Prepared by Chetan V Makwana

Lets us first discuss What is a Pipe?

It is a Tubular item made of plastic, metal, etc used for conveying liquids, gases or for that matter anything that flows.
It is further classified as Pipe & Tube Pipes are identified by NPS (Nominal Pipe Size ie; Inner Diameter) Tubes are identified by Outer Diameter (eg Copper tubes)

What is Schedule of Pipe ?

Schedule is measure of internal pressure a pipe can withstand without deflection or failure. Standard Schedules of Pipes are 10, 40, 80, 120, etc. For eg Schedule 40 pipe will be written as 40S where S stand for Schedule. Sometimes 80X where X stands for extra strong pipe. For a particular diameter of pipe, as the Schedule no increases, its internal diameter decreases whereas Outer Diameter remains constant.

Chilled Water Pipe Material

Black Carbon Steel (ASTM A53 B, A106 B & API 5L)-generally used for Chilled Water piping. Stainless Steel (304/304L & 316/316L)-used where water quality is poor or highly alkaline conditions exist. Copper Tubes (Type K,L,M)-hard/soft drawn copper tubes with wall thickness decreasing from Type K (max wall thickness) to Type M (least wall thickness).

Manufacturing methods for Pipes

Seamless Pipe:
It is manufactured by extruding the metal to the desired length. It can also be manufactured by Centrifugally pouring the molten metal on the inside of the mould surface. Thus seamless pipe does not have any joints in its cross section through out its length.

Electric Resistance Welded Pipe:

It is manufactured by Rolling metal and then welded longitudinally across its length. Thus ERW Pipe has a welded joint in its cross section.

Chilled Water Piping System

Once Thru System - here the water passes through the equipment only once and is discharged. Recirculation System - here the water is not discharged, but it continuously flows in a repeating circuit from heat exchanger to equipment and back to heat exchanger.

Recirculating Systems are further classified as:

Open loop system It is the one in which water flows into the reservoir open to atmosphere wherein the Heat exchange occurs between the water and atmosphere directly. Closed loop system It is the one in which flow of water is never exposed to the atmosphere at any point during the heat exchange between pipe carrying water and atmosphere.

Recirculating systems are also classified wrt piping arrangements as follows:

Direct Return piping (Refer fig 23) Reverse Return Piping (Refer fig 21)

If Chilled water equipments have nearly the same pressure drops then Reverse return method can be used. However if units have different pressure drops then it is more economical to use a Direct Return Piping method.

Chilled Water Piping Design

What is Friction?
Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers etc against each other. In the context of chilled water pipes, there is Frictional loss which is loss of energy or head that occurs in pipe flow between the surfaces of pipe and layers of fluid.

1. 2. 3. 4.

This frictional loss depends upon the following factors: Water velocity Interior surface roughness Pipe Diameter Pipe Length Varying any one of the above will influence the total frictional loss of pipe.

Recommended Water Velocity for Chilled Water Pipes:

Pump Suction Pump Discharge Header Riser Velocity (fps) 4 to 7 8 to 12 4 to 15 3 to 10

Valves Accessories and Ancillary Items

Ball Valve

Ball valves use a ball as the opening/closing mechanism to control fluid flow. The ball is rotated 90 degrees from full open to full closed; therefore, it is well-suited for applications which require quick or frequent opening and closing. The ball seals by fitting tightly against resilient seats located on each side of the ball. Ball valves are generally selected for on/off service and are most common in sizes 2 inches or less..

Ball Valve

Butterfly Valve

Butterfly valves in the chilled water system are most common in the larger sizes due to the ease of operation, low cost, and superior shutoff characteristics. The butterfly valve usually consists of a wafer shaped body with a rotating disk that closes against a resilient seat located within the valve body. Like the ball valve, a 90-degree rotation of the operating mechanism results in valve travel from closed to full open. The butterfly valve is well-suited for on/off service.

Butterfly Valve

Globe Valve

Globe valves are primarily used for throttling service and are not well-suited for full flow applications due to the high resistance to flow designed into the valve. The standard valve consists of a round disk or tapered plug that seats against a round opening. Angle valves and needle valves are variations of the standard globe valve and use a similar method of closure. Unlike the gate and ball valves, globe valves must be installed in the proper direction of flow. Flow should enter through the disk seat and push up against the valve disk. Reverse installation will result in valve chatter, vibration, and premature valve failure.

Globe Valve

Autoflow Balancing Valve

Autoflow balancing valve accurately and dynamically balances the system with not more than +5% to -5% flow variation. It reduces the manual work of adjusting the flow at each terminal thereby reducing the time of Testing and Commissioning. The valve is also fixed with Test ports to measure the flow, pressure drop across the valve, etc.

Autoflow Balancing Valve

Non Return Valve/Check Valve

These are Unidirectional and allow flow of the fluid only in a predetermined direction. The most common application found is in the discharge pipeline of the pumps where there is more than one pump operating parallelly.

Check Valve

Y Strainer

Generally Y Strainers are installed in Chilled Water Supply line of Equipments (AHU, FCU, Pump Suction) to remove debris, foreign particles and to restrict them from entering the Equipment Coil etc. Pressure Guages are sometimes installed before and after Strainer to keep a check on clogging of mesh. Y strainers are sometimes provided with AutoBlow Valve which helps in easy maintenance of strainer.

Y Strainer

Suction Diffuser

Suction Diffuser mounts either on vertical or horizontal position which acts as an elbow, sometimes reducing elbow. Also acts as strainer by removing hazardous material from liquid before it enters into pump. Suction Diffusers can be installed wherever there is space constraint due to its ease of maintenance.

Suction Diffuser

Air Separator with & without Strainer

Due to the tangentially mounted connections, the water inside the air separator is brought into rotation. The rotation forces the heavy medium (water) against the wall of the air separator while air is collected in the middle. The collected air rises to the top and gets vented to the outside by the float vent. Impurities heavier than water, such as sand, welding debris and the like are forced to settle down at the bottom

Air Separator