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Anatomy of Load DeltaT
Examining why lowload deltaT is so pervasive in central chiller plants and
introducing a means of forcing load deltaT to 10°F
KIRBY NELSON, PE, Springfield, Mo. Aug 1, 2011
Editor's note: This is the fourth article in a fivearticle series on centralchillerplant
modeling. The first three articles "Primary/Secondary vs. PrimaryOnly Pumping"
(http://bit.ly/Nelson_1), "Efficient Control of a Primary/Secondary Plant"
(http://bit.ly/Nelson_2), and "Efficient Control of a PrimaryOnly Plant"
(http://bit.ly/Nelson_3) appeared in the April, May, and July 2011 issues of HPAC
Engineering, respectively.
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Lowload deltaT is said1 to exist in nearly every large distributed chilledwater system.
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The top chart in Figure 1 illustrates a concept5 regarding the changing characteristics of
secondary head as a function of loads active close to or far from a plant. The analysis is
with P/S pumping and a load deltaT of 10°F. The general equation5 is:
H = Ch + Hd (Q ÷ Qd)n
where:
Ch = static head or constant pressure (60 ft assumed for model)
Hd = system head at design flow (245 ft see Figure 4 of Article 1 in this series2)
Q = intermediate (secondary) flow in the system, gallons per minute
Qd = design flow of the system (12,193 gpm see Figure 4 of Article 1 in this series2)
n = systemfriction coefficient (2 for all analysis in the first three articles in this
series2,3,4)
This equation was applied to distribution piping and an airhandler coil.
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Systemfriction coefficient can vary from about 0.37 to 3.5,5 generating a system head
area (Figure 1). System curves are given5 as system head vs. flow, as shown by the second
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horizontal axis in the top chart of Figure 1. With flow for each condition of n nearly
identical, model data will be presented here as a function of site load, as shown by the
primary horizontal axis in the top chart of Figure 1, to be consistent with most other Blogs Columns
charts in this series of articles.2,3,4
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The bottom chart in Figure 1 is the same curve, with the axis reversed to agree with all BUSINESS
other charts in this series of articles.2,3,4 Figure 1 shows system head can more than
double as a function of the changing flow characteristics of a load. Each system, however, Become a HPAC ENGINEERING eNews
has its own characteristics of system head area,5 which may be more or less than Insider by signing up today.
presented in Figure 1.
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Effect of Nonuniform Flow
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Figure 2 illustrates the effect of nonuniform secondary flow on pump and plant
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performance. The top chart gives the secondarypump power required to maintain a load by Penton, its brands, affiliates and/or thirdparty partners,
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deltaT of 10°F. At a site load of 3,380 tons, secondarypump power varies from about
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190 to 470 kw as the system head curve changes. If secondarypump power were
controlled with a differentialpressure transmitter (DPT), operators likely would set the
DPT to more or less match the secondarypumppower requirements of the n≥2 curve;
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when the system operated within the system head curve at a lower value of n, lowload
deltaT would occur.
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The bottom chart in Figure 2 illustrates the variation in plant power per ton of site load
for the system head curves of Figure 1. At a site load of 3,380 tons, plant performance
varies from about 0.575 to 0.66 kw per ton. This shows DPT control of a secondary pump
to be questionable and the definition of plant performance before a plant is built and
operating impractical.
Potential SecondaryPump Power
Figure 3 illustrates the potential for inefficient plant performance attributed to the
assumed 700kw installed capacity of the secondary pump (see Figure 4 of the first
article2 in this series). The top chart illustrates the magnitude of the additional pump
power available to drive load deltaT to below 10°F. If the secondary pump were
operating at full capacity, load deltaT would be as shown by the second horizontal axis
in the top chart, varying from 10°F at design conditions to 2.1°F at 492 site tons. At 3,380
site tons, about 310 kw of secondarypump power would be required at n=2 conditions
for a deltaT of 10°F to be provided; however, the DPT or operators potentially could call
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for 700 kw, driving load deltaT to 7.3°F. A lower deltaT would increase bypass flow and,
thus, decrease plant efficiency, as shown by the bottom chart in Figure 3.
The bottom chart in Figure 3 illustrates plant power per ton of site load for the conditions
in the top chart. Clearly, secondarypump power can degrade plant performance
significantly; therefore, DPT control of a pump is a potential source of lowload deltaT
and inefficient plant performance. The bottom chart in Figure 2 illustrates plant
performance for the three conditions of n for a deltaT of 10°F.
The bottom chart in Figure 3 also shows the performance of the P/S plant of the second
article3 in this series (see Figure 6 of Article 23) with lowload deltaT and full loading of
a chiller before another chiller is turned on (airhandler enteringwatertemperature
[(ewt)AH] control).
SecondaryPump Power and Flow
According to the top chart in Figure 4, the pump power of the Article 23 plant falls
between the 700kw maximum and the power required to achieve 10°F deltaT for n=2
flow distribution. Load deltaT is shown by the secondary horizontal axis.
Page 2 of 2
The bottom chart in Figure 4 gives the flow for the full 700kw pump power. Load delta
T is shown by the secondary horizontal axis. The P/S system with airhandlerentering
watertemperature control falls between the fullpower flow and the flow required for a
deltaT of 10°F.
HighForce Coil Valve
The top chart in Figure 5 shows no change in secondarypump power with a highforce
coil valve installed in the Article 23 plant¡¯s system. A highforce coil valve reduces
secondary flow and provides a load deltaT of 10°F, as shown by the bottom chart.
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The top chart in Figure 6 shows airhandler leavingwater temperature [(lwt)AH] for the
Article 23 plant both with and without a highforce coil valve installed to overcome high
secondarypump power and provide airhandler leavingwater temperature of
approximately 54°F. The bottom chart in Figure 6 shows the secondary head generated
by the highforce coil valve. The top chart in Figure 5 shows secondarypump power to be
the same; therefore, any reduction in plant power can be attributed primarily to improved
chiller performance.
P/S Plant With HighForce Coil Valve
Figure 7 shows the effect of the highforce coil valve on chiller and plant performance.
Secondarypump power is the same for the plant with the highforce coil valve and the
one with the lowforce coil valve. The top chart shows chiller performance is better with
the highforce coil valve primarily because evaporator leavingwater temperature
[(lwt)evap] is greater, as the highforce coil valve minimizes the mixing of return and
supply water. The horizontal axis of the top chart shows evaporator leavingwater
temperature for both coil valves, showing the chiller must provide water of less than 44°F
with the lowforce coil valve because of mixing with bypass water. The bottom chart
illustrates the improvement in plant performance with the highforce coil valve, which
forces the return water to 54°F and, thus, deltaT to 10°F. The improvement is attributed
primarily to bypassflow reduction.
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POnly Plant With HighForce Coil Valve
Figure 8 illustrates the effect of the highforce coil valve on the Article 34 Ponly plant
with evaporatorvelocity control. The top chart illustrates the decrease in flow attributed
to the highforce coil valve, which provides a load deltaT of 10°F. Also, the top chart
shows evaporator leavingwater temperature to be about 44°F for both valves. The bottom
chart gives evaporator velocity with the two valves, illustrating how the highforce coil
valve reduces evaporator velocity because of the decreased flow, as shown in the top
chart, and the number of chiller on, as shown by the horizontal axis. For three site loads,
the highforce coil valve requires fewer chillers in operation, which results in lower
velocity through the evaporator and, thus, less pump power, but also lower chiller
performance.
Plant and Chiller Performance
The top chart in Figure 9 illustrates chiller performance, showing that the plant with the
lowforce valve performs a little better at site loads of 1,855, 1,012, and 946 tons. This is
attributed to the number of chillers on, as shown by the horizontal axis in the top chart in
Figure 9 and by the bottom chart in Figure 8. More chillers are on in the lowforcecoil
valve plant to eliminate high evaporator velocities, as discussed in Article 3.4 The high
force coil valve drives load deltaT to 10°F and, therefore, reduces velocity through the
evaporator. The bottom chart illustrates the improved plant performance with the high
force coil valve, with improvement occurring when fewer chillers are on.
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PlantPerformance Summary
Figure 10 shows the performance of the four plants considered in this article. The high
force coil valve improved the performance of both the P/S plant and the Ponly plant. For
the site loads considered, the P/S plant performs a little better than the Ponly plant. The
performance of the considered plants, however, generally is about the same, with no clear
advantage for any of the four. Keep in mind that all of the plants in Figure 10 are
overpumped, and the result of overpumping is decreased plant performance, especially at
reduced site loads. The most effective way to improve plant performance is to eliminate
lowload deltaT by decreasing excessive distribution pumping.
Summary
Through this analysis, we learned:
Nonuniform secondary flow could explain some of the difficulty in controlling load delta
T in central systems.
Maintaining minimum required secondarypump power is a must for efficient plant
operation.
The performance of the P/S plant of Article 23 improves albeit slightly with the high
force coil valve because deltaT is forced to 10°F, which reduces flow in the bypass.
For the Article 34 Ponly plant with evaporatorvelocity control, primary flow decreases
with the highforce coil valve. Fewer chillers are required to be on, which results in lower
evaporator velocity.
With the highforce coil valve, the performance of the Article 34 Ponly plant is as great
as, if not greater than, it is with the lowforce coil valve primarily because of the number
of chillers on and the chillerload percentage. Chiller performance, however, is degraded,
unlike in the P/S plant.
Conclusion
Characteristics of load can cause lowload deltaT. Setting a DPT to provide 10°F deltaT
is a challenge, if not impossible. Overpumping a secondary pump causes lowload delta
T. Installing a highforce coil valve has a positive effect for given secondarypump power.
If excessive secondarypump power exists, however, the result generally is inefficient
plant operation. Figure 10 shows the P/S plant with highforce coil valve performs best
for the loads and conditions considered, with the Ponly plant close behind. The next and
final article in this series will discuss secondarypump control with something other than
a DPT.
References
1) Kirsner, W. (1996, November). The demise of the primarysecondary pumping
paradigm for chilled water plant design. Heating/Piping/AirConditioning, pp. 7375, 77,
78.
2) Nelson, K. (2011, April). Primary/secondary vs. primaryonly pumping. HPAC
Engineering, pp. 3440. Available at http://bit.ly/Nelson_1
3) Nelson, K. (2011, May). Efficient control of a primary/secondary plant. HPAC
Engineering, pp. 34, 3741. Available at http://bit.ly/Nelson_2
4) Nelson, K. (2011, July). Efficient control of a primaryonly plant. HPAC Engineering,
pp. 32, 34, 3639. Available at http://bit.ly/Nelson_3
5) Rishel, J.B. (2001, February). Applying affinity laws for centrifugal pumps. HPAC
Engineering, pp. 3538.
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Kirby Nelson, PE, has been involved in the modeling of HVAC systems since the oil
embargo of 1973 first as corporate energy manager for Texas Instruments Inc., then
as a consultant. Models he has used include DOE2, E Cube, and models developed on
an analog/digital computer, including models of cleanrooms. A life member of the
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and AirConditioning Engineers, he has
presented numerous papers, led an energy engineering delegation to China, and more
recently developed models for district cooling systems, thermalstorage systems, and
central plants.
Did you find this article useful? Send comments and suggestions to Executive Editor Scott
Arnold at scott.arnold@penton.com.
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