Dr.
Vishwanath Karad
MIT WORLD PEACE UNIVERSITY, PUNE
SCHOOL OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
HYDRAULICS & PNEUMATICS LABORATORY MANUAL
Experiment No. Date:
DESIGN OF AIR DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM
AIM: To design an air distribution in a pneumatic system.
THEORY
Compressed air is an efficient source of energy provided that its production, treatment and distribution
components are perfectly matched with one another. Moreover, correct system design and appropriate sizing and
installation of the air distribution network are also essential.
AIR COMPRESSORS
Air compressor used for generation of compressed air is selected on the basis of desired delivery pressure and
flow rate. The following types of compressors are used depending the required flow rate of air and maximum
delivery pressure
Piston type or Reciprocating Compressors
Rotary type compressors- Vane type or Screw type
Centrifugal type compressors
Axial flow type compressor
Piston Type –Reciprocating Compressor
Reciprocating Compressors are preferred for delivery pressure up to 8 bar with relatively low flow rate. Single or
Two stage compression with inter-cooling between stages is commonly used for air flow rate up to 20,000 cubic
meters.
Diaphragm Compressor
Compression takes place in the space separated by the diaphragm .The main advantage of this compressors is, it
can produce totally oil free compressed air. Suitable for Food and Pharmaceutical industries.
Screw Compressor
Screw compressor are used for moderate flow rates and moderate pressures up to 8 bar and flow rates up to 15,000
cubic meters. It has greatest advantage of noise free operation compared to piston type compressors as well as
low energy consumption.
Vane Compressor
It is a rotary compressor suitable for moderate pressure ratio and moderate flow rates.
Centrifugal Compressor
Centrifugal compressors are ideally suited for large flow rates and low pressure ratio of around 4 per stage. Used
only in large installation.
COMPRESSED AIR DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM
Fig.1: Compressed air system components
Compressed air distribution has the job of transporting the energy carrier compressed air with as little impact as
possible on the
Air quality (owing to rust, water, welding scale etc.),
flow pressure (owing to uneconomical pressure losses) and
Quantity (owing to unnecessarily large leaks).
Each compressed air consumer in the network requires a specific optimal operating pressure. If the operating
pressure is too low, e.g. caused by too narrow tube cross sections, the performance of the consumer is
disproportionately reduced. By contrast, if pressure is too high it not only pushes energy costs up unnecessarily,
it also shortens the service life of the consumers.
With an optimally designed compressed air network the drop in pressure between generation and consumer is
subdivided as follows:
< 0.03 bars for the main pipe (between compressor room/receiver and the main consumer centre)
< 0.03 bars for the loop line / distributor line (part of pipe that distributed the air within a consumer centre)
< 0.04 bars for the connection line/branch line (connection between distributor line and consumer)
The amount of the overall pressure loss depends on:
Degree of contamination and number of treatment components
Type and number of fittings
Nominal width of the compressed air piping system
DESIGNING AND INSTALLING AN AIR DISTRIBUTION NETWORK
When designing a new compressed air installation, one of the key factors to consider is whether it should
be designed as a centralized or a decentralized system. A centralized system is usually suitable for smaller and
midsized businesses, since many of the problems that occur in larger systems do not generally arise, e.g. high
installation cost, freezing of inadequately insulated external piping in winter, or increased pressure drops caused
by long sections of piping.
In order to save energy the pipe layout should be as straight and direct as possible. For instance, one can
avoid bends in laying pipe work around an obstacle by repositioning the run in a straight line alongside it. Sharp,
90° corners cause high pressure drops and should be replaced with large-radius elbows. Instead of the commonly-
used water shut-off valves, ball or butterfly valves with full through-flow bores should be used. In wet pipe work
areas, e.g. only the compressor room in the case of modern air systems, pipe connections to and from the main
line should be made from above or at least from the side. The main line should have a drop of 2 in 1000. The
possibility of connecting a condensate drain should be provided at the lowest point in this line shown in Fig.2. In
dry areas the pipeline can be horizontal with branch lines connected directly downwards.
Fig.2: Compressed air distribution system
The proper distribution of compressed air is very important to achieve good performance. Some important
requirements to be ensured are:
Piping Lay out [Open loop (Fig.3) or Closed loop (Fig.4)], Suitable number of drain valves at diagonally
opposite corners.
Piping Design [ Diameter of pipe for given flow, pressure drop, number and type of fitting and absolute
pressure-Using Nomograms]
Slope of the main horizontal header from compressor [1:20]
Take off branches from the top of horizontal headers with U or at 45 deg.
Provision of accumulator with drain cock at the bottom of all vertical headers.
Air service units connected at right angles to vertical headers.
Open Type Distribution System:
Fig.3: Open distribution system
This type of distribution can be adopted for an existing buildings layout. However the terminal pressure keeps
on reducing up to the last terminal due to pressure drop in the piping.
Closed Loop Distribution System:
Fig.4: Closed loop distribution system
Pressure drop is uniform in closed loop, the terminal pressures are the same in all the outlets. Proper planning of
layout building is required for this type of distribution system.
Fig.5 Nomograms Fig.6: Compressed air distribution system
DESIGN OF AIR DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM USING AUTOMATION STUDIO SOFTWARE
We will consider air distribution design of Main Line. With following input data we will design air distribution
system to maintain a pressure drop of 0.03 bar across the main line:
Compressor: 1200rpm, 360 LPM, 300 cub cm/rev
Pressure Relief valve: 8 bar
Line Length fixed at 150m
Flow to be Maintained approx 340 to 370 LPM
Pressure drop to be maintained <=0.03bar
Run the Simulation and observe Differential Pressure Drop on the Line
Keep changing the value of the DIAMETER of the Line till you achieve the DIFFERENTIAL
PRESSURE as <=0.03 bar.
Components Required:
Automation Studio Software – Pneumatic Library:
Pneumatic Compressor
Variable Pressure Relief Valve
Bidirectional Motor
Speed Gauge
Pressure Gauge
Flow Meter
Exhaust
Procedure:
To open the Automation Studio Software, double click on Automation Studio Software Icon.
You can adjust the working Space of the Page by Zooming in and out, by clicking on Plus sign which is
provided on the top.
Now we have to build a Pneumatic Circuit for the AIR Distribution System. On the left hand side, the
Component libraries are provided for different systems such as Hydraulic, Pneumatic, PLC, Electrical
etc.
Click on Pneumatic Module. At the bottom of the modules list, the list of commonly used components
are seen.
Now drag and Drop the following components on to the Working space as shown in following screen.
Components are Pneumatic Compressor, Pressure Relief Valve, Bidirectional Motor, Exhaust, Speed
Gauge, Pressure gauge (2 no's) and Flow Meter (2 no's).
Note: Select Speed Gauge from the Pneumatic Library -> Measuring Instruments -> Speed Sensors.
Arrange and connect all the Components as shown below. For the connection click on node of the
component and move cursor to the node of another component and click on it so that they will get
connect.
Now double click on Pneumatic Main Line, which is the line connecting the two Flow Meters.
Its Property window will open as shown below.
Click on Visual Parameters in left menu. Change Line Thickness to 15. Click on apply and close it.
Double Click on the Compressor. It's Property window will open as shown below. Click on "Displayed
Information" in the left menu.
Enable Nominal Speed, Displacement and Rated flow properties so that they will be visible on working
space. Click on apply and close it.
Adjust the properties by moving them close to the component.
Follow the same procedure for Main Line and enable the Diameter and Length Property. For Pressure
relief valve, enable Cracking Pressure Property.
Now for Air Distribution System we need the following settings:
1) Compressor: 1200rpm, 360LPMS, 300 cub cm/rev
2) Pressure Relief valve: 8 bar
3) Line Length fixed at 150m
4) Flow to be Maintained approx at 340 to 370 LPMS
5) Pressure drop to be maintained <=0.03bar
6) Run the Simulation and observe Differential Pressure Drop on the Line
7) Keep changing the value of the DIAMETER of the Line till you achieve the DIFFERENTIAL
PRESSURE as <=0.03 bar
To measure the differential Pressure, click on the "Insert Differential Dynamic Instrument".
Click on both the end nodes of Line to measure the differential pressure for Main Line. Select
"Differential Pressure" option and stability as 0.001. Click on apply and close it.
We have to maintain flow of Compressor approx 340 LPMS to 370 LPMS. So double Click on
Compressor and Click on Technical Data Property. Change the Displacement to 300cv3/rev.
On the right hand side you can see that calculated Flow is 360 LPMS. Click on Apply and close it.
We have to fix the Main Line Length to 150m. Double click on Line. Its Property window will open.
Click on Technical Data and Change the Length to 150m. Apply and close it.
Now Simulate the Circuit and see the behavior of the circuit. For proper Air Distribution Design,
Pressure Difference should be not more than 0.03 Bar.
In the Simulation you can observe that differential Pressure across the Main Line is 7.27 bar which is far greater
than 0.03 bar. Now to maintain the system we need pressure difference near about 0.03 bar and also we have to
maintain flow between 340 to 370 LPMS across the Main Line.
Now we can change the Diameter of main Line to maintain the Pressure Difference.
Double Click on Main Line and Change the Diameter to say 25mm. Apply and close the window. Start the
Simulation.
You can observe that Pressure Difference is 0.027 bar which is correct and Flow is also maintained which is
344.95 LPMS.
Now let us study the Complete Closed Air Distribution System. Open Air distribution closed loop circuit which
is provided to you.
In an optimally designed compressed air network, the pressure loss spilt into:
Less than or equal to 0.03 bar for main line.
Less than or equal to 0.03 bar for Distribution line.
Less than or equal to 0.04 bar for Connection line.
Less than or equal to 0.1 bar from the source to Equipment.
Simulate the Circuit:
In the Simulation you can observe the entire Closed loop Air Distribution System. Observe the Pressure
Difference across the Main Line, Distribution Line and Main line to Equipment connection.
Note: Due to Closed Loop Network, Second segment on the right hand side is getting air flow from both directions
of the loop.
Conclusion:
Pressure Drop across Main Line is 0.02 bar which is less than 0.03 bar.
Pressure drop across Distribution line 0.001 which is less than 0.03bar.
Pressure Drop across Source and Equipment is 0.05 bar which is less than 0.1 bar.
