Compressed Air Piping Design

Metal pipe can be black iron copper stainless steel or extruded aluminum alloy.

Compressed air piping design.

Piping is a vital component in a compressed air system. Inefficient compressed air distribution systems result in higher energy bills lower productivity and poor air tool performance. Air flow rate through an orifice. Excessive velocity can be a root cause of backpressure erratic control signals turbulence and turbulence driven pressure drop.

Occasionally a large pressure drop in the piping system is compensated by adjusting or increasing the working pressure of the compressor from for example 7 bar to 8 bar. However just as hearts can fail due to clogged arteries compressors can fail due to poor piping. Guide to compressed air piping systems last updated on. Pipe sizing by velocity.

One of the simplest fixes in a compressed air system is to replace tee connections with directional angle entry connections. The compressed air pipe routing design and dimensions are important factors for the efficiency reliability and cost of compressed air production. Along the way there is a risk of contamination and pressure drops. Once air is compressed dried and filtered it is sent to an end use.

Air velocity through piping. Air flow rate through a valve. Condensate load from compressed air. Black iron piping black iron schedule 40 piping in compressed air systems is commonly used due to price and durability.

The most overlooked idea in piping layout and design is air velocity. Pressure loss through piping. Pipe sizing by pressure loss. Compressed air pipe size table.

Piping systems more than five years old have been shown to exhibit leaks of up to 25 percent yet many facilities are slow to upgrade equipment to the latest technology. Look up your compressors maximum flow rate in the left column. Keep these five factors in mind when designing your compressed air piping system to help minimize risk of dirty or poorly pressurized air. May 15th 2020 at.

Ambient air s impact on compressed air system performance 2 part of the scope of this paper. In a piping system where a feed line of compressed air is trying to feed into another air line the turbulence caused by a 90 entry can cause a 3 to 5 psi pressure loss which increases the operating costs. Pipe diameters of 3. Now measure or calculate the total length of your compressed air pipes and look it up in the top row.

Saturated humid air table. Now instead of giving you complicated formulas to calculate the pressure drop here is a simple table that will answer all your pipe sizing questions. Owners of compressed air piping systems tend to focus on the compressor and think of the piping as less of a concern. It is used to do work by producing linear motion and actuation through a piston and cylinder or adiaphragm forair actuated valves doors dampers brakes andso forth atomizing.

Air flow rate through piping.