and spray condensers which may be operating below or
above atmospheric pressure can thus be easily modelled.
Selections allow you to filter on manufacturer or any other classification
hierarchy you have used.

69
Orifice Plates

Orifice or Restrictor plates of any size can be included, provided the specified
size is less than the pipe size the orifice plate is connected to. The calculations
assume a sharp edged orifice plate.

Data entry for an orifice consists of editing the default values for Component
ID, Temperature, Datum Level, and Orifice Size.

Control Valves and Controllers

Pressure and Flow control valves from any manufacturer can be included. The
set point can be entered from the data entry window. Note that only the final
control element, i.e, the control valve is modelled. If the valve is part of a
control loop then you may also need to include the measuring element if the
head loss through the measuring element is significant e.g. where an orifice is
used to measure flow.
The controlled condition can occur downstream or upstream of the control
valve. This means pressure reducing or pressure sustaining valves can be
successfully included.

Data entry for a control valve consists of editing the default values for
Component ID, Temperature and Datum Level.
The Control Valve is selected from a drop down list. The contents of the list
depend on the filtering and the contents of the currently connected database.

70
The Control Type appears for pressure control valves only. For pressure control
valves the Control Type can be either Sustaining or Reducing with the type
being selected from a drop down list.
The Control Pressure (or control flow for flow controllers) determines the
pressure upstream or downstream of the valve depending upon type. For flow
controllers Control Flow refers to the flow that the valve will pass.
Clicking on the Orientation button can change the control valve orientation.
Clicking the button toggles the valve direction. The red dot on the flowsheet
denotes the outlet direction of the control valve.
Selections allow you to filter on manufacturer or any other classification
hierarchy you have used.

Connectors
Connectors can be placed at any position in the network and have zero
resistance to flow. These components are useful to find the pressure at any
point in the system (i.e, within a long pipe) or can be used to connect pipes
together.
There are no limits to the number of pipes that can be connected to a connector
component.

Data entry for a connector consists of editing the default values for Component
ID, Temperature and Datum Level.

Generic Flow Coefficient

Components
Generic flow coefficients can be used to model any type of component that
does not logically fit into any of the above categories. Examples are heat
exchangers, filters, etc, where the head loss for a given flow is known or can be
obtained from the component manufacturer.
Flow coefficients should not be used to describe components that can vary in
size, unless you are willing to enter a separate component for each size.

71
Data entry for a Flow Coefficient Component Kv consists of editing the default
values for Component ID, Temperature, and Datum Level.
The Fitting Name is selected from a drop down list. The list contents are
dependent on the contents of the currently connected database.
You can enter the Number Off, which can significantly reduce data entry by
allowing you to model long pipes containing many resistances as a single
component.

Generic K Factor Components

Generic K factors can be used to model any type of component such as valves,
heaters, tube bundles etc. Often valve data is provided in this form, particularly
from older texts.
K factors should not be used to describe components that can vary in size,
unless you are willing to enter a separate component for each size_ a better
approach is to convert to Kf.

Data entry for a Generic K component consists of editing the default values for
Component ID, Temperature and Datum Level.
The Fitting Name is selected from a drop down list. The list contents are
dependent on the contents of the currently connected database.
The default K value is obtained from the currently connected database. You can
override the database value by typing in a different value. If you override the
database value the edit control turns a blue colour. Overridden values can be
reset to original database values by pressing the Reset button. If you reset to
the database value then the edit control colour also resets to normal.
You can enter the Number Off, which can significantly reduce data entry by
allowing you to model long pipes containing many resistance's as a single
component.

72
Generic Kf Components
Generic Kf factors are used to describe components whose size usually varies
with pipe size. Valves and Non Return valves supplied are all described in this
manner. It is often more difficult to obtain Kf data, however you can easily
convert from the more commonly supplied K values using the K Converter
applet from the Tools menu.

Data entry for a Generic Kf component consists of editing the default values
for Component ID, Temperature, and Datum Level.
The Fitting Name is selected from a drop down list. The list contents are
dependent on the contents of the currently connected database.
The default Kf value is obtained from the currently connected database. You
can override the database value by typing in a different value. If you override
the database value the edit control turns a blue colour. Overridden values can
be reset to original database values by pressing the Reset button. If you reset to
the database value then the edit control colour also resets to normal.
You can enter the Number Off, which can significantly reduce data entry by
allowing you to model long pipes containing many resistances as a single
component.

User Defined Component

The User Defined component allows the user to specify a formula for the Head
Loss, or Pressure Drop, across the component. This basically allows you to
give the properties for any component you wish to use which is not already in
Piping Systems Fluid Flow.
The form of the equation you can use is:
Head Loss = K + A.BQ + C.DQ2
where K, A, B, C and D are the parameters you can define for the equation and
Q is the flow through the component.
These parameters may be set as constants, variables or properties of the fluid.
The equations parameters are predefined in the user defined database together

73
with a descriptive name. Selection within FluidFlow is then simply made from
the type drop down list.
Data entry requirements for User Defined components will depend on the
equation defined by the user in the database. If variables have been defined
these must be set, otherwise, if they are constants or fluid properties, these do
not have to be set. An example is shown below:

To see the equation for the currently selected component, click the Eq+...
button and a panel will appear with the equation as defined in the database as
shown below:

To remove this panel click the button again Eq-

Orientation can be changed from the + button.

Pressure Relief Valve

Pressure relief valves are used to prevent the pressure at any point from
exceeding a given pressure which is called the Set Pressure.
The pressure relief valve is considered to close with the smallest drop in
pressure, and it remains closed up to the time of the next overpressure above
the Set Pressure.

74
Data entry for a Pressure Relief Valve component consists of editing the default
values for Component ID, Temperature, and Datum Level.
The Valve Name is selected from a drop down list. The list contents are
dependent on the contents of the currently connected database. Each relief
valve has a sub -type and an applicability range, which is determined when
entering database data. This is shown on the bottom line of the data entry area
in the above example as Balanced Bellows / applicable for liquid duty.
The Set Pressure is the pressure that the relief valve will begin to lift. For all
pressures below the Set Pressure the relief valve remains closed.
API 526 sets the Standard Sizes for the Pressure Relief Valves standard.
Letters (D through T) denotes the sizes. The standard sizes are provided in the
drop down list; note that the size letters, and area in mm 2 and ins2 is also
shown.
It is possible to override the standard size by entering a Special Size. If you
override the standard size the edit control turns a blue colour. Overridden
values can be reset to original values by pressing the Reset button. If you reset
to the database value then the edit control colour also resets to normal.
Over Pressure is the pressure increase above the Set Pressure at which the
discharge capacity is attained. This is set at 10% for normal conditions and
21% fire-sizing conditions, the actual value is selected from a drop down list.

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76
Interpreting Result Tables
Detailed results for each component or pipe can be viewed by clicking on the
Result tab in the main application window. The results are displayed in a grid
and the grid content is dependent on the type of component.
The grid contains 3 columns. The first column gives a description of the
property. The second column gives the calculated value and the third column
displays the units. The grid is linked to the flowsheet, which means that
changes in the flowsheet are immediately reflected in the grid contents.

As the cursor is moved over the first column of the results grid, the shape
changes from the normal arrow to a finger. Clicking the left mouse button at
this point context sensitive help for the current grid row.
Clicking the right mouse button shows a pop up menu that allows you to
change the report units.
All components have calculated properties Occasionally N/A may be visible
against any property value. This only occurs if there is insufficient data to
provide a result. An example of this would be to try to see the operating
77
efficiency of a pump if the efficiency data was not entered into the pump
database.
In cases where the calculation has failed to converge to a solution, all result
data is shown as N/A
All possible calculated properties are explained below:

Density
The density of a fluid is its mass per unit volume. It is a physical property of
the fluid and is dependent on temperature and pressure. Generally the density
of a fluid decreases with an increase in temperature. Increases in pressure
increase the density.
Some industry sectors prefer to use specific gravity as an alternative to density,
specific gravity is defined as the ratio of the density of a fluid to the density of
pure water at C.
Piping Systems Fluid Flow uses density exclusively, the concept of specific
gravity is not used within the application.

Viscosity
As a Newtonian fluid moves a shear stress develops within the fluid. The shear
rate is proportional to the shear stress. The proportionality constant is called the
absolute or dynamic viscosity.
The absolute viscosity of a liquid decreases with an increase in temperature
while the viscosity of a gas increases with an increase in temperature. The
absolute viscosity of both liquids and gases increases with an increase in
pressure.
The ratio of the absolute viscosity to the density of the fluid is often useful, this
property is called kinematic viscosity. Piping Systems Fluid Flow uses absolute
or dynamic viscosity throughout.

Vapour Pressure
Gas results do not have an entry for vapour pressure. Vapour pressure is
defined as the pressure at which a liquid boils and is in equilibrium with its
own vapour. The development of vapour pressure is associated with molecular
activity and hence as fluid temperature increases so does the value of vapour
pressure. Boiling, which is the formation of vapour bubbles within the liquid, is
initiated when the absolute pressure of the liquid reaches the vapour pressure.
Piping Systems Fluid Flow detects the onset of boiling and provides a user
warning. The onset of boiling means that the correlations used to calculate pipe
friction loss are not accurate for the 2 phase flow regime

78
Flow into / from Network
This calculation result property only occurs for entry/exit components. There
are 4 different types of entry and exit points to and from the network.
For Flow Components Piping Systems Fluid Flow calculates the mass flow
and the flow direction into or out of the network. The direction of flow is
governed by the specified pressure/head.
For Pressure Components Piping Systems Fluid Flow calculates the
pressure/head necessary to obtain the specified flow. The magnitude of the
calculated pressure/head is governed by the specified flow direction and flow.
For open pipes Piping Sytems Fluid Flow assumes the pressure/head at the
pipe exit is atmospheric pressure. The flow is calculated at this assumed
pressure/head. For incompressible fluids the calcualtion assumes that flow
direction can be only out of the network. This is reasonable since nearly all
practical systems will discharge to gaseous atmospheric conditions. Use either
a flow or pressure component if the above assumption is not valid for any
particular network. For gas systems the same assumption holds which means it
is possible to obtain flow in both directions to and from an open pipe.
For sprinklers the pressure/head at the sprinkler outlet ( exit Pressure ) is
specified not assumed. Since the flow v's head/pressure loss relationship is
known for any sprinkler the head/pressure above the specified exit is assumed
to be lost across the sprinkler. This allows the discharge flow from the sprinkler
to be calculated. As for open pipes for incompressible fluid networks the flow
is unidirectional.

Total Head / Pressure

This is the total head/pressure at any point in the network relative to the
arbitrary datum. This can be expressed mathematically as:
Total Head ( per unit weight ), H = z + p/g + v2/2g
The above expression describes the energy in units of length. Within
established fluid flow literature each term in the above equation is often
referred to by different names.
The first term, z, represents the potential energy of the fluid and is often
referred to as datum level, geodetic head , static head or elevation.
The second term, p/g, represents the amount of work necessary to move the
fluid against the pressure p. This term is often called static pressure, pressure
energy, pressure head or flow work.
The third term, v2/2g represents the kinetic energy within the fluid and is often
called the velocity head.

79
Piezometric head/pressure is the summation of Elevation and Static head i.e.,
(z + p/g)
Stagnation head/pressure is the summation of static head and velocity head i.e.,
(p/g + v2/2g)
The total energy at any point is the piezometric head plus the velocity head, or
the stagnation head plus the elevation.
Within Piping Systems Fluid Flow the terms head and pressure are always
interchangeable since the fluid density is always known at any given position,
Rewriting the energy equation in terms of pressure units becomes
Total Pressure (per unit weight ), P = gz + p + v2/2

Head / Pressure
This is the stagnation head or pressure at any point in the network. The
stagnation pressure is the pressure attained when a flowing fluid is brought to
rest isentropically. As a fluid is brought to rest the kinetic energy is converted
to enthalpy.
Pressure is defined as the amount of force exerted on a unit area of the fluid.
When making calculations involving pressure in a fluid, the pressure
measurment is expressed relative to a reference pressure. Usually the reference
pressure is that of the atmosphere. The resulting pressure is called gauge
pressure. Pressure measured relative to a perfect vacuum is called absolute
pressure. Gauge and absolute pressure measurments are related by the
expression:
pabs = pgauge + patm
When entering or interpreting pressure measurements the following basic
points should be remembered:
A perfect vacuum is the lowest possible pressure. This means that an absolute
pressure measurment will always be positive.
A gauge pressure below atmospheric has a negative value, a gauge pressure
above atmospheric has a positive value. Within Piping Systems FluidFlow
gauge pressures are denoted by an appended g (e.g. psig). Absolute pressures
are denoted by an appended a (e.g. psia).
The actual magnitude of atmospheric pressure varies with location. For
engineering calculations the standard atmospheric taken by Piping Systems
Fluid Flow is 101.3 kPa or 14.69 psia.
There is a relationship between pressure and elevation which can be
mathematically expressed as:
80
p = h g
This expression does not strictly apply for gases since density is a function of
pressure. Piping Systems FluidFlow assumes that the pressure in a gas is
uniform.for the purposes of calculating the effect of datum level changes.

Warnings / Hints
In the tabular results sheet the warnings and engineering hints are restricted to
a simple Yes or No. If any component has an associated warning or hint then
the component is shown in RED within the flowsheet, the tabular results show
Yes and the actual warning can be viewed by moving to the Warnings/Hints
tab. There are many hints and warnings that can occur, most are associated
with improper or abnormal equipment operation.

Flow through "Component Name"

This refers to the internal network flowrate through each component. For
example if we consider the component to be a valve then the Flow through
Valve refers to the actual calculated flow through the valve. Similarily in the
case of an orifice plate the Flow through Orifice means the actual calculated
flow through the orifice. Flow can be expressed in either mass or volumetric
flow units.

"Component Name" Loss

This is the non recoverable head or pressure loss between the component
entry/inlet point and thecomponent exit/outlet point.

Mean "Component Name" Loss

This is the non recoverable head or pressure loss between the component
entry/inlet point and thecomponent exit/outlet point. The loss is not an exact
value because there are more than one entry or exit(s) from the component.
Since there are multiple connections at either entry or exit an average value has
been taken. This value is only relevant to junctions having more than 2
connections and defined as Kf or K. To avoid this type of inaccuracy use
junctions defined as Ki (Idelchik).

Mean Total Head / Pressure

This is the mean total head or pressure at the inlet or outlet of the component.
This average type of head or pressure only occurs for junctions defined as as
Kf or K. To avoid this type of inaccuracy use junctions defined as Ki
(Idelchik).

81
Branch to (n) Head / Pressure
This is the stagnation head or pressure at the inlet or outlet of the component.
For each branch connection, the flow direction and the upstream or
downstream component number is provided within the description.
The numerical value refers to the head/pressure at the branch.

Branch to (n) loss

This is the non recoverable head or pressure loss in the branch of a junction
containing more than 2 connections. The actual branch is identified in the
description together with the flow direction through the branch.
The numerical value refers to the head/pressure loss through the identified
branch.

For orifice plates the additional calculated head / pressure loss at

various tap positions are displayed:

Corner Loss
This is the static head or static pressure loss through an orifice plate measured
at the Corner Tap Points.
The upstream corner tap point is located one pipe diameter upstream of the
upstream face of the orifice plate.
The downstream corner tap point is located one pipe diameter downstream of
the downstream face of the orifice plate.
Loss values at this location are mostly used for instrumentation purposes.
Losses measured at this point do not represent the non recoverable loss across
the orifice.

D and D/2 Loss

This is the static head or static pressure loss through an orifice plate measured
at the D and D/2 Tap Points.
The upstream D tap point is located one pipe diameter upstream of the
upstream face of the orifice plate.
The downstream D/2 tapping is located at 0.47 pipe diameters downstream of
the downstream face of the orifice plate.
Loss values at this location are mostly used for instrumentation purposes.
Losses measured at this point do not represent the non recoverable loss across
the orifice.

82
Flange Loss
This is the static head or static pressure loss through an orifice plate measured
at the Flange Tap Points.
The upstream and downstream flange tapping are located 25.4/D pipe
diameters upstream and downstream of the orifice plate, where D is the pipe
diameter in mm.
Loss values at this location are mostly used for instrumentation purposes.
Losses measured at this point do not represent the non recoverable loss across
the orifice.

For flow and pressure controllers the following additional

calculated properties are used:

Valve Position @ Set Point

This is the calculated opening position of the valve when controlling at the set
point. If it is not possible for the valve to provide control at the set point the
most likely cause is that an incorrect valve has been selected.

Cv Value@ Set Point

This is the calculated Flow Coefficient, Cv value, calculated when the valve is
controlling at the set point.

For pumps, fans, compressors, blowers and boosters the

following additional calculated properties are displayed:

NPSH Available
Low pressures on the suction side of a pump are commonly encountered.
Cavitation can occur when the liquid pressure at a given location is reduced to
the liquid vapour pressure. Cavitation causes loss of efficiency at the pump as
well as structural damage and so must be avoided.
The likelehood of cavitation occuring is determined by considering the
difference between total head at the pump suction and the liquid vapour
pressure head. For this calculation the position of the elevation datum passes
through the pump centreline.
NPSH = p/g + v2/2g - Pv/g

83
The NPSH Available represents the head that actually occurs for any flow
system. For correct pump operation NPSH Available must be greater than the
NPSH Required by the pump at the duty flow.

NPSH Required
Low pressures on the suction side of a pump are commonly encountered.
Cavitation can occur when the liquid pressure at a given location is reduced to
the liquid vapour pressure. Cavitation causes loss of efficiency at the pump as
well as structural damage and so must be avoided.
The likelehood of cavitation occuring is determined by considering the
difference between total head at the pump suction and the liquid vapour
pressure head. For this calculation the position of the elevation datum passes
through the pump centreline.
NPSH = p/g + v2/2g - Pv/g
The NPSH Required is the head that must be exceeded so that cavitation will
not occur. The NPSH Required by a pump is a function of the flow through the
pump. This information is usually stored in curve data.
Piping Systems FluidFlow gives a warning if NPSH Available falls below
NPSH Required.

Duty Flow
The duty flow defines the volumetric capacity throughput per unit time at
suction conditions.This volumetric capacity assumes no entrained gases at the
operating conditions.

Duty Head / Pressure

The duty head is a measure of energy increase per unit weight, imparted to the
fluid by the pump or fan. Head is expressed in units of energy per unit weight,
e.g m of Fluid, feet of Fluid etc.
Normally the complete characteristics of the system determine the duty head
required by the pump.

Duty Efficiency
This is the ratio of energy imparted to the fluid by the pump or fan to the
energy delivered to the pump/fan shaft expressed in percent:
Pump Output Power / Pump Input Power x 100

84
Duty Power
This is the pump input power, that is the power delivered to the pump shaft at
the driver to pump coupling.
It is also called pump brake horsepower.

Affinity Law Corrected

Pump/fan performance data (capacity, head, effeciency and NPSHr) is
provided by manufacturers at specific test conditions such as fixed speed and
fixed impeller diameter. Most pumps can be operated at different speeds to
obtain varying capacities. Also a given size pump can often house impellers of
different diameters. The relationships between capacity, head and power when
speed or impeller diameter changes are called the affinity laws
If N refers to the pump/fan speed in rpm then when N varies the following
relationships exist:
Capacity varies directly with speed: Q1/Q2 = N1/N2
Head varies with the square of the speed: H1/H2 = (N1/N2)2
Power required varies with the cube of speed: P1/P2 = (N1/N2)3
If D is the diameter of the pump/fan impeller then:
Capacity varies directly with diameter: Q1/Q2 = D1/D2
Head varies with the square of the diameter: H1/H2 = (D1/D2)2
Power required varies with the cube of diameter: P1/P2 = (D1/D2)3
Efficiency remains nearly constant for speed changes and for small changes in
impeller diameter.
Use the affinity law corrections with caution. Hydraulic similarity is not
usually found in practice, particularly as pump/fan size and speed changes
deviate significantly from data provided from manufacturers.

Viscosity Corrected
The performance rating curve data for pumps are generated, by the
manufacturer from test data using water as the pumped fluid. These curves are
reasonable accurate, within accepted tolerances for liquids with viscosities
similar to that of water. Pumping liquids with higher viscosities causes the
capacity of the pump at any given head to decrease. The power required to
drive the pump increases and the efficiency decreases due to the effect of
increasing viscosity. The Hydraulic Institute provides guidelines for correcting
performance data with fluids of different viscosities. Piping Systems FluidFlow
follows these guidelines as appropriate. If a correction has been made to the
performance curves a warning is issued.

85
For pipes the following calculated properties are shown:

Pipe Size
The actual inside diameter of comercially available pipe and tubing will often
be different from the nominal size. Piping Systems FluidFlow uses the pipe
internal diameter for all fluid calculations.
Normally this value is obtained from a database look up. It is possible for the
user to override the look up value if desired.

Flowrate
This is the actual mass flowrate passing through the pipe. Piping Systems
FluidFlow solves for mass flows. If you are displaying flow in volumetric units
then the value is obtained from the mass flow divided by the fluid density
within the pipe. For gases units showing mass flow or volumetric flow at
standard or normal conditions are available.

Average Velocity
This is the average pipe velocity calculated by dividing the mass flow by the
fluid density and inside pipe cross sectional area. For gases the density of the
fluid changes as it flows down the pipe. Piping Systems FluidFlow uses the
upstream density to calculate the average velocity unless choked conditions are
detected. At choked conditions the downstream density is used.

Pipe Friction Loss

A flowing fluid offers frictional resistance to flow. Part of the available energy
in the system is converted to non recoverable forms which are dissipated
through the walls of the pipe. The magnitute of the energy loss is dependent on
the fluid physical properties, the flow velocity, the pipe wall roughness, the
pipe length and internal diameter.
For both liquids and gases pipe friction losses are based on an expanded form
of the Darcy –Weisbach equation:
Fp = Cc Ck ( ( f L/D ) +  ( f'K ) )  Q2 / D4
See Nomenclature section for symbol definitions

Absolute Roughness
This property is a characteristic of the internal surface of the pipe. The pipe
wall roughness has a greater effect on the friction factor for smaller size
pipework. The most widely accepted data for friction factor for use in the
86
Darcy equation is the Moody diagram. This diagram defines how relative
roughness (/D) affects the friction factor for all possible values of /D. Typical
values of Absolute Roughness can be found from common literature sources.

Reynolds Number
Reynolds number is a dimensionless number that is used to determine the flow
region. Flow can be either laminar, transitional or turbulent and Piping Systems
FluidFlow works within all possible flow regions.
Reynolds number is defined as:
Re =  v D / 

Friction Factor
The friction factor is a dimensionless number used in the Darcy equation to
determine the head/pressure loss in a pipe due to frictional effects.
The value of friction factor used by Piping Systems FluidFlow is dependent on
Reynolds number and pipe relative roughness.as described by the Moody chart.

Hydraulic Gradient
Hydraulic gradient is the ratio of pipe headloss per unit length and is expressed
in units determined by the current report units for head/pressure loss and
length. Thus hydraulic gradient can be expressed in terms of psi/foot,
mFluid/m etc.
Hydraulic gradient is often a useful measure for determining the loading within
a pipe. This value can therefore act as the main parameter to determine pipe
size.
For example a hydraulic gradient of 0.1 mFluid/m indicates a low pipe load
and that an uneconomical pipe size is being used. Similarily values over 10
mFluid/m indicate high loss, heavy loading, poor regulation and that too small
a pipe diameter is being used.

Hazen-Williams Coefficient
The Darcy equation used to calculate friction loss in a pipe is applicable to all
Newtownian fluids.For the special case of water the Hazen-Williams formula is
sometimes used.
The use of Hazen-Williams formula is restricted to flow of water in pipes
larger than 2" and smaller than 6 feet in diameter. The Hazen-Williams formula
was also developed for flow at 60'F and for flow velocities below 10ft/s. Use
outside these limits will lead to errors. The Hazen-Williams formula is units

87
specific, in SI units the formula is: Q = 0.85 A C h R0.63 s0.54 where s is the
hydraulic gradient in m/m and R is the hydraulic radius

Mach Number
Mach number is the ratio of the actual pipe velocity to sonic velocity. Sonic
velocity is the speed of sound in the fluid.
Analysis within Piping Systems FluidFlow is restricted to below Mach 1.
All flows that would be above Mach 1 are limited to Mach 1 by the software,
flows and pressures are adjusted accordingly and a warning is given that
choked conditions exist.
Supersonic flow above Mach 1 can only be obtained within a pipe system with
a converging nozzle. Such equipment and analysis is outside the scope of this
software.

Gain/Loss due to Velocity Change

Velocity changes will occur after pipe reducers and expanders or after reducing
or expanding bends. When a change in velocity occurs then some of the
available velocity pressure/head is converted to static pressure/head.
For example in a gradual expander, usually called a diffuser, the static
pressure/head after the diffuser is raised (assuming the static gain due to
velocity conversion is greater that the static loss due to friction). In such an
example the hydraulic grade line out of the diffuser is greater than at the inlet
to the reducer.
Such conversions from velocity pressure/head to static pressure/head are taken
into account automatically within Piping Systems Fluid Flow, provided they
are activated via the global switch 'Include Correction in Static Head for
Velocity Head Changes' is switched on. The default is OFF.

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89
Default Data for
Components
All of the components used within Piping Systems FluidFlow have pre-defined
data values associated with them. This means that when you place any
component on the flowsheet it will contain default data settings such as
temperature, datum ,etc.
These default data settings can be changed at any time. Once you have changed
a default value(s) for any component type, the new values become active the
next time the component is added to the flowsheet. Regular use of this facility
as you build up the flowsheet can significantly reduce the volume of data entry
and changes you have to make.
The properties (default data values) for each component vary depending on the
component type.
Default Data Values can be accessed from either the Properties ¦ Default
Components sub menu or from the default properties button on the toolbar
All components have the following common properties :
 Temperature
 Temperature Units of Measurement
 Text
Other default values for each component are described in the following
sections. If you have gas calculation capability then you need to be aware that
there are 2 sets of default data. Each set relates to incompressible and
compressible components. The default sets are slightly different. For example
there are no fans in the liquid set or pumps and sprinklers in the gas set. The
default set you are changing is dependent on the type of calculation you are
carrying out. If you are currently working on a gas calculation then the gas
default set is in use. By changing from a compressible to incompressible
calculation you automatically change default data sets.

91
Default Connector
Default Data Values can be accessed from either the Properties / Default
Components sub -menu or from the default properties button on the toolbar
.

Changing the settings in the above dialog means that each new connector will
be created with the data you have entered. For example changing the Datum
Height from zero to 5 means that each new connector will be created with an
elevation of 5 above datum.

Default Entry/Exit with known Flow

Default Data Values can be accessed from either the Properties / Default
Components sub -menu or from the default properties button on the toolbar
.

92
The Flow Path field has two possible values: Flow Out of the Network or Flow
into the Network. The value assigned determines the calculated pressure at the
entry/exit point.
The flow is set from the Flow field. Negative values are not allowed since the
flow direction is set as described above and the value must lie between zero
and 1e15.

Default Entry Exit with known

Pressure
Default Data Values can be accessed from either the Properties ¦ Default
Components sub menu or from the default properties button on the toolbar .

The value entered into the Pressure field can be negative or positive. The fly by
hint suggests positive values are used and to change the pressure units to an
absolute measurement if you need to enter a value below atmospheric pressure.
This is probably a better approach to data entry because you cannot enter an
invalid pressure. However some users may wish to work only in gauge units
and to allow this the entered value is not validated thereby allowing negative
values.

93
Default Fan
Default Data Values can be accessed from either the Properties ¦ Default
Components sub -menu or from the default properties button on the toolbar
.

Visibility to manufacturers can be turned on or off by checking the check box

in the Manufacturer list. The contents displayed under Model Name are
dependent on the Manufacturers you have visible. To avoid invalid settings if
you click off all Manufacturers the OK button will become disabled.
The default model is set by clicking to highlight the model within the Model
Name list box.
If you turn off the visibility of any manufacturer and there are components in
an open network that require a fan from the non-visible manufacturer, then the
model is automatically added to the fan list on return from this dialog. This
prevents bad data links within open networks that you are currently working
on.
If you load a new network and this contains fans from a manufacturer that is
not visible the same situation exists.
The fans that are displayed in the Fan Name list (in the main data entry area)
are therefore a combination of all the fans from the visible manufacturers plus
any fan models that already exist in the currently loaded network.

94
Default Flow Control Valve
Default Data Values can be accessed from either the Properties ¦ Default
Components sub menu or from the default properties button on the toolbar .

The Set Flow field is used to determine the flowrate at which the valve will
attempt to control by modulating the valve opening.
Visibility to manufacturers can be turned on or off by checking the check box
in the Manufacturers list. The contents displayed under Model Name are
dependent on the Manufacturers you have visible. To avoid invalid settings if
you click off all Manufacturers the OK button will become disabled.
The default model is set by clicking to highlight the model within the Model
Name list box. 3" Butterfly Valve shown in the previous dialog.
If you turn off the visibility of any manufacturer and there are components in
an open network that require a control valve from the non -visible
manufacturer, then the model is automatically added to the control valve list on
return from this dialog. This prevents bad data links within open networks that
you are currently working on.
95
If you load a new network and this contains control valves from a manufacturer
that is not visible the same situation exists.
The valves that are displayed in the Control Valve drop down list (in the main
data entry area) are therefore a combination of all the valves from the visible
manufacturers plus any valves which already exist in the currently loaded
network.

Default Junctions

Junctions can represent an open pipe, a bend, a tee, or a cross-junction. The

number of pipes connected to the component determines the actual component
type used. Piping Systems FluidFlow automatically adjusts the component
type. For bends you can enter the ''number off'' which can significantly reduce
data entry by allowing you to model long pipes containing many bends as a
single component. Sub -types within each group, i.e, long radius bends, mitre
bends, etc, are stored in data tables, again enabling any bend, tee, or crossover
to be successfully included.
Default Data Values can be accessed from either the Properties / Default
Components sub -menu or from the default properties button on the toolbar
.
Since the junction type is dependent on the number of connections (1 to 4),
default data can be entered for each type. This is reflected in the dialog below

96
For each of the connections 1 through 4 use the radio group 'Number of
Connections' in conjunction with setting the highlight in the 'Model Name' list
box in order to define the default junction type.
Visibility to manufacturers can be turned on or off by checking the check box
in the Manufacturers list. The contents displayed under Model Name are
dependent on the Manufacturers you have visible. To avoid invalid settings if
you click off all Manufacturers the OK button will become disabled.

97
Default Generic Fittings
This section covers three different types of fittings. The types are characterised
by the way they have been hydraulically defined: K, Kf, or Kv.
Generic flow coefficients Kv, can be used to model any type of component.
Examples are heat exchangers, filters, etc, where the head loss for a given flow
is known or can be obtained from the component manufacturer.
Flow coefficients should not be used to describe components that can vary
in size, unless you are willing to enter a separate component.
Generic K factors can be used to model any type of component such as valves,
heaters, tube bundles, etc. Often valve data is provided in this form,
particularly from older texts.
K factors should not be used to describe components that can vary in size,
unless you are willing to enter a separate component for each size; a better
approach is to convert to Kf.
Generic Kf factors are used to describe components whose size usually
varies with pipe size. Valves and Non Return valves supplied are all described
in this manner. It is often more difficult to obtain Kf data, however you can
easily convert from the more commonly supplied K values.
The dialog is similar for each type and is accessed via the menu or the default
property button on the toolbar .

The default K, Kf or Kv type is selected from the 'K, Kf, Kv Name' drop down
combo.

98
Default Manually Operated Valves
Manually operated valves of any kind, and from any manufacturer, can be
included.
Default Data Values can be accessed from either the Properties ¦ Default
Components sub -menu or from the default properties button on the toolbar
.
The default valve type is set from the dialog illustrated below.

To set the default valve type, click on the Model Name list box as shown.
Visibility to manufacturers can be turned on or off by checking the check box
in the Manufacturers list. The contents displayed under Model Name are
dependent on the Manufacturers you have visible. To avoid invalid settings if
you click off all Manufacturers the OK button will become disabled.
If the additional information concerning the resistance as a function of flow
through the valve is available for the selected valve, then it is possible to set a
default opening from the %Open field.

99
Default Non Return Valve
Any Non Return Valve from any manufacturer can be included. As with
pumps when connecting a pipe the first pipe connected dictates the direction of
flow. The flow direction is also shown with a red dot. The red dot represents
the valve outlet.
You can always change the direction of the valve by clicking on the orientation
button in the data entry window.
Default Data Values can be accessed from either the Properties ¦ Default
Components sub -menu or from the default properties button on the toolbar
.

To set the default non-return valve type, click on the Model Name list box as
shown above.
Visibility to manufacturers can be turned on or off by checking the check box
in the Manufacturers list. The contents displayed under Model Name are
dependent on the Manufacturers you have visible. To avoid invalid settings if
you click off all Manufacturers the OK button will become disabled.

100
Default Orifice Plate Sizes
Orifice or Restrictor plates of any size can be included. To set the default size
use the dialog as illustrated below.
Default Data Values can be accessed from either the Properties ¦ Default
Components sub -menu or from the default properties button on the toolbar
.

Orifice size is entered directly.

Default User Defined Component

A user defined loss component can be included in any network. Default
Data Values can be accessed from either the Properties ¦ Default Components
sub -menu or from the default properties button on the toolbar .

101
The user defined type is selected from a list. The contents of the list depend on
the contents of the currently connected database.

Default Pipe Properties

Default Data Values can be accessed from either the Properties ¦ Default
Components sub -menu or from the default properties button on the toolbar
.

102
Default lengths are set from the 'Length field'.
Pipe type and nominal size can be selected from the drop down combos. The
contents of the drop down lists reflect the contents of the currently attached
pipe types database.
It is possible to set the pipe status to open or closed from the drop down
combo.
The pipe default colour can be set. This colour has NO bearing or significance
for the calculation. It is meant to be a mechanism by which you can visually
group pipes.

Default Pressure Control Valves

Pressure control valves from any manufacturer can be included. The set
point can be entered from the data entry window. Note that only the final
control element ,i.e, the control valve is modelled. The controlled condition can
occur downstream or upstream of the control valve. This means pressure
reducing or pressure sustaining valves can be successfully included.
Default Data Values can be accessed from either the Properties ¦ Default
Components sub -menu or from the default properties button on the toolbar
.

103
The Set Pressure field is used to determine the pressure at which the valve will
attempt to control by modulating the valve opening. This field is used in
conjunction with the Control Type field to determine if the pressure is
controlled upstream or downstream of the valve.
Visibility to manufacturers can be turned on or off by checking the check box
in the Manufacturers list. The contents displayed under Model Name are
dependent on the Manufacturers you have visible. To avoid invalid settings if
you click off all Manufacturers the OK button will become disabled.
The default model is set by clicking to highlight the model within the Model
Name list box. 2.5" Butterfly Valve shown in the previous dialog.
If you turn off the visibility of any manufacturer and there are components in
an open network that require a control valve from the non -visible
manufacturer, then the model is automatically added to the Control Valve list
on return from this dialog. This prevents bad data links within open networks
that you are currently working on.
If you load a new network and this contains control valves from a manufacturer
that is not visible the same situation exists.
The valves that are displayed in the Control Valve drop down list (in the main
data entry area) are therefore a combination of all the valves from the visible

104
manufacturers plus any valves that already exist in the currently loaded
network.

Default Pump
Any pump from any manufacturer can be represented within Piping
Systems FluidFlow. The data stored contains head, NPSH required, efficiency,
and, by inference, power curves.
Visibility to manufacturers can be turned on or off by checking the check box
in the Manufacturer list. The contents displayed under Model Name are
dependent on the Manufacturers you have visible. Additionally unchecking the
boxes in the 'Application Area group' can further filter the models displayed.
To avoid invalid settings if you click off all Manufacturers the OK button will
become disabled.
Default Data Values can be accessed from either the Properties ¦ Default
Components sub -menu or from the default properties button on the toolbar
.

105
The default model is set by clicking to highlight the model within the Model
Name list box.
If you turn off the visibility of any manufacturer and there are components in
an open network that require a pump from the non-visible manufacturer, then
the model is automatically added to the pump list on return from this dialog.
This prevents bad data links within open networks that you are currently
working on.
If you load a new network and this contains pumps from a manufacturer that is
not visible the same situation exists.
The pumps that are displayed in the Pump Name list (in the main data entry
area) are therefore a combination of all the pumps from the visible
manufacturers plus any pump models that already exist in the currently loaded
network.

Default Reducers
Default Data Values can be accessed from either the Properties ! Default
Components sub -menu or from the default properties button on the toolbar
.

The reducer size is automatically determined from the size of the connecting
pipes. Reducer length dimensions are automatically taken from ASME/ANSI
B16.5-1986 source. You can override the length dimension if you have a
special reducer.
The type eccentric or concentric can be easily changed.

106
Default Sprinklers
Default Data Values can be accessed from either the Properties ¦ Default
Components sub -menu or from the default properties button on the toolbar
.

Visibility to manufacturers can be turned on or off by checking the check box

in the Manufacturers list. The contents displayed under Model Name are
dependent on the Manufacturers you have visible. To avoid invalid settings if
you click off all Manufacturers the OK button will become disabled.

107
Default Pressure Relief Valves
Any pressure relief valve from any manufacturer can be included. Pressure
Relief Valves have two connecting pipes.
Default Data Values can be accessed from either the Properties ¦ Default
Components sub -menu or from the default properties button on the toolbar
.

Visibility to manufacturers can be turned on or off by checking the check box

in the manufacturers list. The contents displayed under model name are
dependent on the visible manufacturers. To avoid invalid settings the OK
button will become disabled if all the manufacturers are checked off.

108
Application and Calculation
Properties
Current Network Properties
Accessed from the menu option Properties ¦ Calculation.
The properties of the currently loaded network are shown below:

This page provides a summary of the currently loaded network.

The first line provides the current file name ‘Analysis 21’.
The number of components ‘151’ refers to the number of unique components in
the network excluding pipes.
The number of pipes ‘172’ refers to the number of pipes used to connect the
components.
The status reports any build or calculation errors
Convergence count ‘35’ reports the number of iterations the calculation took to
reach a converged solution.
Warnings count '11' indicates the total number of warnings that exist in the
current solution.
109
Convergence Criteria
Accessed from the menu option Properties ¦ Calculation. This dialog page is
shown below:

For a calculation to have converged to a solution the change in flow in each

pipe is compared against the flow from the previous iteration. The convergence
tolerance refers to the value when the flows between iterations are considered
identical. The relative values for each option are :
Low – means that the pipe flow changes by less than 0.1% of it's value in the
previous iteration. Note that the flow in all pipes must change by less than
0.1% for the calculation to be considered converged.
Medium – as above but the pipe flow change must be less than 0.01%.
High – as above but the pipe flow change must be less than 0.001%.
The Convergence Count group box allows you to set the maximum number of
iterations to try before concluding that the calculation will not solve. This must
be a value between 5 and 1000. For liquid networks convergence usually
occurs within 40 iterations. If the convergence count takes more than 80
iterations the chances are that the network design is incorrect or else the data
input is extreme.
This group box also allows you to turn the AutoCalc option on (AutoCalc at
each change is checked) or off. If the calculations are taking longer than about
0.5 seconds to solve then it is probably best to turn the AutoCalc option off.

110
With autocalc off you must press the Calculator icon each time you wish to see
the calculation results. The results become unavailable after each change.
If you check the ‘Show Convergence Count’ check box then the number of
iterations to achieve convergence is shown on the status line after each
calculation.

The Relax Convergence Criteria option is normally off by default. This option
should only be checked in difficult to converge networks usually characterised
by many parallel flow loops. If this option is checked then the value of
convergence tolerance will be relaxed only if all the calculated pipe flows
remain static for 10 iterations. The relaxation on the convergence criteria is
made, up to a maximum of 2% between sucessively calculated flows. In tests
of over 200 medium and large size networks this option has only been needed
on 2 occassions to obtain convergence. You can loose up to 2% accuracy on
calculated flows if this option is checked. Use wisely.
The Flow Tolerance group box allows you to determine when the flow should
be assumed to be zero. Changing this option can help convergence in extreme
cases ,i.e, where there are extremely long pipes and extremely short pipes in
the system.

Application Available Resources

Accessed from the menu option Properties ¦ Calculation …
As with any Windows application the resources available to Piping Systems
FluidFlow is dependent on the number of concurrent applications open in
addition to the amount of installed memory. The resources available at any time
can be viewed from the ‘Available Resources’ page, which is shown below:

111
If the User or System resources fall below around 20%, it is recommended that
you save your work and consider closing other open applications.

Calculation Options
Accessed from the menu option Properties ¦ Calculation.
The contents of this page are shown below:

112
The available settings on this page are:
'Include Viscosity Correction for Pumps' – This is a global switch to determine
if a correction calculation to pump Head, Npsha, and Power is made when the
kinematic viscosity of the pumped fluid is above 10 cSt. If a correction occurs
the rules given by Hydraulics Institute are followed.
The slider control allows you to set the Reynolds number that Piping Systems
FluidFlow uses to determine the onset of the turbulent flow regime. Below this
value flow is considered to be in the laminar region.
Incompressible Flow Formula refers to the calculation method used for
estimating pipe head loss. It is recommended that you normally use the Darcy
equation. Hazen-Williams is usually used in specialist water and sprinkler
systems and is included so that sprinkler circuits can be calculated according to
NFPA guidelines.

113
Report Units
Accessed from Properties ¦ Report Units or from a right mouse click over a
pump graph or the results table. It is possible to set the table report units as
well as the appearance and layout of pump and fan charts.

Table Report Units

The report units can be changed from the following dialog:

Select your preferred units from the drop down lists. You can also determine
the number of decimal places you wish to display. There is a maximum of 15
decimal places- numbers having more than 15 decimal places loose
significance due to computer rounding errors.
Note that there are separate units for pipe diameter and pipe length which
means that you can show diameters in ins or mm and lengths in m or ft.

Pump & Fan Chart Curve Visibility

Accessed from the menu option Properties ¦ Report Units ¦ Pump Graph
The appearance and content of the pump and fan charts can be adjusted from
the dialog shown below:

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The Capacity curve is always shown.
The Power and NPSHrequired curves can be turned on or off by checking the
options ‘Power Curve’ and ‘NPSHrequired’. Both Power and NPSHrequired
are shown as separate charts aligned vertically to the capacity curve. This
reflects the most common representation used by many pump manufacturers.
Additionally the relative sizes of the Power and NPSH charts can be adjusted
as a percentage of the total chart. Allowable ranges are 15 to 30%.
The Efficiency and System Curve are superimposed onto the capacity chart and
can be turned on or off from the ‘Efficiency’ and ‘System Curve’ check boxes.
The visibility and shape of the Duty Point can be controlled fom the ‘Duty
Point’ check box and the shape can be controlled by selecting from the ‘Duty
Point Shape’ drop down list.
You may have noticed that as you move the mouse over the pump or fan chart
small track lines appear which provide an instantaneous update of Power,
Efficiency, Flow, Head, and NPSH in the grid above the chart. You can turn
this facility off by clicking on the ‘Mouse Tracking’ check box and the size of
the track lines can be adjusted from the ‘Track Line Size’ spin edit within the
range 3 to 20.

Pump & Fan Chart Colours and Line Widths

Accessed from the menu option Properties ¦ Report Units ¦ Pump Graph. The
colour and width of the pump and fan charts lines can be adjusted from the
dialog shown below:

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There are 16 available colours to choose from and the line widths can vary on a
scale of 1(thin) to 4 (thick).

Pump & Fan Chart Display Units

Accessed from the menu option Properties ¦ Report Units ¦ Pump Graph.
The measurement units for the pump and fan graph scales can be varied
independently of the tabular report measurement units. Values can be selected
from the drop down lists.
The value selected for head is also used to display NPSHrequired scales.

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Warning Limits
Accessed from Properties ¦ Warning Limits. From this dialog you can :

Determine the velocity limits outside which you get a low or high pipe velocity
warning.
Determine the lower and upper positional opening limits for control valves
outside which you get a 'not suitable for control' message.
Determine if you wish to provide a warning if the datum level between two
components exceeds the connecting pipe length.
Determine if you wish to provide a component warning if the connecting pipe
sizes are not identical.
Determine if you wish to receive a warning if an Idelchik T has been changed
to a Y because of the branch location.

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Databases
Database Overview
The application contains a total of 13 databases ranging from component data
through liquid physical properties to units of measurement. The databases are
stored in a compact binary format for security and speed purposes. It is
possible to connect to any individual FluidFlow database on any machine
within a network environment thus facilitating close team working.
Data that can be supplied by individual fluid equipment manufacturers can be
imported from a published text file format.
Such imports are possible for control valves, manually operated valves, non-
return valves, pumps and sprinklers. In addition it is possible to import fluid
physical property data.
Data describing control valves, manually operated valves, non return valves,
pumps and sprinklers is classified by manufacturer allowing FluidFlow to
‘filter’ selections according to manufacturer. In this way you can build up data
from your preferred supplier(s) and only expose those elements available for
selection.
It is also possible to import data from our previous product ‘Netmate’ directly
into the databases listed above.
Each database also has a number of access levels which means a project leader
or system administrator can selectively or globally lock out the ability to
change data from unauthorised users. This can be useful for larger projects
where more than one person may decide to change the model.

Access Levels
Each individual entry in each database can have one of three lock levels. The
lock levels are referred to as User, Administrator, and Factory levels or
priorities.
The User level has the lowest priority and the application always starts at this
level.
From this priority level any user can add a new database entry. As each new
entry is added to any of the databases the associated lock level is by default at
the current level. It follows therefore that entries added at this level can be
edited and deleted by any user.

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Lock levels can be moved up the hierarchy if you have access rights at the
higher level.
As an example consider the generic component editor shown below:

The Hinged Foot Valve has been entered at the user level. As previously stated
this means that editing and deletion are available for all users and this is
reflected by the fact that the Delete and Edit buttons are enabled. All database
editors are created in browse mode, which prevents accidental changes
occurring. In browse mode all data entry fields are greyed and disabled.
To make a change, to add a new entry, or to delete an entry you must click the
appropriate button.
Notice that the lock level check box is also greyed and disabled because at the
user level it is not possible to lock data.
For a component that has been added at a higher access level the same editor
would appear as :

120
Notice that editing and deleting of this entry (Mitre Bend 90_ ) cannot occur
because the Edit and Delete buttons are greyed and disabled.
The data for this component was added at the administrator level, or a user
with administration rights shifted the level. The tick in the lock editing check
box denotes that the component is at the administration level.
The administration level is password protected with the initial password set as
‘Flite’. The password is case -sensitive.
Moving to administration level by selecting Datasets ¦ Access Level from the
menu gives the following dialog:

The status, shown in red lettering changes as you enter the correct password. At
this point it is possible to change passwords from the New button or to change
back to the user level by clicking the Revert button.
As you change passwords, please make a note of the new password, as the
system is not tolerant of lost passwords.

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Continuing at the administration level we can revisit the Mitre Bend 90_ . The
options available are now different as shown below:

Since we have administration access we can now edit, delete, or add new
components at administration level.
To move down access levels simply uncheck the contents of the Lock Editing
check box. This will revert the component to user level.

Data Connections
To enable you to work with different datasets at different times and to enable
team working the facility to connect, or reconnect to any individual database is
available.
Connection can be made at any time during program use.
If you connect to a database that does not contain a component that is in the
current network or load a network that contains an unlisted component the
software will list the offending entries in the build error list.
In these circumstances before you can calculate, you must either reconnect to
the original database or reselect (change) the component to one that does exist
in the connected database.
To change data connections either locally or across a computer network select
Dataset ¦ Data Connections from the menu to obtain the dialog shown below:

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The current connections and access level is shown. To connect to an alternative
database, e.g, Pumps, click the button as shown above. The standard Windows
Open dialog is shown, allowing only named connections, to prevent an
attempted connection to a non-FluidFlow file. This is shown below:

Clicking Open from this dialog makes the connection and returns to the dialog
shown next:

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Notice that the new connection details are against the pump data path.
Connection details are stored when the application shuts down and the next the
next time the application starts it automatically reconnects to the last used
database.
If you have connections across a computer network that are unavailable at start
up e.g, from a laptop being used at home, then a connection dialog appears
allowing you to connect to a local database. You must have all databases
connected before the application can properly start.

Operations Common to all

Databases

There are a total of 12 databases if you have the liquid or gas only module and
13 if you have both .These are :
 Control Valves – holds the data for the final control element of a control
loop.
 Fans – holds performance data for fans and compressors.
 Generic Fittings – holds data for pipe fittings that are purely resistive in
nature.

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 Gas Physical Properties – hold viscosity and density data as a function of
temperature and pressure.
 Junctions – holds flow resistance data for open pipes, bends, T, and cross-
junctions.
 Liquid Physical Properties – holds viscosity, density, and vapour pressure
data as a function of temperature for a variety of liquids.
 Manual Valves – holds resistive data for manually operated valves.
 Non Return Valves – holds resistive data for check valves.
 Pipes – holds size and roughness data.
 Pumps – holds performance data for pumps.
 Sprinklers – holds performance data for sprinklers.
 Pressure Relief Valves – holds performance data for relief valves.
 Units – holds conversion factors for a wide variety of engineering units.
 User Defined Component – hold loss equation and description data for
user defined components.
All databases are entered via the Datasets menu option, then by selecting the
database you wish to enter. On selection of any dataset menu option a new
connection is made to a copy of the selected database and a dialog box is
opened to allow database changes.
The contents of all databases can be deleted, edited or new items can be added,
copied, or imported. If you carry out editing, deleting, copying, importing, or
adding the database is marked as ‘dirty’.
Edit changes, deletions, imports, copying, and new additions do not properly
occur until the OK button is pressed and only then if you answer ‘Yes’ to the
''Save Changes?'' Question.

The row of buttons similar to that above can be found along the bottom of all
database dialogs. In some cases the Import and Manufacturer buttons may or
may not be present.
At specific times, depending on the operation you are carrying out, some of the
buttons may be disabled. Describing then the common operations with
reference to the button bar, from left to right :
Lock Editing – This check box is only enabled if the database access is at the
administration level. You can change access level from the Datasets ¦ Access
Level menu option. To change to the administration level you will need the

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correct password. The default password is ‘Flite’. Marking this as checked
prevents others from changing you data (see Access Levels earlier in this
chapter for further information).
Import – This button allows you to import data from either our Netmate
product or from a published ASCII file format. Data can be imported into all
databases that are classified according to manufacturer, specifically control
valves, manual valves, non-return valves, pipes, pumps and sprinklers.
Additionally liquid physical properties can also be imported.
Delete – This button allows you delete individual components. Deletion is
allowed according to the access level the data was entered and the current
access level. This is reflected in the enabled state of the button. For example if
data was entered at the administration level then you can only delete data when
you enter a database at the administration level. There is at least one
component in each database table that cannot be deleted as data has been
entered at a factory level.
Commit – The Commit button is only enabled during an editing or add
operation. Pressing the commit button completes the add or edit operation and
sets a database ‘dirty’ marker. Commit does not immediately change the
existing data, commit proper only occurs when you press the OK button and
answer ‘Yes’ to save the changes made. This means you can ‘rollback’ the
committed changes either by pressing the Cancel button or by answering ‘No’
after pressing the OK button.
Edit – Pressing the Edit button allows you to edit component data. As with
deletion the ability to edit data is a function of current access level, and the
state of lock editing.
Manufact – If present this button allows you to add a new manufacturer. It is
always enabled. Data such as control valves, junctions, pumps, manual valves,
non-return valves and sprinklers are all classified according to manufacturer.
Copy – This button allows a complete clone of the current database item to be
made. The only difference between the clone and the original is the name of the
copy, which is titled 'Copy of ……'. The copy function is most useful when
entering components that require a significant amount of data entry.
New – This button is always enabled meaning that you can add new component
data at any time.
Help – Provides context sensitive help for a particular database.
Cancel – The Cancel button is only enabled if a database is marked as dirty,
this means a component has been added, deleted or edited. Pressing Cancel
rollsback any changes made during the session.
OK – This button is always enabled. If the database is marked as dirty you are
asked if you wish to save the changes made before closing. If no changes have
been made then the OK button closes the dialog immediately.

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Control Valve Database
Operations Common to all Databases are described at the beginning of this
chapter.
This database stores control valve performance data. Accessing from the
Datasets ¦ Control Valve menu option forces a new connection and opens the
control valve database in Browse mode.

From this connection you can edit, import, copy, delete, or add new control
valve data or add a new manufacturer. On connection the Database State is
always one of view or browse mode.
Manufacturer provides a way for you to classify or group your data under a
common heading.

New manufacturers can be added from the button, which creates

the following dialog that allows the manufacturer list to be edited, deleted or
added to.

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In the above example there are 7 existing manufacturers with the highlighted
manufacturer as Keystone. This is shown in the top left list box. The product
data classified under Keystone is shown in the list box above, with the current
data displayed for the ‘2” Butterfly Valve’ product. The relative sizes of the
two list boxes can be adjusted by moving the mouse over the horizontal split
between the two list boxes and the clicking and dragging.
Taking the 2” Butterfly Valve product as a basis for explaining the data
required. Firstly all components must have a unique name and this is displayed
in the Valve Name field as ‘2” Butterfly Valve’.
The valve inlet size must be specified, in this case 50 mm.
The remaining data required relates to the valve characteristics (Cv value) as a
function of valve opening. The valve manufacturer usually supplies this data.
The Cv data can be entered either as usgpm / psi, m3/h / kPa, l/min / bar or
m3/h / bar and you should select the desired Cv units by selecting from those
available in the Defined As... Group box. When entering Cv V's %Opening
valve characteristics it is important to obtain a smooth curve from 0% opening
to 100% opening. The data accuracy over the entire operating range can be
viewed from the graph, which updates automatically as you enter data pairs.
Note that the reference to Kv here refers to popular European control valve
nomenclature eg m3/h per kPa etc. This value may not be the same as the Kv
used in the generic fittings database, where flow and pressure loss units as well
as exponent may be adjusted as needed.
The values entered into the upper and lower accuracy limits do not affect
calculations however they are used to provide warnings if a network solution
resolves to a valve position outside of the entered limits.
There are additional warning limits relevant to control valves set from the
Properties / Warning Limits menu option. These limits are global in scope, i.e,
they relate to all control valves. Control valve warning limits are used to alert
you if a valve is controlling outside a desired range, i.e, if the valve is
incorrectly sized operating at the set point condition.
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Fan/Compressor Database
Operations Common to all Databases are described at the beginning of this
chapter.
This database stores the fan/compressor/blower performance data. Accessing
from the Datasets ¦ Fans menu option forces a new connection and opens the
fan database in Browse mode.
From this connection you can edit, import, delete, or add new fan data, or add
a new manufacturer. On connection the Database State is always one of view
or browse mode.

Manufacturer provides a way for you to classify or group your data under a
common heading.
New manufacturers can be added from the button, which creates a
dialog that allows the manufacturer list to be edited, deleted, or added to.

129
Taking the 49" Dia S.I. CD20 compressor from Howden-Sirocco as a basis for
explaining the data entry requirements. All fans/compressors/blowers must
have a unique product name, which is entered into the Fan Model field. The
manufacturer is selected from the Manufacturer drop down list.
The next line for data entry involves selecting the units for Static Pressure
developed by the fan, the units for fan impeller diameter, and the units for flow
through the fan. Note that flow units are actual volumetric flow of air at
standard conditions. This is the most likely form of data from the fan/blower
manufacturer.
The next line of data entry concerns the fan operating speed for the
performance curve and efficiency data that you will enter into the table. The
minimum and maximum operating speeds refer to the allowable speed range. If
the fan can only operate at a single speed then make these two entries equal to
the operating speed and the ability to change the fan speed will be inhibited.
The next line of data entry concerns the fan impeller diameter for the
performance curve and efficiency data that you will enter into the table. The
minimum and maximum impeller diameters refer to the allowable impeller
range. If the fan can only operate with a fixed impeller diameter then make
these two entries equal to the operating impeller diameter and the ability to
change the fan impeller size will be inhibited.
The minimum and maximum flow fields allow you to include values for a
sensible operating range over which the fan will operate in practical situations.
The values provide calculation warnings if the network solution lies outside of
these limits. These limits are often provided by the manufacturer or are evident
from the performance data.
When entering the tabular data points, which describe the fan capacity and
efficiency curves, there is an important point to bear in mind. It is important
to fit the capacity data over the whole of the developed pressure range, i.e,
from zero flow through to and beyond run out, that is from maximum
developed pressure to zero pressure. It is not desirable to operate the fan at

130
these extreme conditions, however the network solution relies on the fact that
during solution convergence the maximum desirable flow is often exceeded
and is a valid mathematical solution. Please see the entered tabular data for
both fans and pumps to better understand the data point range entered.

Gas Physical Properties Database

Operations Common to all Databases are described at the beginning of this
chapter.
Accessing from the Datasets ¦ Gas Physical Properties menu option forces a
new connection and opens the gas database in Browse mode.
The gas physical property database stores physical property constants in order
to estimate the viscosity and density of each gas component as a function of
both pressure and temperature.
The constants needed to describe the gas viscosity and density are :
Critical Temperature
Critical Pressure
Critical Volume
Molecular Weight
Cp/Cv Ratio
An example for air is shown below:

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Once you enter the constants the tabbed graph allows you to view the estimated
properties as a function of pressure at constant temperatures or as a function of
temperature at constant pressure. To view at different temperatures or pressures
click the right mouse button with the cursor over the graph to obtain the
following pop -up menu.

Selecting Change Graph Properties invokes the following dialog from which
you can change the constant values of temperature or pressure you wish to
view. The accuracy minimum and maximum limits can also be changed from
this dialog. If you complete a calculation with temperatures or pressures
outside of the entered limits you will receive a warning.

You can estimate the gas density or viscosity at any temperature and pressure
by clicking the right mouse button over the graph and selecting either Get
Density or Get Viscosity menu option. This will invoke the following dialog:

132
It is possible to mix existing gas components to create a new component gas
mixture. The mixture properties are calculated from the mixture components.
To add a gas mixture use the Mix button from the Gas Physical Property
Database Tables dialog to invoke the following dialog.

Select the mixture components by using the transfer buttons and then edit the
percentage column to complete. Note that the percentage column expects the
mass percent.

Generic Fittings Database

Operations Common to all Databases are described at the beginning of this
chapter.
This database stores component loss coefficient data for all components that
have been defined as Kf, Kv or K values. Accessing from the Datasets ¦
Generic Fittings menu option forces a new connection and opens the pipe
fittings database in Browse mode.

133
Kf is defined as f' L/D where f' is the fully turbulent friction factor, and L/D is
the equivalent length of the fitting expressed in pipe diameters. Piping
Systems FluidFlow automatically determines f' when needed and
so the value that should be entered into the Kf Value field is the
term L/D. Fittings described in this way are considered to be hydraulically
scalable. This means you do not need separate entries for each possible size.

This is the preferred loss coefficient definition method and is considered to be

accurate for all flow regimes.
The total head loss for a fitting defined in this way is derived from the
expression :
Fitting Head Loss = Kf Fturb v2 / 2g where v is pipe velocity and g is
acceleration due to gravity.

Kv is defined as a flow coefficient and Piping Systems FluidFlow scales for

flow changes from the entered conditions according to a power law, normally
2. This type of fitting is not size scalable.

134
K values are commonly found from many literature sources and K is defined
by the expression :
Fitting Head Loss = K v2 / 2g where v is pipe velocity and g is acceleration due
to gravity.

135
Liquid Physical Property Database

Operations Common to all Databases are described at the beginning of this

chapter. Accessing from the Datasets ¦ Liquid Physical Properties menu option
forces a new connection and opens the liquid database in Browse mode.
The liquid physical property database stores physical property data in order to
estimate the viscosity, vapour pressure, and density of each liquid component
as a function of temperature.

Density values can only be stored as a table. This means you must enter
density V's temperature data points over the temperature range you wish to
calculate. Moving the mouse over the graph allows you to view densities for
any temperature. The upper and lower temperature limits determine the
accuracy range. If you carry out a calculation outside of these limits you will
get a warning.
Vapour Pressure can be stored as a table of values(recommended) or by the
formula :
Ln(Vapour Pressure) = A – B / ( T + C ) where you define the values of A, B
and C. This form can be useful if you only have limited data available.
You should also define temperature accuracy range.
Viscosity can be stored as a table of values (recommended) or according to the
any one of the formulas:
Ln(Viscosity) = A + B/T or
Ln(Viscosity) = A +B/T + CT + DT2
You should also define temperature accuracy range.

136
Junctions Database

Operations Common to all Databases are described at the beginning of this

chapter.
Accessing from the Datasets ¦ Junctions menu option forces a new connection
and opens the junction database in Browse mode.
Junctions are used to define all open pipes, bends, T's, and cross pieces. Piping
System FluidFlow automatically determines the junction type depending on the
number of pipe connections made to the junction component.
The junction database allows the junction to be defined as a Kf or Ki value

You must also define the number of connections. Possible values are 1 to 4.
Manufacturer provides a way for you to classify or group your data under a
common heading.
For junctions defined as Kf values the Kf (Equivalent length in pipe diameters)
should be entered.
For junctions defined as Ki (Idelchik – Handbook of Hydraulic Resistance)
simply select the appropriate type from the combo box. For some types of
Idelchik definitions additional data is required. In the previous diagram for a
bend the base R/D ratio and angle are required.
You should use Idelchik type junctions when possible as this type of
representation probably provides the greatest accuracy over the widest range.

137
Manual Valves Database
Operations Common to all Databases are described at the beginning of this
chapter.
Accessing from the Datasets ¦ Manual Valves menu option forces a new
connection and opens the valve database in Browse mode.
The valve database allows the valve to be defined as a Kf value or K value.

You must enter the 100% open value in order to use the component within the
application. Entry of additional tabular data defining Kf or K as a function of
percentage opening allows you to modulate the valve from within the
application.

Manufacturer provides a way for you to classify or group your data under a
common heading.

138
Non Return Valves Database
Operations Common to all Databases are described at the beginning of this
chapter.
Accessing from the Datasets ¦ Non Return Valves menu option forces a new
connection and opens the check valve database in Browse mode.
The non-return valve database allows the valve to be defined as a Kf only.
Manufacturer provides a way for you to classify or group your data under a
common heading.

139
Pipe Database

Operations Common to all Databases are described at the beginning of this

chapter.
Accessing from the Datasets ¦ Pipes menu option forces a new connection and
opens the pipe database in Browse mode.

For each pipe class/type you should enter the class name and the absolute
roughness value for that class. Select the measurement units for the pipe
internal diameter and then complete the table. The Nominal Diameter column
can take any string description. The internal diameter column can only take
numerical values. Do not enter nominal sizes in this column. Use exact pipe
internal diameters only. This is important since the head loss in the pipe is
proportional to diameter5, therefore incorrect or inaccurate values have a
significant effect on calculated pipe head losses.
Each pipe type should also have an Hazen Williams Coefficient which is used
as an alternative to pipe roughness if you select this option from the Properties ¦
Calculation menu.

140
Pump Database
Operations Common to all Databases are described at the beginning of this
chapter.
This database stores the pump performance data. Accessing from the Datasets ¦
Pumps menu option forces a new connection and opens the pump database in
Browse mode.
From this connection you can edit, import, delete, or add new pump data, or
add a new manufacturer. On connection the Database State is always one of
view or browse mode.

Manufacturer provides a way for you to classify or group your data under a
common heading_ New manufacturers can be added from the
button, which creates the following dialog that allows the manufacturer list to
be edited, deleted, or added to.
Taking the AFP 2002 M 1320/4 - 62 pump from ABS as a basis for explaining
the data entry requirements. All pumps must have a unique product name,
which is entered into the Pump Model field. The manufacturer is selected from
the Manufacturer drop down list.

141
The next line for data entry involves selecting the units for Head developed by
the pump, the units for pump impeller diameter, and the units for flow through
the pump.
The next line of data entry concerns the pump operating speed for the
performance curve, efficiency, and NPSHrequired data that you will enter into
the table. The minimum and maximum operating speeds refer to the allowable
speed range. If the pump can only operate at a single speed then make these
two entries equal to the operating speed and the ability to change the pump
speed will be inhibited.
The next line of data entry concerns the pump impeller diameter for the
performance curve, efficiency, and NPSHrequired data that you will enter into
the table. The minimum and maximum impeller diameters refer to the
allowable impeller range. If the pump can only operate with a fixed impeller
diameter then make these two entries equal to the operating impeller diameter
and the ability to change the pump impeller size will be inhibited.
The minimum and maximum flow fields allow you to include values for a
sensible operating range over which the pump will operate in practical
situations. The values provide calculation warnings if the network solution lies
outside of these limits. These limits are often provided by the manufacturer or
are evident from the performance data.
When entering the tabular data points, which describe the pump capacity and
efficiency curves, there is an important point to bear in mind. It is important
to fit the capacity data over the whole of the developed head i.e. from zero flow
through to and beyond run out, that is from maximum developed head to zero
head. It is not desirable to operate the pump at these extreme conditions,
however the network solution relies on the fact that during solution
convergence the maximum desirable flow is often exceeded and is a valid
mathematical solution. Please see the entered tabular data for pumps to better
understand the data point range entered.
If is useful to fill in the application area check box since this enables you to
filter selections within the application.
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Relief Valve Database
Operations Common to all Databases are described at the beginning of this
chapter.
This database stores Pressure Relief data. Accessing from the Datasets ¦
Pressure Relief Valves menu option forces a new connection and opens the
Relief Valve database in Browse mode.
From this connection you can edit, import, copy, delete, or add new Relief
Valve, or add a new manufacturer. On connection the Database State is always
one of view or browse mode.

Pressure Relief Valves are classified according to ASME CODE Section VIII
into the following types:

Standard/Conventional Valves: these valves begin to relieve when the set

pressure has been attained and reseat when the pressure returns to below the set
pressure.
Balanced Bellows Valves: the purpose of a bellows unit is to enable a valve
discharging into a variable back pressure system to open at the same set
pressure irrespective of the back pressure variation (the set pressure of a
conventional valve used in such a system would vary in direct proportion to the
variable back pressure)._A bellows unit is also useful for preventing
contamination of the guide surfaces for valves used with corrosive fluids.
Pilot Operated Valves: these valves receive vessel pressure through a sensing
line attached at a point below the seating surface of the main valve or directly
to the vessel. This pressure travels through the pilot and pressurises the dome
which is the area above the disc in the main valve. The disc surface area of the
dome is greater than the seating surface area under the disc._Therefore, the
force acting downward on the main disc is greater then the force acting
upward.
143
Bursting Disc: these are non-reclosing pressure relief devices designed to
provide overpressure release in chemical and petrochemical processing
applications. Their purpose is to protect these systems from excessive pressures
caused by mechanical malfunctions, runaway chemical reactions, and internal
or external fires.

The Fluid Type should be specified it can be either:

 All
 Gas & Vapour
 Steam,
 Steam, Gas & Vapour
 Liquid
Often Relief Valves are specified for liquid or gas only since different capacity
equations are used depending on the fluid type.
Capacity equations are defined in the technical background chapter.
The Design Coefficient Kd is usually provided by the Relief Valve
Manufacturer.

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Sprinkler Database

Operations Common to all Databases are described at the beginning of this

chapter.
This database stores sprinkler data. Accessing from the Datasets ¦ Sprinklers
menu option forces a new connection and opens the sprinkler database in
Browse mode.
From this connection you can edit, import, copy, delete, or add new sprinkler
,or add a new manufacturer. On connection the Database state is always one of
view or browse mode.

The sprinkler manufacturer usually provides the nominal K value, or if you

have graphical data choose ‘Use Table Data’ and enter your values into the
table which enables Piping Systems FluidFlow to calculate the nominal K
value according to the expression:
Flow through sprinkler = K (Upstream Pressure) 0.5
If necessary, the value of the exponent 0.5 may also be changed, in which case
Piping System FluidFlow uses the modified form of the expression.

145
Units of Measurement Database

Operations Common to all Databases are described at the beginning of this

chapter.
Accessing from the Datasets ¦ Units of Measurement menu option forces a new
connection and opens the units database in Browse mode.

The existing units in the database have all been added at an access level that is
not available to the end user. This means you will not be able to change any
existing values. All of the entries have been Quality Checked so you should not
need to change existing data.
You can add your own units. Select the unit classification by clicking on the
correct group in the left list box. In the above example Length. To add a new
length unit click the new button and enter the unit name, e.g, mile, and then
enter the conversion multiplication factor needed to convert from your unit to
metre, in this example 6213.7 ,i.e,
metre = 6213.7 * miles.

146
User Defined Component Database
Operations Common to all Databases are described at the beginning of this
chapter.
Accessing from the Datasets ¦ User Defined menu option forces a new
connection and opens the units database in Browse mode.

The User Defined component allows the user to specify a formula for the Head
Loss, or Pressure Drop, across the component. This basically allows you to
give the properties for any component you wish to use which is not already in
Piping Systems Fluid Flow.
The form of the equation you can use is:
Head Loss = K + A.BQ + C.DQ2
where K, A, B, C and D are the parameters you can define for the equation and
Q is the flow through the component.
These parameters may be set as constants, variables or properties of the fluid.
Defining the equation:
The first thing you must do is set the units to be used for the Head Loss and the
Flow when the value is to be calculated using the equation you specify.
Setting the parameters:
If you are setting parameter A, but B is to be unused (or vice versa), you must
set B as a constant equal to 1.0. Otherwise it will be set to zero, causing the
overall value of the second term to be zero, meaning your setting for A will be

147
null and void. If this situation occurs a warning will appear when you press the
commit button, allowing you to change your settings if necessary. The same is
also turn for C and D.
Setting as constants:
To set as a constant you simply enter the value in the Value edit box.
Setting as a variable:
To set as a variable:
Set the variable combo box to User Design, upon which the other boxes
become enabled.
Type a unique name in the Name edit box.
Select the type of units the variable will use from the Unit Type combo box.
Set the unit for the variable in the Unit combo box
See the "Sample Variables" component for a greater understanding of how user
defined variables are used.
Setting as a property of the fluid:
In the variable combo box, select either ‘Density’ or ‘Viscosity’.
Select the unit to be used for the property in the Unit combo box
When selecting the unit for each parameter it is important to note that these
units refer to the units to be used when calculating the Head Loss with the
equation you specify. Therefore, you must make sure that the units you select
are dimensionally correct, otherwise, the result for the head loss across the
component will be incorrect.

Merging Databases

Piping Systems FluidFlow has the capability of merging databases. All

databases, except “Units.fdb”, in the program can be merged. There is a limit
however, on what can be merged from DOS format Netmate database files.
You can merge from the File ¦ Import menu option as shown below:
The most likely time you will need to merge databases is after an update. When
you receive a program update new databases are written to the NewDB folder.
Flite Software is constantly adding database content, in addition we also act as
a clearing house for existing users who are encouraged to make data available
for other users. Our web site has regular database updates which you can freely
download at any time.

148
Alternatively you can open a database and press the Import button.
If you know the location of the file you wish to import, then on opening that
file, a further window appears that displays the components, pipes, or fluids
contained in both the “source” and “destination” files. The “source” is on the
left and the “destination” on the right. Also displayed is the manufacturer of the
components available. A typical dialog is shown below:

149
To import from this point, select the desired components on the left menu and
click on the right-arrow button. This will transfer the component to the right
menu. If all the items are desired then the “Transfer All” button will do as it
describes. If a transferred item already exists in the user’s own database, then
the user is asked whether the transferred one should overwrite that item.

Components can be transferred under different manufacturers by selecting a

manufacturer from the combo-box. If a particular manufacturer does not exist
in the original database then it is created on transfer. Once changes have been
saved the item/items and its/their data are merged into the user’s database.

150
Automating Excel
From within Piping Systems FluidFlow it is possible to automate Microsoft
Excel via a COM interface, or simply to export results to Excel on an 'as you
need basis'. To use COM automation you must have either Excel 97 or Excel
2000. Excel 95 will not work correctly.
Before communicating with Excel it is necessary to set up the type of
communication desired and the content you wish to export or link. From the
File / Export Data / Excel / Automation Properties or from the Excel button

drop down menu show the following dialog.

Export / Data Linking Options

The list box in this dialog displays all the fields that can be exported or linked
to Excel. The Export/Link group of radio buttons allow you to select input,

151
output, or pipe data. The above dialog shows input data while the dialog below
shows output data.

By clicking on or off the check associated with each item you decide what to
link to Excel. The order of the list can be changed by using the up down
buttons. The order of the list determines the column order in Excel. Consider as
an example the input data from the previous dialog, this will produce the
following extract from Excel.

Note how the column order and contents correspond to the first dialog in this
chapter.

152
Defining the type of Excel Link

It is possible to link to Excel in two different ways. The simplest link is a one
way process from Piping Systems FluidFlow to Excel. The Data Export Option
is selected by clicking the Report Only radio button from the Template radio
group.

Selecting 'Strict' allows for a full automation link which means that data can be
transferred in both directions.
Selecting Fixed produces a fixed format report only which should be suitable
for most purposes.
For all link types you must decide when to transfer data. This is accomplished
via the Refresh link in Piping Systems FluidFlow or by the Refresh FluidFlow
button within Excel.
The number of worksheets that Excel fills is determined by the check boxes
that are ticked within the WorkSheet inclusions group.
The next diagram shows a fully automated link to Excel. Note that using the
strict template option makes for slower data transfers between FluidFlow and
Excel. The cells in Excel are often restricted to prevent incorrect data entry and
this in turn takes processing time.

153
Using Excel you can make any data changes andthen post them to FluidFlow
for recalculation by pressing the Refresh Fluid Flow button.
There are 4 worksheets in the loaded workbook. The first worksheet holds
component input and result data. The second workbook holds pipe input and
result data. The third workbook holds a copy of the flowsheet. Note that this
copy is not interactive but is presented for reporting purposes only.
The final workbook is always left untouched and can be used by you to plot
graphs, carry out intermediate calculations, run various scenarios, etc.
If you are using two-way transfer then it is recommended that you do NOT
delete rows or columns from the first 3 workbooks. This is because FluidFlow
keeps an internal map of the spreadsheet contents_if you delete rows
FluidFlow is unaware of the changes, this can cause problems later if you try to
update FluidFlow.

154
Printing
From within Piping Systems FluidFlow you can:
Print or preview a complete network together or any part you specify.
Design the results table contents.
Specify the items you wish to include on a print-out or preview. Save and
restore these templates.
Print a Bill of Materials.
Print a bug report or application change request form.

Print Design
Using the print design dialog you can set the print layout template and table
contents. To access the print design dialog either use the print design button
or select File ¦ Print Design from the main menu.
From this dialog you can save your designs and reload previous designs. There
are two default designs provided with the application and these can be found in
the Preferences folder. The template names are Default Landscape and Default
Portrait; all FluidFlow reports have the file extension .ffr
The print design dialog has 3 tabbed pages. The first tabbed page consists of
check boxes that allow you to include or omit various items together with a
radio group that determines the page orientation.
The second tabbed page allows you to set paper margins in either centimetres
or inches.
The third tabbed page allows you to design the result table contents for the
components and pipes. The design consists of dragging and dropping variables
from a list onto each table column. Columns can be deleted or added and their
position can be shifted.

Setting Print Inclusions

The Page Orientation allows you to select Portrait or Landscape mode. Please
note that this can also be set from Start ¦ Settings ¦ Printers ¦ Properties as a
normal Windows operation. It is included here for convenience.

155
The inclusions are described below:
Flowsheet: This is the area that holds the schematic representation of your
network. If there are Multi marked components and/or marked blocks in the
current flowsheet then only marked components get printed.
Show Component ID's in the Flowsheet: This allows you to show on the
flowsheet the text characters that have been entered into the Component ID
field. The text is aligned to the top right hand corner of the component.

Spacing of components becomes important if you wish to avoid text

overwrites.

156
Show Pipe ID's in the Flowsheet: This allows you to show on the flowsheet the
text characters that have been entered into the pipe ID field. The text is aligned
to the pipe centre.
Component Tabular Results: This table holds the calculated results for each
component (or for marked components). The column contents can be changed,
added, or deleted, as described later.
Pipe Tabular Results: This table holds the calculated results for each pipe (or
for marked pipes). The column contents can be changed, added, or deleted, as
described later.
Pump/Fan Performance Charts: If this option is checked then full page pump or
fan performance charts are appended to the end of the report. The content of
each full-page graph is identical to the properties set on screen.
Print in Minimum Space: If this option is checked then the print out does not
leave any spaces between each item ,i.e, the flowsheet is followed by
components table, pipe table, and pump/fan charts. Unchecked the flowsheet,
components table, pipe table, and pump/fan charts appear on separate pages. If
you are running NT then this option is disabled because of a bug in the way NT
treats metafiles.
Header on First Page Only: If this option is checked then the header only gets
printed on the first page of the hard copy report and in any print preview.

Project Description
The contents of the header can be accessed from the File / Project Description
menu option.

The project description is saved with the network file.

157
Setting Print Margins
The paper margins can be set from the second page of the tabbed dialog as
shown next.

Measurement units can be either inches or centimetres.

Table and Export Content

The content of the result table is set from the third page of the print design
tabbed dialog.
Within this page are two tabbed pages one for components and one for pipes.
As you change pages the contents of the list change to show the relevant
variables.
The alignment of each table is set from the Text Alignment radio group and is a
global property for each table.
As you click on each column the width of the column is displayed as a
percentage of the total available width for that table for the current paper size
and orientation.

158
The actual print width is displayed below together with the total available print
width for the table.
The percentage column width (‘Col Width’) is the percentage of the total
printable width which the column will occupy, that is, (Col Print Width /
Total Print Width) * 100. This allows the user to know how far across the
page the table will print by adding up all the percentage widths of the columns
chosen. If the total of all the column width percentages equals 50% then the
table will take up half the width of the page; if it equals 75% then the table will
occupy three-quarters of the width of the page, and so on.
The column width (‘Col Print Width’) refers to the region across the page in
which column will be printed in cm or inches.
The total printable width (‘Total Print Width’) is the total distance across
the page in which it is possible for the table to be printed, measured in cm or
inches.
To change relative column widths move the mouse to lie on the column line
over the column header as shown below. The cursor shape changes and you can
then drag the column border by holding the left mouse button down whilst
moving.

To change the order of the columns hold down the left mouse button down over
the column header of the column you wish to drag to a new position and move
the mouse to the desired position. This is shown below:

159
By clicking the right mouse button over any column you can add a new column
or remove the highlighted column as shown next.

The contents of each column can be changed by grabbing a 'variable' from the
list and dropping this over the desired column as shown below…

160
This example shows how the component 'Warnings' data have been dragged
from the list and are about to be dropped on the last column.
Finally after you have designed the table contents, set the margins and
determined the inclusions you need you can save the template to disc. It is
recommended that you save all templates in the Preferences folder. Previously
saved templates can be loaded at any time. You should note that loading in a
template overwrites the current settings even if you press the Cancel button.

Print Preview
This option together with the Print option becomes available after a successful
calculation. It can be accessed from the menu File / Print Preview or directly
from the preview toolbutton.
The print preview window is shown below. This window can be resized and
scrolled.

From the preview window it is possible to view all pages of the printout by
using the forward, backward, last page and first page buttons.
You can also change the size of the preview or print a hard copy directly from
this window. The button allows you to export the tabular results directly to
a CSV file format, which will import directly into Microsoft Excel.

161
Printing a Bill of Materials
Once a network has been successfully calculated you can print a bill of
materials. The bill totals all components and pipe lengths to give a report. A
typical example is shown in part below:

162
Example Designs
Flow balancing
A common problem in many situations is to balance the flow through a series
of feeds taken off some kind of supply header. This type of requirement can
occur in closed loop systems (-cooling water circuits-) as well as fluid
distribution systems (-sprinkler systems-).
Flow balancing can be achieved in many ways, but perhaps the most popular is
by using well placed orifice plates used to restrict flow to certain branches.
Although this solution is popular in practice, it suffers from several
disadvantages:
 Energy is wasted, which means greater operating and environmental costs.
 Turn down/up can be poor in some circumstances.
 Incorrect sizing can lead to worse distribution than doing nothing.
Often a better solution can be to use flow controllers, to oversize headers and
return mains, to provide multiple feed points, etc.
Consider the problem that it is desired to distribute water around a small
factory, which will be used for washing down purposes.
Since the cleaning occurs at the end of the working day all wash points will be
in operation at the same time. We will therefore design the system for this
worst case.
We know we need a flow of 7 m3/h (-30.8 usgpm-) through each wash point
and that the washing is automatic and will be effected by positioning 2 spray
nozzles over the area to be cleaned.
We -are at the early stages of the design, the factory is being constructed and
we need to specify the system now in order to avoid an overrun on the total
build time.
The exact pipe runs are not known but we do know the approximate pipe
lengths needed. From a design viewpoint we need to select the wash spray
nozzles, select the pump and shut -off valves, and size the pipes so that all
items can be purchased.
A flowsheet of the system will look as shown below and this is stored in the
Examples folder as 'Flow Balancing 1'

163
 Where do we start ?

 The easiest place to start is by sizing

the pipes. We know each distribution
line carries 7m3/h of water so we will
select one common branch size.
 We will size the supply header in two
sized sections.
 We will select the spray nozzles
 From an estimate of the supply
pressure and flow needed we will
select the pump
 Final selections will be the valves and
any reducers
 System will then be flow balanced
using orifice plates
 Final check on turndown will be
made.

To size the branch lines from the Tools menu option select the Pipe Sizer. This
will pop up a stand alone application which can be used to select the best pipe
size.

From the Sizer program shown above, if we enter a flow of 7m3/h we can see
that the economic velocity for steel pipe will be 1.64 m/s ( 5.1 ft/s ). Since we
wish to use standard Sch 40 pipe the nearest internal diameters are 35mm
(1.25") or 41mm (1.5"). We will use 1.5" pipe to allow for some future
expansion.
Using the sizer to determine the header size in 2 sections the first shorter run
section carries the total flow from the pump to the second take off branch and

164
will be sized at 84.3mm. The nearest standard pipe + sizes are 3" (77.9mm) and
3.5" (90.1mm). Again we will use the next larger pipe size 3.5".

Sizing the second header section from the second branch to the final branch
gives a size of 65.7 mm :

We will use 2.5" pipe (62.7mm).

Changing then pipe sizes and incorporting the required reducers gives us the
system shown below and saved as 'Flow Balancing 2'

165
To select the spray nozzles we view the contents of our sprinkler database to
select a nozzle to deliver the flow required through each nozzle 3.5m3/h (15.4
usgpm) with a head loss of around 0.5 bar (7.3psi)

A suitable selection is found above the 0.5" M 1/2" Orifice from the
manufacturer Viking. Change the sprinkler selections in the flowsheet to the
above sprinkler selection by clicking on all the sprinklers while holding down
the shift key as shown below.

166
To select a pump we carry out the same process as above knowing that we need
a pump that will deliver 35 m3/h (154 usgpm) at the best efficiency point.

Selecting the 8196 1.5x3x6 model from Sterling Peerless provides a pump
operating at the bep at the design duty.
This is saved as 'Flow Balancing 3' and now its time to look at the flow
distribution. If we look at the flow result through each sprinkler, at this point
we find that the nearest sprinkler is passing 5.3 m3/h (23.3 usgpm) and the
most remote sprinkler is passing 3.1 m3/h (13.66 usgpm). The design goal is
for each sprinkler to pass 3.5 m3/h (15.4 usgpm).
We are now in a position to flow balance and this is a trial and error process (or
you can link to Excel and goal seek to automatically resize the orifice plates- ).
We will use the trial and error process here and show how we can interact with
Excel in a later example. Placing an orifice in the first branch we adjust the
orifice size to give a flow slighly less than desired. ( -This is because as we add
further orifice plates the header pressure will rise- ). Starting with a 15 mm
orifice in the first branch reduces the associated sprinklers to operate with a
flow of 3.18 m3/h. This is shown below:

167
We will need more orifice plates for a better balance so add orifice plates to the
other branches as shown below:
We know that the orifice sizes will need to be
increased in proportion to the pipe lengths as
we move further away from the pressure
source. Using this knowledge we quickly
arrive at an approximate solution of …
( starting from the branch nearest the pump
first )

Branch 1: Orifice Size : 15.0mm :Q = 3.45

Branch 2: Orifice Size : 15.5mm :Q = 3.41
Branch 3: Orifice Size : 16.5mm :Q = 3.40
Branch 4: Orifice Size : 19.0mm :Q = 3.51
Branch 5: Orifice Size : 20.0mm :Q = 3.46

This is a reasonable balance.

We may wish to add a small safety factor to allow for incorrectly specified line
lengths, forgotten fittings, etc. The easiest method of achieving this is to
increase slighty the pump impeller diameter to develop say 10% more head.
With the current impeller (5.5 inches) the pump develops 21.9 m Fluid head,
increase the head to arount 24 m Fluid by increasing the impeller diameter to
5.85 inches. If we check the flow distribution at this supply pressure it is still
acceptable. The final solution is saved as 'Flow Balancing 4'

168
A pump feed system with flow
controllers
Consider the following example that we will design from scratch. It is desired
to feed two reaction vessels with Acrylic Acid at a rate of 20m3/h and 15 m3/h
respectively. The supply of Acrylic Acid is to be taken from a storage tank and
it is possible for one or both reactors to be offline at any time. Furthermore we
know that in the future we will need an extra 20% throughput capacity. Ensure
the autocalculate option is ON so that we can immediately see the effects of
our design changes.
We must select a suitable pump, suitable control valves, determine pipe sizes,
and consider future and off design operating conditions.
Our first approach at a sketching a flowsheet might look like:

The above flowsheet describes the connectivity of the components. All

component data, pipe properties, etc, have not been set at this stage.
For convenient referencing, as we discuss our model, component numbers are
as shown in the next diagram.

169
Before we continue change the liquid to Acrylic Acid. The pipe lengths, datum
levels are all temperatures are fixed by our physical system and have been
entered for you as a starting point.
If you load the file called ‘Acrylic Supply First’ found in the Examples
directory this will provide a starting point for our design. Renumber the
network by using the button with the 'Down' option.
Perhaps the first consideration is the pipe sizes to use. In this example it is
relatively easy to ‘guess’ the pipe sizes since the flows are fixed by design. We
know that an economic pipe velocity lies between 7 to 8 ft/s. Then for the main
pipes from the tank to the second T-junction (11) carrying a 30+m3/h load we
select a size of 3”. Mark the pipes as shown below by holding down the Shift
key and clicking on the pipes whose sizes are to be changed.

Change the pipe Nominal Sizes to 3".

Mark the pipes in the recycle/spillback line and change the nominal sizes to
¾".

170
Continue to change the pipes carrying 20m3/h to 2" and the remaining pipes
carrying 15 m3/h to 1.5". This is reflected in the file "Acrylic Supply Second".
Let us now take a look at our design goals and how the current design stands in
relation to these.
Click the Fly By Hints to show Results. Then click on the pump, then on the
Graph tab. Looking at the pump performance curve we can see that the duty
point is operating near the pump BEP (best efficiency point). Note that the
minimum flow required through the pump is 1m3/h. Click on the Results tab
and note that the duty efficiency is 64.7% and the power required is 3.405 kW.
Next click on the flow control valves and notice the valve positions at the set
points. These are both at around 69% open, which is an acceptable opening for
the design conditions. This means that the valves are correctly chosen. You
may wish to try alternatives by selecting from the drop down list. For example
increasing the control valve size (component 14) in the line which delivers
20m3/h to 1½" gives an opening of 49.6% indicating that the next size valve is
too big. Change back to the 1" butterfly valve. If we are to use these valves
then we will need reducers either side of each control valve. We will add these
now. Click on the reducer icon and drop a reducer in the line upstream of the
control valve (14) as shown.

Notice that the existing pipe has been equally split and this is not what we
want. The original pipe length was 7.6m change the line length upstream of the
reducer to 7.6 – 0.075 – 0.1 = 7.515. (0.075 is the length the reducer allow
100mm of pipe before the valve). Change the line length downstream of the
reducer to 0.01m and the pipe diameter to 1". In a similar manner add the other
3 reducers. Note that the control valve positions are now around 71-72% at the
set point since the addition of the reducers has added to the total system loss.

171
Move the mouse to lie over any component in the spillback line, you will
notice that the flow is 2.32 m3/h. This flow can be reduced. Reducing this flow
will increase the duty efficiency and reduce the pump power requirement.
Reduce the flow by clicking on the orifice plate (5) and reduce the size to
6mm. This reduces the recycle flow to 1.09 m3/h (1 m3/h is the minimum
allowed). Clicking on the pump shows that the duty efficiency has now
increased by 0.3% to 65% and the power requirement has been reduced to 3.37
kW resulting in a significant operating cost saving. Reducing the orifice size
has also increased the system pressure and so the control valve operating
positions will be slightly reduced. Check that this is the case.
This is a reasonable basis for design and is saved in "Acrylic Supply Final".
You should note however that perhaps a better design could have been
achieved by :
 Selecting a different pump.
 Reducing line sizes further.
 Using different control valves.
 Eliminating the recycle line and installing a control mechanism to stop the
pump.
Before we complete our design optimisation we must look at how the system
will operate at off -design conditions. This is a simple task using FluidFlow.
First we will close the pipe connecting components 11 to 10 (i.e, the 15 m3/h
supply branch). Click on the pipe and change the status to closed. Check that
the pump duty point and control valve position in the 20 m3/h branch are
acceptable.
Repeat this operation in the 20 m3/h branch. Both operating conditions are
acceptable.
Finally check the operating conditions when the flow has been increased in
each branch by 20%. Do this by changing the set points at each control valve to
18 and 24 m3/h. Again check the pump and control valve positions. Now we
can see that we have some problems. Both control valves are fully open and
cannot deliver the required flow and the pump is nearer to the run out
condition. What do we do?
This depends on many factors such as what are we prepared to change when
the plant expansion occurs, how likely is it to occur within a short time scale,
etc. Optimising the design for the expanded capacity will increase operating
costs until the expansion occurs. The possibilities for catering for increased
capacity are :Increasing pipeline sizes;Using a bigger pump or increasing the
impeller diameter in the existing pump;Use larger control valves.
The final solution has 2 associated warnings to remove these we must model
the system using reducing T-Junctions. To do this we would need to change to
Ki type junctions. For the junction(9) Select Junction Type "Ik Standard Tee",

172
then click on the branch button to change the branch orientation so that the
yellow dot lies on the ¾" pipe. Do the same for the junction(11) and change the
branch orientation to the 1½" pipe. The complete file is stored as Acrylic
Supply Idelchik Final.

173
Setting Pressure Reducing Valves in
a Gas Collection System

One of the most important skills necessary when simulating or designing larger
models is to intelligently select the boundary conditions of the model. Consider
the following design example.
A larger version of an existing chemical plant is to be constructed. As part of
the process, many of the vessels release unwanted gaseous effluent. It is
desired to collect these unwanted gaseous effluent streams together and to feed
them to a gas scrubber before the unwanted gases - are released to the
atmosphere. The composition of the gas effluent from each vessel is greater
than 99.6% air and all vessels operate at ambient temperature.
The design flows from each of the 14 vessels has been specified as a process
requirement. The vessels operate at various pressures between 120 – 130 kPa.
To reduce piping and gas scrubber costs, and to eliminate the possibility of
interflow between vessels, the effluent collection system will operate at lower
pressure. The gas collection header is to be constructed from Schedule 5S
stainless steel and the gas scrubber is designed to operate at 108 kPa. To design
a fully functional system we need to specify each pipe size and to specify at
each vessel exit point the pressure needed to obtain the design flows.
Pipe sizes are dictated from velocities obtained in the existing smaller plant and
although these velocities represent much lower than economic velocities, the
design team feel it is desirable to operate at similar velocities. This desire fixes
all line sizes and so the main goal is to decide the settings on each pressure
reducing valve.
If we model each vessel and reducing valve we will probably end up adjusting
individual reducing valve pressures on a trial and error basis in order to obtain
design flows. We can avoid this if we intelligently select the model boundaries.
We will select the model input boundaries as entry/exit points with known
flows since our design flows are fixed by the process requirement. This
means we will have 14 input lines whose flows are known.
We will model the gas scrubber as the single outlet, where the design pressure
is known . Connecting the model we arrive at the file which can be loaded
from the Examples folder called 'GasFeed'.
If you load this example now and press the Calculate button you can see from
the results table

174
The pressure at each inlet has been calculated and of course this is the pressure
that we need to the pressure reducing valve at. Glide the mouse over each of
the inlet points to see how the inlet pressures vary ( ensure you have

results clicked on in the fly by hints ).

As a final exercise we will look at what happens to the system pressure if all
pressure reducing valves are fully opened in error. In this case each line will be
exposed to the full vessel pressure of 130 kPa. You can see this modelled on
the next page.
This scenario can be loaded from the Examples folder as 'GasFeed Max
Pressure'.

175
The pipe lines will take this overpressure, however the scrubber has been
designed to withstand a maximum pressure of 250 kPa. What is the pressure at
the scrubber inlet? Notice how we have changed all inlet points to supply at a
worst case pressure of 130 kPa and that the gas scrubber has been remodelled
as a Kv value.
You will see that the pressure relief valve has lifted to protect the scrubber
from overpressure. With the relief valve lifted the scrubber pressure is at a safe
value below the normal operating pressure.

176
Time Variation of Gas Pressure in an
Air Receiver.

This example will look at how the pressure in an air vessel changes with time.
We will use Excel to provide a plot of the results.
The compressor to an air accumulator fails and the accumulator pressure is at
100 psig. The volume of the accumulator is 120 cubic feet. Air usage is via 2
nozzles that can be modelled as orifice plates of 1/32" diameter.
The initial system can be found in the Examples folder as 'Air Receiver'.
The system automatically closes down once the accumulator pressure drops to
80 psig.
How long will the system operate and what will be the drop off in flow as time
progresses? Show this as a graph.

Load up the example 'Air Receiver'

This is a quasi steady state or real- time problem and we need to study how the
flow and pressure reduce as a function of time. In practical terms this means
analysing the system at various time increments. We can use some of the
functionality of Excel to help us accomplish this.

We will follow the following procedure :

1. Assume a time increment of 5 minutes.
2. Calculate the flow during this time.
Before we start Excel we should set the following Automation Properties.See
dialog on next page.
3. Use Excel to calculate the volume delivered during the time increment
(flow * time).
4. Use Excel to calculate the new tank pressure (use the relation P 1 V1 / T1 =
P2 V2 / T2).
5. Modify the receiver pressure in the Excel field and press the Recalculate
button in the Components worksheet to calculate the new flow at the
calculated tank pressure.
6. Press Alt-E from Piping Systems FluidFlow to update the Excel
Components worksheet from FluidFlow.

177
7. Repeat the above steps until the receiver pressure drops below 50 psig.

178
Using the above automation settings start Excel from the

Excel speedbutton or from the File / Export …

menu option. Once you have automated Excel for 2 way transfer Excel will
start and should look like the illustration below.

179
All necessary information is included on the Components worksheet. From the
User worksheet set up a Macro or change manually to achieve the following
table.

Hint : Volume out in sfcm is calculated flow * time of flow

Volume out at receiver pressure use P1 V1 / T1 = P2 V2 / T2
Find new receiver pressure and enter at cell D6
Refresh FluidFlow by using the button in the Components worksheet
After recalculation in FluidFlow refresh Excel (use Alt-E )
New flow is shown in cell F6
Tabular results and an Excel chart are shown in the next illustration.

180
If you are reasonably familiar with Excel you will realise there are better ways
to accomplish this same task, by using macros.

181
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182
Tools and Add-Ins
Configuring Tools and Helper
Applications
Piping Systems FluidFlow allows for extension of application functionality via
the Tools menu. Using this feature it is possible to call any other application
from within the FluidFlow environment.

Flite Software provides 3 free tools with the application. We plan to continue to
develop small, useful, relevant applications to enhance Piping Systems
FluidFlow. Please check our website regularly so that you can download the
free extensions.
To add a new extension, or add-in, select the Configure Tools menu as shown
above. This will produce the following dialog:

To add a new add-in use the Add button and browse to select the desired add-in
as shown below:

183
Use the Search button to find the add-in. Add-Ins produced by Flite Software
should be placed in the Add-Ins folder.

Program descriptive names and locations can be changed via the Edit button.

The Delete button simply deletes the Piping Systems FluidFlow registration
data, -it does not delete the application file.

You are encouraged to feedback requests for additional add-ins.

184
Technical Background,
Equations and
Correlations Used
A description of the network solution
algorithm used by Piping Systems
FluidFlow
This section is written to provide a basic overview of the basic principles used
by Piping Systems FluidFlow to solve the steady state analysis of fluid
networks.
It is not aimed at people expecting a detailed mathematical description of the
solution process. The solution algorithm employed by Piping Systems
FluidFlow is an original method developed by Flite Software Ltd over a period
of many years and is considered by us to be a 'trade secret'. However we
recognise the need and wish to provide users of our software with at least the
basic principles of the method used and it is in this spirit that we provide the
following information.
Existing published solutions to fluid networks based on either Hardy Cross or
direct solution methods often suffer from numerical instability and/or slow
convergence.
Our solver is a direct solution method with the basic equations derived from
the momentum balance in each pipe and a mass balance across each node.
The momentum balance along each pipe results in a series of non-linear
differential equations describing each pipe head loss as a non-linear function of
flow. Consider the single pipe system :

185
The general momentum balance for pipe p connecting nodes i and k can be
expressed as :
dQp / dt = A g / L { ( Zi – Zk ) + ( Hi – Hk ) – Fp }
see Nomenclature Section for an explanation of the symbols.
Expressing this equation in matrix form :

{ dQp / dt } = { [A g / L ] ( [C].{Z} + [C].{H} – {Fp } ) } where

{} represent vectors and [ ] represent matrices
[C] is a connectivity matrix.

Letting subscripts f and r refer to the number of nodes where flow and pressure
has to be calculated the previous equation becomes :

{ dQp / dt } = { [A g / L ] ( [Cr,Cf].{Zr,Zf} + [Cr,Cf].{Hr,Hf} – {Fp } ) } ..Eqn 1

Expressing the nodal mass balance in matrix form gives :

{ Qn } = {Qr,Qf}
= [CT] { dQp / dt }
= [CrT,CfT] { dQp / dt } ..Eqn 2

186
 Thus the unknown flows can be calculated from :

{ Qf } = [ CfT ] { dQp / dt } ..Eqn 3

Eqn 1 is used to calculate the pipe flows and Eqn 3 is used to find the
unknown nodal flows.

Eqn 2 is rearranged and expanded to calculate the unknown pressures:

{ Hp } = [ [ CrT ] [A g / L ] [ Cr ] ]T {{ Qr } – { [ CrT ] [A g / L ][ Cr ]
[ Zr ] } – { [ CrT ][A g / L ] {Fp } } }

For both liquids and gases pipe friction losses are based on an expanded form
of the Darcy –Weisbach equation:

Fp = Cc Ck ( ( f L/D ) +  ( f'K ) )  Q2 / D4

The friction factor is found from the Haaland equation which gives < 2%
agreement with the Colebrook White equation over the complete flow range ..

X := -1.8 * log10( 6.9 / Re + ( r / 3.7 ) 1.11

Where f = 1 / X2

The Darcy equation is suitable for calculating energy losses due to friction for
all newtonian fluids. An alternative approach is sometimes convenient for the
specialised case for the flow of water in a pipe. This special case is covered by
the Hazen Williams formula.
If desired, for liquids, the Darcy-Weisbach equation can be replaced by the
Hazen Williams formula ( in SI units ):

V = 0.85 Ch Hr 0.63 Rs0.54

where Ch is the dimensionless Hazen Williams Coefficient
Hr is the hydraulic radius of the pipe or conduit
Rs is the ratio of energy loss per length of conduit mFluid / m

187
Cv Equations for Pressure and Flow
Controllers
Controllers, or, more specifically, control valves with controller set points, are
used to control the flow or pressure at various points in a fluid network.
For incompressible/liquid networks the following equation is used :
Cv = Q ( sg / h )0.5

For compressible/gas networks the following equation is used :

Cv = w / Cc P1 Y ( P / P1 M / T1 z ) 0.5
Where Cc is a constant dependant on the units used
The value of Y is calculated according to ISA guidelines

K, Kf, Kv and Ki Losses

Pipe fitting losses can be expressed in a number of ways within Piping Systems
FluidFlow. Mathematically these types are defined by:
K is defined by the expression…
Fitting Head Loss = K v2 / 2g where v is pipe velocity and g is acceleration due
to gravity.

Kv is defined as a flow coefficient and Piping Systems Fluid Flow scales for
flow changes from the entered conditions according to a power law, normally
2. This type of fitting is not sized scalable.
Fitting Head Loss = (Fitting Head Loss) known (w/wknown)n-1 (known/n where w is
the mass flow and n is an exponent, usually 2.

Kf is defined as f' L/D where f' is the fully turbulent friction factor, and L/D is
the equivalent length of the fitting expressed in pipe diameters. Piping Systems
Fluid Flow automatically determines f' when needed and so the value that
should be entered into the Kf Value field is the term L/D.
Fitting Head Loss = fTurb Kf v2 / 2g
Ki losses are defined in the text 'Handbook of Hydraulic Resistance' – Idelchik.
Branch designations and Angles of Tees/Wyes as used within the application
are governed by the following rules

188
Diverging Tee
Firstly, if we consider the case of a diverging tee. This is the case where the
flow is split into the branch and outgoing straight pipe. The angle refers to the
direction of flow through the branch compared to the outgoing flow in the
straight pipe. This angle can increase up to 90°. Idelchik theory does not cater
for flow turning back on itself, i.e. as an angle of greater than 90° would
suggest. Thus the maximum angle will be 90°.
In this case, when the branch is changed and the dot which signifies the branch
moves to a different pipe the old straight part of the tee becomes the branch
and vice-versa. The way the pipes are arranged on the flowsheet has no bearing
on the calculation.
The exceptional case is when the pipe containing the incoming flow is set as a
branch. On this occasion we change the calculation to be that of a diverging
symmetrical wye. Now the branch angle refers to both out-flow pipes and the
angle is taken from the line of symmetry between the two outflowing pipes.
For example if the branches are at 45°, then there is an angle of 90° between
the outlet pipes. As before, the flow does not turn back on itself and Idelchik
does not consider this.

Converging Tee
Here there are two inlets and one outlet. The branch angle referred to is the
direction of flow entering the tee relative to the straight inlet. The branch
change allows the user to swap which of the inflow pipes is the branch. If the
branch is set to the one outgoing pipe, then a converging symmetric wye
calculation is used. The branch angle refers to the in-flow pipes, and, as with
diverging symmetric wyes, the angle each makes with the line of symmetry of
the wye.

The same principles apply to crosses as for tees. The ‘branches’ term refers to
the opposite ‘sideways’ pipes and the defined angle applies to each of these so
that symmetry exists.

Diverging Cross
This is the term for the case of one in-flow getting split into three out-flows,
where the outlets are the two sideways pipes and the straight outlet pipe. The
angle is taken to lie between one sideways pipe or branch and the straight
outlet pipe.

Converging Cross
Here three separate flows are combined to exit through one outlet. The branch
angle is that between the straight inlet and and the sideways inlets. As in all
189
cases this will not be greater than 90°, thus preventing flow being able to turn
back.

Other Types of Cross

Of course, depending on pressures, the type of cross will not always lie in the
above categories. For example, what if there are two inlets and two outlets?
And what if one branch is an inlet/outlet while the other is not?

There is no Idelchik data for these cases, we have adapted what already exists
in Idelchik to produce our own model representation. There are six branch
combinations for crosses. The resistance coefficient calculated by Idelchik
really only depends on flows and pipe areas, so whether or not the incoming
flow in a diverging cross is through one of the side branches or not has no real
significance, as the areas of all the pipes are considered in the calculation.

Equations for Relief Valves

All formulae and correction factors comply with ASME CODE Section VIII
The formulae used to obtain the correct size of orifice in a specific system in
metric units are:
Gases & Vapours (Mass Flow):
W sqrt( T Z )
A= -----------------------------------------
C P Kd Fb Fp sqrt( M ) Kc

Steam (Mass Flow):

W
A = ----------------------------------------------
0.525 P Kd Fsh Fb Fn Fp Kc
Liquid Flow:
0.0196 Vl sqrt( G )
A = ----------------------------------------------
Kd Fl Fv Kc sqr ( P - Pb )

190
Nomenclature:
Symbol Description
Units

A Orifice discharge area. sq. mm

C Gas constant, from the specific heat ratio. ---
Fb Back pressure correction factor for gas. ---
Fl Back pressure correction factor for balanced
bellows spring loaded valves, liquids only. ---
Fn High temperature steam correction factor. ---
Fp Subsonic flow correction factor for low set
pressure, gas duty only. ---
Fsh Correction factor for superheated steam duty only. ---
Fv Liquid viscosity correction factor. ---
G Specific gravity. ---
Kc Derating factor = 0.9 for use with bursting disc,
if no bursting disc use 1.0. ---
Kd Discharge (design) co efficeint. ---
M Molecular weight. ---
P Set pressure + overpressure + atmosphere. bar abs
Pb Back pressure in pressure relief valve outlet. bar abs
T Temperature at valve inlet. deg. Kelvin
Vl Liquid flow rate. kg/h
W Mass flow rate. kg/h
Z Compressibility factor. ---

The API 526 sets the Standard Sizes for Pressure Relief Valves standard. The
sizes are denoted by letters which correspond to the dimensions shown below.

Orifice Area
Letter sq. ins sq. mm

D 0.110 71

191
 E 0.196 127
F 0.307 198
G 0.503 325
H 0.785 506
J 1.287 830
K 1.838 1185
L 2.853 1840
M 3.600 2320
N 4.340 2800
P 6.380 4120
Q 11.050 7130
R 16.000 10300
T 26.000 16770

Many companies offer smaller, intermediate or larger sizes than those shown.

192
Limitations in use of Pressure and
Flow Controllers
There are some arrangement limitations for both flow and pressure controllers
which either do not make practical sense or result in a situation that cannot be
solved. Sustaining with open pipe
Sustaining
downstreamwith
andopen
fixedpipe
downstream and fixed
pressure upstream – OK
pressure upstream – OK
Sustaining with fixed flow
Sustaining
downstreamwith
and fixed
fixed flow
downstream and fixed
pressure upstream - Will
pressure
not workupstream - Will
not work
Sustaining with open pipe
Sustaining
downstreamwith
andopen
fixedpipe
flow
downstream
upstream – OKand fixed flow
upstream – OK
Reducing with open pipe
Reducing
downstreamwith
andopen pipe
fixed
downstream and fixed
upstream pressure – OK
upstream pressure – OK
Reducing with fixed
Reducing with fixed
pressure upstream and fixed
pressure upstream–and
flow downstream OKfixed
flow downstream – OK
Reducing with open pipe
Reducing
downstreamwith
andopen pipe
fixed flow
downstream and not
upstream – Will fixed flow
work.
upstream – Will not work.
Flow controller with fixed
Flow controller
pressures either with
side –fixed
OK
pressures either side – OK
Flow controller with fixed
Flow controller with
flow downstream fixednot
– Will
flow
workdownstream – Will not
work
Flow controller with fixed
Flow controller–with
flow upstream Willfixed
not
flow
workupstream – Will not
work

The above examples are saved in a file called 'Controllers wont solve'. Case B
does not work because controlling the valve upstream pressure fixes the
193
pressure at both ends of the upstream pipe. If you fix the pressure at both ends
of a pipe then the flow is also fixed. The flow is also fixed leaving the valve
by virtue of the fact that the downstream node fixes the flow. These two
conditions cannot exist if the law of mass conservation is to be upheld. Piping
Systems FluidFlow detects this condition and removes the valve and the
upstream and downstream pipes from the calculation. The same is true for case
F. Cases H and J are similar and a little more obvious.
There are also unsolvable situations when considering operating flow and
pressure controllers in series. Consider the cases below :

Case A , pressure sustaining, and case D, pressure reducing ,will not work for
the same reasons given above.
Case B , pressure sustaining, and case C, pressure reducing, work OK.
There are also cases that won't solve if the valve direction is incorrect, i.e, if
the pressure upsteam of the control valve is less than the pressure downstream.
Piping Systems FluidFlow detects this situation and takes the valve and pipes
from the calculation. See the example called 'Controllers in Wrong Way', the
flowsheet is shown below.

Changing the orientation of the valves will solve this problem.

194
Gas Flow Definitions and Correction
Factors

Piping Systems FluidFlow does not allow actual gas flows to be entered, this
avoids the need to specify a pressure for each flow. Instead it is normal to use
weight flow or volumetric flow refered to normal gas conditions. Piping
Systems FluidFlow defines STANDARD GAS CONDITIONS to be at 1.01325
bar a and 15C.
NORMAL GAS CONDITIONS are also acceptable input flow units. This
definition is 1.01325 bar a and 0C.

The head loss equation used for gas calculations is the basic Darcy equation
with the correction factor Ck constantly updated and recalculated during the
solution process.
Fp = Cc Ck ( ( f L/D ) +  ( f'K ) )  Q2 / D4
Note that for gases the above formula is rearranged to use mass-flow and to
combine the terms in brackets into 'resistance blocks' ( ( f L/D ) +  ( f'K ) ) .
The term Ck is sometimes called the expansion factor and is a function of the
Fp/P1 ratio, the gas Cp/Cv ratio, and the value of the combined resistance block.
In the solution algorithm we first identify the resistance blocks, we consider a
resistance block all components that are in series but excluding fans-,
controllers, and pressure relief valves.
Each iteration solves for new pressures at each component and so we are able
to recalculate the new physical properties.
The correction factor Ck is calculated for every block in every iteration. On
calculating the correction factor we are able to determine if the flow is choked.
If choking occurs then the flow is limited to this value by adjusting the value of
Ck.

195
Estimation of Gas Physical
Properties

Gas density is estimated from the equation :

 = PM/RTz

Gas viscosity is estimated from the Bromley-Wilke modification to the

Hirschfelder method:

 = 33.3 ( M Tc ) 0.5 / Vc [ function ( 1.33 Tr ) ]

The calculated viscosity is then corrected for pressure effects.

Steam physical properties are a special case and are hard coded into the
application. The correlations used for steam are based on a International
Association for the Properties of Water and Steam Industrial Formulation 1997
– (IAPWS-IF97)
This standard defines 5 regions into which the entire range of validity of the
(IAPWS-IF97-) is divided.
The valid ranges are :
273.15 K < T < 1073.15 K and P < 100 Mpa
1073.15 K < T < 2273.15 and P < 10 Mpa

196
Quality Assurance
Unit Conversion Consistency
Pressure Units Consistency checking.
The basis for all pressure conversions lies in the following definitions:
Absolute Pressure (denoted by a '-g' after each pressure unit) refers to the
pressure relative to a perfect vacuum.
Standard Atmospheric Pressure is 1.01325 bar or 14.6959 psi or 760 mm Hg.
This is sometimes called Barometric Pressure.
Gauge Pressure is the pressure measured above Standard Atmospheric
Pressure and is denoted by a ‘ g’ after each pressure unit. Therefore 0 bar g is
equivalent to 1.01325 bar a.
The file used to carry out this check is located at ..\fluidflow\Quality
Assurance\UnitsCheck\Pressure Units Check.ffl
The following hand conversions have been made for the total pressure at
component 1 (the supply point). The entered pressure value was 1.3 bar.Each
possible value has been checked with the values reported by FluidFlow by
changing the report units.

Pressure Hand Conversion of FF Total

Unit Total Pressure at ( 1 ) Pressure at
(1)
Bar a 1.3 + 1.01325 = 2.31325 Passed
Dyn/cm2 a 2.31325 * 10e6 = 2313250 Passed
Ft Water a 231325 / 2989.2 = 77.387 Passed
In Hg a 231325 / 3386.66 = 68.305 Passed
Kgf/cm2 a 231325 / 98066.5 = 2.358858 Passed
KPa a 231325 / 1000 = 231.325 Passed
M Water a 231325 / 9806.65 = 23.58858 Passed
MBar a 231325 / 100 = 2313.25 Passed
Mm Hg a 231325 / 133.333 = 1734.98 Passed
Mm Water a 231325 / 9.80665 = 23588.58 Passed

197
 N/m2 a 231325 / 1 = 231325 Passed
Psf a 231325 / 47.88 = 4831.3492 Passed
Psi a 231325 / 6895 = 33.54967 Passed
Atm 1.3 / 1.01325 = 1.283 Passed
Bar g 1.3 Passed
Dyn/cm2 g 1.3 * 10e6 Passed
Ft Water g 130000 / 2989.2 = 43.48989 Passed
In Hg g 130000 / 3386.66 = 38.3859 Passed
In Water g 130000 / 249.1 = 521.8787 Passed
Kgf/cm2 g 130000/98066.5=1.325631077 Passed
KN/m2 g 130000 / 1000 = 130 Passed
KPa g 130000 / 1000 = 130 Passed
M Water g 130000 / 9806.65 = 13.256631 Passed
MBar g 130000 / 100 = 1300 Passed
Mm Hg g 130000 / 133.33 = 975.2438 Passed
Mm Water g 130000/9.80665=13256.31077 Passed
N/m2 g 130000 / 1 = 130000 Passed
Psf g 130000 / 47.88 = 2715.121136 Passed
Psi g 130000 / 6895 = 18.85422 Passed

Pressure Drop Units Consistency Checking

Applying the same example to check pressure loss units gives for the pipe
friction loss at 12.771484 m Fluid. Converting this to N/m2 gives P =
12.771484 * 998.71218384 * 9.80665 = 125083.9 N/m2

Pressu Hand Conversion of P in pipe FF P

re Unit in pipe
Atm 125084.18* 9.86923266e-6 = 1.234484875 Passed
Bar 125084.18 * 10e-5 = 1.2508418 Passed
198
 Dyn/cm2 125084.18 * 10 = 1250842 Passed
Ft Water 125084.18 * 0.000334537 = 41.84537 Passed
In Hg 125084.18 * 0.0002952756 = 36.93431 Passed
In Water 125084.18 * 0.00401445 = 502.1444 Passed
Kgf/cm2 125084.18 * 0.000010197162 = 1.2755037 Passed
KN/m2 125084.18 * 0.001 = 125.08418 Passed
kPa As above Passed
M Water 125084.18 * 0.00010197162 = 12.7550366 Passed
mBar 125084.18 * 0.01 = 1250.8418 Passed
Mm Hg 125084.18 * 0.0075 = 938.1313735 Passed
Mm Water 125084.18 * 0.10197162 = 12755.036 Passed
N/m2 125084.18 Passed
psf 125084.18 * 0.020885547 = 2612.4515 Passed
psi 125084.18 * 0.0001450326 = 18.141287 Passed

Head Loss Units Consistency Checking

Applying the same example to head loss units gives for the pipe friction loss at
12.771484 m Fluid.

Head Hand Conversion of h in pipe FF h in

Unit pipe
Ft Fluid 12.771484 / 0.3048 = 41.90119 Passed
In Fluid 12.771484 / 0.0254 = 502.81433 Passed
M Fluid 12.771484 Passed
Mm Fluid 12.771484 * 1000 = 12771.484 Passed
Gauge head and Absolute head use the same conversion factors, as above so a
full check is not needed, since all head and pressure conversions are routed
through the one program function.

Density Units Consistency Checking

Using the same example, the density of the fluid is consistent throughout the
network since the temperature is constant. The density is 998.71218384 kg/m3,
and then the following check table can be constructed.

199
 Density Hand Conversion of Density FF
Unit Density
G/cc 998.7121838 * 0.001 = 0.9987121838 Passed
Kg/m3 998.71218384 Passed
Lb/ft3 998.71218384 / 16.0185 = 62.3472228 Passed
Lb/igal 998.71218384 / 99.776 = 10.00954 Passed
Lb/in3 998.71218384 / 27679.9 = 0.03608077 Passed
Ton/yd3 998.71218384 / 1328.94 = 0.75151 Passed

Viscosity Units Consistency Checking

Using the same example, the viscosity of the fluid is consistent throughout the
network since the temperature is constant. The viscosity is 1.1479799 cP, and
then the following check table can be constructed.

Viscosity Hand Conversion of Viscosity FF

Unit Viscosity
CP 1.1479799 Passed
Kg/m h 1.1479799 * 3.6 = 4.13272 Passed
Kgf s/m2 1.1479799 / 980.665 = 0.001170613 Passed
Lb/ft h 1.1479799 / 0.4134 =2.7769228 Passed
N s/m2 1.1479799 * 0.001 = 0.00114798 Passed
P 1.1479799 * 0.01 = 0.011479799 Passed
Pdl s/ft2 1.1479799* 0.00067204 = 0.0007714918 Passed
N s/m2 1.1479799 * 1000 = 1147.9799 Passed

Length Units Consistency Checking

Using the same example, the pipe is schedule 40, ANSI B36.10 and BS1600,
whose nominal size of 3”, which gives an inside diameter of 77.9mm, then the
following check table can be constructed.

Length Hand Conversion of Length FF Length

Unit
Cm 77.9 * 0.1 = 7.79 Passed

200
 Feet 77.9 * 0.00328084 = 0.2555774 Passed
Inches 77.9 * 0.03937 = 3.06692 Passed
Km 77.9 / 1000000 = 7.79e-5 Passed
Metre 77.9 / 1000 = 0.0779 Passed
Mm 77.9 Passed
Yards 77.9 * 0.001093613 = 0.08519247 Passed

Volumetric Flow Units Consistency Checking

Using the same example, the flow through the pipe is 177.31621222 m3/h, then
the following check table can be constructed.

Flow Hand Conversion of Pipe Volumetric FF

Unit Flow Volumetri
c Flow
Ft3/h 177.31621222 * 35.3147 = 6261.86 Passed
Ft3/min 177.31621222 * 0.5886 = 104.3688 Passed
Ft3/s 177.31621222 * 0.00981( approx. ) = 1.739 Passed
Igph 177.31621222 * 220( approx. ) = 39009.5 Passed
Igpm 177.31621222 * 3.666( approx. ) = 650.158 Passed
L/h 177.31621222 * 1000 = 177316.2 Passed
L/min 177.31621222 * 16.6666 = 2955.27 Passed
L/s 177.31621222 * 0.27777 = 49.2543 Passed
M3/day 177.31621222 * 24 = 4255.589 Passed
M3/h 177.31621222 Passed
M3/min 177.31621222 / 60 = 2.95527 Passed
M3/s 177.31621222 / 3600 = 0.0492545 Passed
Ml/s 177.31621222 * 277.777 = 492545 Passed
Usgph 177.31621222 * 264.18( approx. ) = 46843 Passed
Usgpm 177.31621222 * 4.403( approx. ) = 780 Passed

201
Mass Flow Units Consistency Checking
Using the same example, the flow through the pipe is 177.31621222 *
998.71218384 - = 177087.8 kg/h, then the following check table can be
constructed.

Mass Hand Conversion of Pipe Mass FF Mass

Flow Unit Flow Flow
G/s 177087.8 / 3.6 = 49191.05 Passed
Kg/h 177087.8 Passed
Kg/min 177087.8 / 60 = 2951.46 Passed
Lb/h 177087.8 * 2.20462 = 390411 Passed
Lb/min 390411 / 60 = 6506.85 Passed
Lb/s 6506.85 / 60 = 108.44 Passed
T/day 177087.8 * 0.024 = 4250.1 Passed
T/h 177087.8 / 1000 = 177.0878 Passed
Ton/day 177087.8 * 0.02362 = 4182.99 Passed
Ton/h 177087.8 * 0.00098421 = 174.29158 Passed

Velocity Units Consistency Checking

Using the same example, the velocity through the pipe is 0.0492545 * 4 /  *
0.07792 = 10.334 m/s, then the following check table can be constructed.

Velocity Hand Conversion of FF Pipe

Unit Pipe Velocity Velocity
Cm/s 10.334 * 100 = 1033.4 Passed
Ft/min 10.334 * 196.85 = 2034.2 Passed
Ft/s 10.334 * 3.281 = 33.905 Passed
Km/h 10.334 * 3.6 = 37.2 Passed
M/s 10.334 Passed
Mile/h 10.334 * 2.2369 = 23.117 Passed
Mm/s 10.334 * 1000 = 10334 Passed

202
Power Units Consistency Checking
Using the example Power Units check the power required by the pump is
3.17637 kW, then the following check table can be constructed.

Power Hand Conversion of FF Power

Unit Power
Btu/h 3.17637 * 3412 = 10837 Passed
Hp 3.17637 * 1.341 = 4.2595 Passed
KCal/h 3.17637 * 859.8 = 2731 Passed
kW 3.17637 Passed
Watts 3.17637 * 1000 = 3176.37 Passed

Reynolds Number, Friction Factor

and Pipe Friction Loss
This section deals with the checking of pipe velocity, Reynolds Number,
Friction Factor, and Friction Loss within a pipe. The checks are made over
turbulent and laminar flow regimes.
The files relating to these checks are in the Quality Assurance folder and are
called ‘Reynolds Number etc Turbulent’ and ‘Reynolds Number etc Laminar’.
In the first check we have fixed the flow at 60 m3/h and the pipe length is 10
m. The pipe internal diameter is 77.9 mm. The fluid is Water and the physical
properties at the flowing temperature are: density = 998.71 kg/m3; viscosity =
1.148 cP.
Check on Velocity.
The average velocity of the fluid through the pipe is given by the formula:
V = Q / A = 60 * 4 / ( 3600 *  * 0.0779 2 ) = 3.5 m/s Passed
The Reynolds number is given by:
Re =  V D /  = 998.71 * 3.5 * 0.0779 / ( 1.148 * 0.001 ) = 237025 Passed
From the Moody Chart the corresponding friction factor for clean commercial
steel pipe is 0.0192 Passed
Therefore the pipe head loss will be given by:
h = 0.5 f L V2 / ( g * D ) = 0.5 * 0.0192 * 10 * 3.5 * 3.5 /(9.80665 * 0.0779)

203
h = 1.54 m Fluid Passed

The second check deals with laminar flow, the system is similar to the above
case but the flow has been set to 0.35 m3/h ‘Reynolds Number etc Laminar’.
Check on velocity = 0.35 * 4 / ( 3600 *  * 0.0779 2 ) = 0.0204 m/s Passed
Check on Re = 998.71 * 0.0204 * 0.0779 / ( 1.148 * 0.001 ) = 1382 Passed
Friction Factor = 64 / Re = 0.0463 Passed
Pipe head loss = 0.5 * 0.0463 * 10 * 0.0204 * 0.0204 / ( 9.80665 * 0.0779 )
h = 0.000126 m Fluid Passed

Roughness Factor and Pipe Friction

Loss
This section deals with the checking of pipe roughness and it's effect on
friction factor and hence pipe friction loss. The file relating to these checks is
called ’Roughness Factors’. The network again contains a single pipe with the
flow fixed at 60 m3/h. The pipe details are Nominal Size of 100mm Cast Iron
Class C pipe of internal diameter 106.3 mm and length 10 m. The default
absolute roughness for this material is 0.2 mm
Several checks of roughness, friction factor, and resulting pipe loss are made.
Re from FF is 173673
The pipe relative roughness is r / D = 0.0002 / 0.1063 = 0.0018868
From the Moody chart the friction factor is 0.024 Passed
V from FF is 1.878
h = 0.5 * 0.024 * 10 * 1.878 *1.878 / ( 9.80665 * 0.1063 )
h = 0.408 m Fluid Passed
Overriding the roughness factor to use a value of 0.4 mm gives the following
results:
Re as above
Pipe relative roughness = 0.0004 / 0.1063 = 0.0037629
From the Moody chart the friction factor is 0.0285 Passed
h = 0.5 * 0.0285 * 10 * 1.878 *1.878 / ( 9.80665 * 0.1063 )
h = 0.48 m Fluid Passed

204
Orifice Plate Head Loss

This section deals with the checking of head loss through orifice plates. The
file relating to these checks is called ‘Orifice Plate BS1042 73 Example.ffg' .
This example is taken directly from Section 7.3 of the British Standard 1042
1984.
The calculation is used to verify the flow of steam at 2,000,000 Pa and 250°C
through a 0.0835m square edged thin orifice.
For a flow of 2.333kg/s of steam the the measured pressure loss across the
orifice at the corner taps should be 25000 Pa.

FluidFlow calculates a pressure loss, measured at the corner tap of 24956 Pa.
This is within 99.8% of the BS 1042 example calculated value and so the
calculation has passed our QA check.

Valve, K, Kv and Kf Head Loss

This section deals with the checking of head loss through resistive components
that have been defined as Kf, Kv, or K types. The file relating to these checks
is called ‘Kv and K and Kf Equivalence Test’. In this example a 4” angle valve
has been defined as each type. Therefore the displayed head loss should be the
same for each component in the network. It may be illustrative to hand
calculate each equivalent type and then for each type hand calculate the
expected head loss.
Firstly the Kf value for an angle valve ( used in this example ) is 150. This
means the equivalent length of the angle valve is equal to 150 pipe diameters.
Note that this value is dimensionless and therefore independent of size. The
formula for expressing Kf is :
Kf = f’ L/D Note that the value of f’ is essentially a function of pipe size
only.
To convert this value to a K value we need to know the valve size since
components expressed as K types are a function of size. So for a 4” valve or
pipe the value of f’ is from the Moody Chart is 0.0165.
Then the value of K = 150 * 0.0165 = 2.47

205
To convert to a Kv value we need a head loss value at a given flow using the
previous data values for a flow of 60 m3/h the head loss through the valve will
be:
h = K V2 / 2 g where V = Q / A and Q = 60 / 3600 = 0.01666 and
A =  * 0.1023 * 0.1023 / 4 = 0.0082194, which gives V as 2.0277
h = 2.47 * 2.02772 / 2 g = 0.518 m Fluid
Loading the quality check example confirms that the head loss through each
component is identical.

Pressure Controller Checking

Consider the following situation.

To calculate the valve upstream pressure use the Darcy equation as we know
227.77 m3/h flow in 10m of 4" Sch 40 pipe with a supply pressure of 2.5 bar.
Pipe velocity = 227.77 * 4 / ( 3600 *  * 0.1023 * 0.1023 ) = 7.70 m/s
Re = 998.71 * 7.7 * 0.1023 / 0.001148 = 685273
From the Moody Chart f = 0.017
h = 0.5 * 0.017 * 10 * 7.7 * 7.7 * / ( 9.80665 * 0.1023 ) = 5.02 m Fluid
or 5.02 * 9.80665 * 998.71 / 100000 = 0.492 bar
the upstream pressure at the valve is therefore 2.5 – 0.492 = 2.008 bar.

206
Since the pipe length and diameter is identical downstream of the valve, and
the flow must be the same, the pressure loss in the downstream pipe must be
0.492 bar. Since the pipe exit pressure is 0 bar g, the pressure at the
downstream side of the valve must be 0.492 bar g.
The pressure loss across the valve must therefore be 2.008 – 0.492 = 1.516 bar
The Cv must therefore be:
Cv = q * ( sg / dP ) 0.5 where q is in usgpm and dP is in psi
Cv = 1002 * ( 1 / 21.9 ) 0.5 = 214.1

Fluid Flow gives 214.8 Passed

Checking through the valve database for an available Cv of 214 we can select a
Keystone 3" butterfly valve. From the database chart the valve opening should
be …

From the graph at a Cv of 213.8 (-nearest increment-) to 214.8 the valve

opening is 71.4%. Fluid Flow reports the valve opening to be 71.8%. Passed

207
Calculation of Idelchik Tee

This section deals with the pressure loss through a reducing Idelchik type Tee.
The example can be found in the Quality Assurance Folder using the filename
"Idelchik Tee Check". Flows through the tee mean that the Idelchik divergent
relationships are valid. Using the nomenclature found in "Handbook of
Hydraulic Resistance – I E Idelchik – 3 rd Ed" p450 – 453, the Channel has a 2"
connection and carries 3kg/s of water at 15°C. The Straight has a 2" connection
and carries 2kg/s of water. The branch is at 90° and carries 1 kg/s of water
throught a 1" connection.

Using the subscripts st for the straight, c for the channel and s for the branch
we get …
Fc (Channel Cross Sectional Area) = 2.16475 x 10-3 m2 and
Fs (Brance Cross Sectional Area) = 5.55716 x 10-4 m2
The branch angle and area ratios dictate that we use the following formula for
the K value between the Channel and the Branch i.e. Kcs

Kcs = A' [ 1 + Sqr(ws/wc) – 2 (ws/wc) cos(branch angle in degrees), where ws

and wc are the velocities in the straight and the channel.

With the velocities, wc calculated at 1.38763 m/s and ws at 1.8018 m/s

subsituting into the above equation gives a value for Kcs of 2.686032.

Since the pressure loss from the channel to the branch is

Pressure Loss = Kcs x density x Sqr(wc) / 2 = 2582.7 Pa.
FluidFlow (Branch to Node 3 Loss) gives a calculated pressure loss of
2582.66 Pa. Therfore QA passed.

A similar calculation for the loss of the Channel to the Straight is

Area Ratio Fst/Fc = 0.2567
Flow Ratio Qst/Qc = 0.333
Kc,st = 0.04444
Calculated pressure loss is 42.73416 Pa. FluidFlow result is 42.734 Pa.

208
Nomenclature

A is the cross sectional area of a pipe or orifice.

Cc is a constant in the pipe head loss equation.
Ck is a correction factor to the pipe head loss equation to allow for kinetic
energy changes due to gas expansion.
Cp refers to the specific heat at constant pressure.
Cv refers to the specific heat at constant volume and also flow coefficient for a
control valve.
D is pipe internal diameter.
dQp / dt is the rate of change of flow along pipe p.
Hi,Hk are the pipe residual heads at reference nodes i and k.
Hrf is the Moody friction factor and is dimensionless.
f’ is the Moody friction factor in the zone of complete turbulence.
Fp is the pressure loss in the pipe p due to pipe friction .
g is the acceleration of gravity and is 9.80665 m/s2.
h is the head loss across a fitting or within a pipe.
L is the pipe length.
M is the fluid molecular weight.
p is the static pressure of a fluid
Pv is the vapour pressure of a liquid.
P1 is the upstream static pressure within a pipe or fitting.
PrPc is the critical pressure of the fluid.
Q is the rate of flow.
 is the fluid density.
r is the absolute pipe roughness.
Re is the Reynolds Number and is dimensionless.
sg is the relative density or specific gravity.
T is the fluid temperature.
T1 is the inlet or upstream fluid temperature.
Tc is the critical temperature of the fluid.
209
Tr is the reduced temperature i.e. T / Tc .
 is the fluid dynamic viscosity.
V is the mean velocity of flow.
Vc is the critical volume.
w is the weight flow.
Y is an expansion factor.
z is the gas compressibility factor.
Zi,Zk are the pipe heights at reference nodes i and k.

210
Appendix I – Published
data formats for data
import

Data file should have the extension *.fxt.

Some examples are shown below, use a new line after each entry.

FLUID CONTROL VALVES ASCII

FILES
Example:
Danfoss Manufacturer Name (Max 30 char)
MV-FN 15 Model Name (Max 20 char)
1 Cv units. Allowable values are :
0 = usgpm / psi
1 = m3/h / kPa
2 = l/min / bar
3 = m3/h / bar
15 Valve Inlet Diameter
3 Inlet diameter units. Allowable values are:
0 = metre
1 = feet
2 = cm
3 = mm
4 = inches
20 Lower accuracy limit as a % of fully open valve position
100 Upper accuracy limit as a % of fully open valve position

211
7 Number of data points x = %Open and y = Cv
100 2.37
66.7 2.15
50 1.98
33.3 1.66
25 1.42
10.6 1.01

PUMPS ASCII FILES

Example:
Grundfos Manufacturer Name (Max 30 char)
LP200-300 Model Name (Max 20 char)
2900.0 Speed in RPM
2900.0 Max Speed in RPM
2900.0 Min Speed in RPM
210.0 Impeller Diameter
210.0 Min Impeller Diameter
210.0 Max Impeller Diameter
3 Impeller Units. Allowable values are:
0 = metre
1 = feet
2 = cm
3 = mm
4 = inches
0 Frequency Allowable values are:
0 = 50 Hz
1 = 60Hz
0 General Application (1=True)
0 Fire Application (1=True)
0 Booster Application
1 Clean Water Application
0 Waste Water Application
212
0 Boiler Feed Application
0 Process Application
2 Head Units:
0 =N/m2:
1 =Psi:
2 =M Water
3 =Ft Water
4 =bar
5 =mbar
6 =Kgf/cm2
7 =dyn/cm2
8 =Psf
9 =KN/m2
10 =atm
11 =mm Water
12=in Water
13=mm Hg
14=in Hg
15=Kpa
6 Flow Units:
0=m3/s
1=l/s
2=igpm
3=usgpm
4=ft3/min
5=l/min
6=m3/h
7=igph
8=usgph
9=1/h
10=Kg/s
11=1b/s
12=Kg/min
13=ml/s
14=ft2/s
213
 15=m3/min
16=ft3/h
17=m3/day
18=g/s
19=lb/min
20=lb/h
21=Kg/h
22=T/h
23=Ton/h
24=T/day
25=Ton/day
0.000000 Minimum Flow
190.0000 Maximum Flow
0 Capacity Curve Notifier
7 Number of data pairs in capacity curve
5.00000 62.0000 ( x = Flow and y = Head )
60.0000 60.0000
112.000 55.0000
138.000 50.000
155.000 45.000
160.000 40.000
180.000 35.000
1 Efficiency Curve Notifier
10 Number of Efficiency Curve Data Pairs
0 0 ( x = Flow and y = Efficiency % )
50.0000 60.0000
59.0000 65.0000
70.5000 70.0000
102.000 77.0000
125.000 75.0000
138.000 70.0000
150.000 65.0000
156.000 60.0000

214
165.0 55.0000
2 NPSHr Curve Notifier
9 No of Data Pairs in NPSH curve
0.00000 2.00000
20.0000 2.00000
60.0000 4.00000
80.0000 4.00000
100.000 6.50000
120.000 10.0000
140.000 15.0000
150.000 18.0000
160.0 23.5000

215
 Reducers 67
Sprinklers 69
Index User Defined 73
Valves, manually operated 65
A Configuring Tools 183
Absolute Roughness 86 Connectors 71
Add Ins 9, 183, 184 Control Valves 70
Affinity Law Corrected 85 Convergence 52, 78
AutoCalc 110 Cv Value@ Set Point 83
Automating Excel 151 D
B Databases 119
Branch to (n) loss 82 Access Levels 119
Branch to (n) Piezometric Head 82 Adding a new component 126
C Committing Changes 126
Calculation Properties 109 Control Valve 127
Available Resources 111 Data Connections 122
Convergence Criteria 110 Editing 126
Current Network 109 Fan/Compressor 129
Options 112 Gas Physical Properties 131
Calculation Results Generic Fittings K, Kf anf Kv
Component Lists 56 133
Graph Results 53 Import 126
Result Tables 51 Junctions 137
User Notes 55 Liquid Physical Properties 136
Warnings / Hints 54 Lock editing 125
Component ID 55, 57 Merging 148
Component Lists 56 Non Return Valves 139
Component Name Loss 81 Operations Common to all
Components Databases 124
Connectors 71 Organising by using
Control valves 70 Manufacturer 126
Entry and Exit Points 63 Overview 119
Fans 66 Pipe 140
Flow control valves 70 Pump 141
Generic Flow Coefficient 71 Sprinkler 143, 145
Generic K Factor 72 Units of Measurement 146
Generic Kf 73 User Defined Component 147
Junctions 64 Valves, manually operated 138
Non Return Valves 68 Datum Level 25
Orifice and restrictor plates 70 Default Data 91
Pipes 60, 61 Fan 94
Pressure component 63 Flow Control Valve 95
Pressure control valves 70 Generic Fittings 98
Pressure Relief Valve 74 Junctions 96
Pumps 66 Non Return Valve 100
217
 Orifice Plate 101
Pipes 102
Pressure Control Valves 103
Pump 105
Reducers 106
Relief Valves 108
Sprinklers 107
User Defined Head Loss 101
Valves, manually operated 99
Density 78
Disclaimer 3
Dongle 19
Duty Efficiency 84
Duty Flow 84
Duty Head / Pressure 84
Duty Power 85
E Marking an entire network 46
Entry and Exit Points 63
Equations and Correlations Used
185
Errors
Build and Calculation Errors 49
Calculation errors 51
Data Link errors 50
Network build errors 49
Errors and bugs 3
Example Design 163
Excel
Automating 151
Defining the type of Link 153
Exporting as a CSV File 161
Exporting to 151
Linking to 151
F 131
Fans 66
Database 129
Default values 94
Flite Software Ltd
Support 51
Flow Component 63
Flow control valves 70
Default values 95
Flow into / from Network 79
Flow through "Component Name"
81
218
Flowrate 86
Flowsheet
Automatic scrolling during pipe
connecting 35
Build and Calculation Errors 49
Changing Component Types 36
Clipboard operations 47
Component and Pipe Deletion
37
Component selection and
placement 33, 34
Display options 39
Dragging and dropping
individual components 40
Fly By Hints 47
Making pipe connections 34
Maximum allowable pipe
connections 36
Multi Marking 42, 43, 45
Pipe splitting or pipe adding 35
Pipe to pipe connections 35
Undo operations 40
Zooming 38
fluid network 1
Friction Factor 87
G
Gas Density 132
Gas Flow Definitions 195
Gas Mixtures 133
Gas Physical Properties
Estimating 196
Gas Physical Properties Database
Gas Viscosity 132
Generic Flow Coefficient
Components 71
Database 134
Generic K Factor Components 72
Database 135
Generic Kf Components 73
Database 133
Graph Results 53
H
Hazen Williams 187
Hazen-Williams Coefficient 87 Default values 101
Head 29, 80 P
Hints 81 Password
Hydraulic Grade Line 30 Database Access Level 121
Hydraulic Gradient 87 Network users 17
I Piezometric (HGL) Head 79
Installation 5 Piezometric Head 29
What gets installed 9 Pipe
Interpreting Result Tables 77 Colour Class 62
J Default values 102
Junctions 64 Internal Diameter 62
Converging Cross 189 Nominal Size 62
Converging Tee 189 Roughness 62
Database 137 Status 62
Default values 96 Type 62
Diverging Cross 189 Pipe Friction Loss 86
Idelchik Type Example 172 Pipe Reductions and Expansions
Tees, Wyes and Crosses 189 Default values 106
L Pipe Size 86
Liquid Density 136 Pipes 61
Liquid Physical Property Database Database 140
136 Pressure 25, 80
Liquid Vapour Pressure 136 absolute 80
Liquid Viscosity 136 gauge 80
M piezometric 79
Mach Number 88 Pressure Component 63
Mean \Component Name Loss 81 Pressure control valves 70
Mean Piezometric Head 81 Default values 103
merge databases 148 Practical Limitations 193
Merging Databases 148 Print Design
multi-user licence 5 Adding a new table column 160
N Changing column contents 160
Nomenclature 209 Changing column order 159
Non Return Valves 68 Changing column widths 159
Database 139 Defining Table Headings 158
Default values 100 Print Inclusions 155
NPSH Available 83 Setting margins 158
NPSH Required 84 Print Preview 161
O Printing 155
Open Pipes 63 Printing a Bill of Materials 162
Orifice Loss Product Overview 1
Corner Loss 82 program update 148
D and D/2 Loss 82 Published data formats for data
Flange Loss 83 import 211
Orifice Plates 70
219
Pump & Fan Chart Colours and Steam physical properties 196
Line Widths 115 Support 51
Pump & Fan Chart Curve T
Visibility 114 Tabular results 51
Pump & Fan Chart Display Units Tee Junctions
116 Diverging Tee 189
Pumps 66 U
Database 141 Uninstalling 8
Default values 105 Units of Measurement 146
Viscosity Correction 113 update 148
Q Updating an existing installation 8
Quality Assurance 197 User Defined Component 147
Orifice Plate Head Loss 205 User Notes 55
Pressure Controller 206 V
Reynolds Number, Friction Valve Position @ Set Point 83
Factor and Pipe Friction Loss Valves, manually operated 65
203 Database 138
Roughness Factor and Pipe Default values 99
Friction Loss 204 Vapour Pressure 78
Unit Conversion Consistency Velocity 86
197 velocity head 88
Valve, K, Kv and Kf Head Loss Velocity Head 25
205 changes in 88
R Viscosity 78
Reducers See Pipe Reductions and Viscosity Corrected 85
Expansions W
Relief Valves Warning Limits 117
Default values 108 Warnings 81
Report Units Warnings / Hints 54
Changing 114
resistance coefficient 65
Reynolds Number 87
S
Showing Text on the Flowsheet 48
single licence 5
Sprinklers 69
Database 143, 145
Default values 107
Starting the application Piping
Systems FluidFlow 19
A First Example Gas
Calculation 31
A First Example Liquid
Calculation 19
Evaluating the Results 28
220