Pumping glycol solutions in the HVAC industry
- Systecon Inc., West Chester, OH (United States)
Ethylene and propylene glycols are used in heating, ventilating, and airconditioning (HVAC) water systems for operations that can occur below the freezing point of pure water. Typical applications are for generating ice storage and preventing freezing in coils that are exposed to outside air. The type of glycol and the percentage of solution to be used are decisions that are made by the designer of the water system utilizing the glycols. The purpose of this paper is to (1) present the basic procedures required for the selection of piping and pumps for the glycol that has been selected for a particular water system and (2) to demonstrate the effect that the specific gravity and the viscosity of the glycol solution can have on pipe friction and pump performance. Although much of this information has been presented in other ASHRAE technical documents, it is repeated here in the hopes that a relatively simple procedure will be provided for determining the effect of glycol solution viscosity and specific gravity upon piping design and pump operation. A brief review will be made of a glycol`s characteristics followed by the procedures for calculation of piping friction for a glycol system and computation of pump performance. Review also will be made of the use of variable-speed pumping on glycol systems. All of the information will be based upon ethylene glycol; similar data and calculations could be generated for propylene glycol.
- OSTI ID:
- 349981
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-970668-; TRN: IM9925%%132
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) annual meeting, Boston, MA (United States), 28 Jun - 2 Jul 1997; Other Information: PBD: 1997; Related Information: Is Part Of ASHRAE transactions: Technical and symposium papers, 1997. Volume 103, Part 2; PB: 1072 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Inhibited ethylene and propylene glycols for corrosion and freeze protection in water-based HVAC systems
Producing Light Oil from a Frozen Reservoir: Reservoir and Fluid Characterization of Umiat Field, National Petroleum Reserve, Alaska