Pipe sizing and pipe friction loss calculations have never been easy. Not anymore! With pocketPipe (Pipe Sizer), you can do your pipe design and sizing at anytime, anywhere...

Aim: creating a mobile design environment (ShowMe!) for the practising engineers & designers in today's mobile world.

Results: Instant solutions at your fingertips.

Highlights:

• chilled, condenser & hot water calculations (Find capacity, flowrate, dT)

• general purpose pipe sizing + pipe frictional loss rate ( Hazen-Williams or Darcy-Weisbach)

• cold pipe insulation thickness and heat gain calculation

• "save-to-file" function for printing

• in SI units only

Pipe Sizer: design explained. . .   

Pipe Sizer employs 2 options for pipe friction loss calculation, i.e., Hazen-Williams equation  or  Darcy-Weisbach equation . Darcy-Weisbach method is generally considered more accurate than Hazen-Williams method. However, Hazen-Williams method is very popular since its friction coefficient, C, is not a function of velocity or pipe diameter. It is to note that Hazen-Williams equation is only valid for water at temperature 4 - 25 oC (40 -75 oF). 

You can choose water density and pipe materials with built-in database.  

Darcy friction factor, f, is solved by  Serghide's explicit equation - an approximation of the implicit Colebrook-White equation. Serghide's solution closely mirrors Colebrook's implicit solution within 0.0031%. 

Note: pocketPipe Sizer does not calculate minor (valve and fitting) loss.

For full pipe & fittings frictional loss (pressure drop) calculations,

(a) see  Pipe_f.Loss program using Darcy equation and Hooper 2K method for a single pipe calculation.

(b) see  ePF Loop Pdrop program for multiple series pipes and a single loop ring main network using Hardy cross method, Hazen-Williams equation, Darcy-Weisbach formula, equivalent length Le method and resistance coefficient K method.

(c) also, see multiple Pipes Pressure Drop (Android) for multiple series pipes using Hazen-Williams equation, Darcy-Weisbach equation, equivalent length Le method and resistance coefficient K method. 

Calculation Example: see to believe. . .  

The following design calculations are done with pocketPipe in just a few clicks away.

Worked Example

Design/size the chilled-water pipe for an AHU of capacity 50 tons (176 KW).

Step 1: Calculate chilled-water flow rate

Capacity = 50 Ton

dT = 5.5 oC

CHW flow = 7.63 l/s

Step 2: Calculate pipe size

Flow rate = 7.63 l/s

Pipe vel = 2.1 m/s

Pipe size = 68.02 mm dia

Selected pipe = 80 mm dia

Actual vel = 1.52 m/s

Step 3: Calculate pipe friction loss

(Pipe frictional loss calculations by Darcy method)

Flow rate = 7.63 l/s

Pipe size = 80 mm dia

Density = 1000 kg/m3 (Water @ 10 oC)

Dynamic viscosity = 1.306 cP

Roughness = 0.046 mm (Steel)

Velocity = 1.52 m/s

Reynolds number = 92,982

friction factor = 0.020818

Friction loss = 0.00300 bar/m

Friction loss = 0.29980 kPa/m

Friction loss = 0.03058 m/m

Step 4: Calculate pipe insulation thickness

[1] Ambient Conditions:-

Temperature = 28 oC

RH = 76 %

Dewpoint Temp = 23.37 oC

[2] Surface Air Film:-

Outer Surface = 0.100 m2K/W

[3] Inside Pipe:-

Fluid Temp = 6.7 oC

[4] Bare Pipe:-

Outer Diameter = 88.9 mm

[5] Insulation:-

Thermal Conductivity = 0.023 W/mK

Min. Thickness = 7.70 mm

Surface Temp = 23.37 oC

---------------------------------------

Recommended min. thickness = 19.70 mm

Surface Temp = 26.10 oC  

[6] Heat Gain Calculation:-

Insulation thickness = 19.70 mm

Heat gain = 7.64 W/m run

Heat gain = 18.96 W/m2

Surface Temperature = 26.10 oC