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INFORMATION PACK
Pipe work and system layout
There are several factors that influence the design of piping:
Overall type of refrigeration system Pressure loss in general Pressure loss in vertical piping Oil drainage and return Circulation rates Controls Refrigerant High pressure liquid distribution systems, where the liquid is led to the evaporators directly from the condenser or high pressure receiver. These are normally direct expansion systems (DX) and are most commonly used in smaller cold stores not utilizing R717. Secondary refrigerant systems where the distribution system is designed for a media normally based on water. These systems are described in a different information pack. Generally pump circulated systems are used when the capacity is high and the pipe work is large and where many different evaporators are served by a central refrigeration unit. Further a separate pipe system for defrosting can be present based on Hot gas at discharge pressure Warm liquid, typically in secondary

Designing pipe systems for cold stores is a trade between investment and running cost.

Many decisions and compromises are made when designing and dimensioning the pipe system for a cold store. This information pack describes some important issues that influence the energy bill. In general terms at same load larger pipe diameters have a lower pressure drop but higher installation cost (incl. insulation). For some piping the service dictates the dimensioning.

Overall type of distribution system

There are three overall common types of distributions systems: Pump circulated systems: A low pressure liquid distribution systems which normally requires a refrigerant pump to pump the cold refrigerant from the central refrigeration unit to the evaporators. This type is typically utilizing R717 (NH3) as refrigerant and used in large capacity systems.

systems

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The diagrams show the increase in energy consumption versus pressure loss and temperature change. Further description in the right column.
Extra energy consumption caused by pressure loss in suction line
4,0% 3,5% 3,0%
Motor efficiency : 0,9 Isentropic efficiency: 0,7 Condensing temperature: 35 C Constant cooling load

Pressure loss in general

Transporting a primary or secondary refrigerant from the refrigeration unit to the evaporator and back to the unit involves a pressure loss which can be calculated as:
p 0.5 c2 ( L) di

Pref

Ppum p COP

Pressure loss suction side

The refrigeration unit is controlled so that it can maintain a preset temperature in the cold store. In practice this is done by controlling the evaporation pressure in the evaporator(s) or by activating additional evaporators. For small variations in working pressures the power consumption of the refrigeration unit is approximately proportional with the pressure ratio between the discharge pressure and the suction pressure:
ref p disch p suct

[ kWh/kPa]

2,5% 2,0% 1,5% 1,0% 0,5% 0,0% -50 -40 -30 -20 -10 Evaporation temperature [ C] 0

R717
R134a

From the equation it is clear that the pressure loss is depending on the flow velocity squared, and proportional to the density, friction losses and pipe lengths. The pressure loss has direct and indirect influence on the energy consumption.

Extra energy consumption caused by decreased evaporation temperature

4,0% 3,5% 3,0%

Pref

ref q ref ref

[ kWh/k]

2,5% 2,0% 1,5% 1,0% 0,5% 0,0% -50

Motor efficiency : 0,9 Isentropic efficiency: 0,7 Condensing temperature: 35 C Constant cooling load

Direct energy consumption.

R717 R134a

So if a certain pressure is required in the If the primary or secondary refrigerant is pumped through the pipes to the evaporator
0

evaporator in order to maintain a preset temperature in the cold room the suction pressure at the compressure have to be lower as a consequence of the pressure loss in the pipe system:
psuct pevap psuctionlin e

-40

-30 -20 -10 Evaporation temperature [ C]

Extra energy consumption caused by decreased evaporation temperature

9.000

and back the pump itself require energy which is often neglected when calculating the energy consumption of the entire refrigeration system and COP. The required pump power is calculated as:
Ppum p q ptot
pum p

8.000
7.000 6.000 5.000 4.000 3.000 2.000
Motor efficiency : 0,9 Isentropic efficiency: 0,7 Condensing temperature: 35 C Constant cooling load of 100 kW Operation period: 5000 h/Year

[ kWh/k/Year]

R717 R134a

In the world of refrigeration there is a tendency to express pressures as the corresponding saturated temperature of the refrigerant. This is also the case for pressure drops and as a rough rule of thumb 1C pressure drop

1.000
0

-50

-40

-30 -20 -10 Evaporation temperature [ C]

Energy consumption caused by pressure loss on the high pressure side

4,0% 3,5%
[ kWh/kPa]
Motor efficiency : 0,9 Isentropic efficiency: 0,7 Evaporation temperature: -20 C

The direct pump power can easily make up 10 % of the total energy consumption of the entire refrigeration system in commercial type systems.

Indirect energy consumption.

The piping pressure drop courses an indirect energy consumption in two ways: Heating by the pump

on the suction or discharge side results in 2-4% higher power consumption for the compressor.
An example is shown in the left column for two systems for 100kW cooling load and the same service conditions utilizing R717 and R134a respectively.

3,0% 2,5% 2,0% 1,5% 1,0% 0,5% 0,0% 10 15

R717

R134a

20 25 30 35 Condensing temperature [ C]

40

45

Lowering the suction pressure of the compressor The direct energy consumption of the pump ends up as heat in the refrigerant which the refrigeration unit must cool.The shaft power for open type pumps) and total electrical

Pressure loss suction side

The first two diagrams show the percentage increase in energy consumption for the refrigeration systems at 35C condensing pressure only caused by the suction line pressure loss at different evaporating temperatures. Both diagrams show the percentage change, but the actual increase in kWh is higher at low temperatures. This is illustrated in the third diagram. Similar curves can be made for other relevant refrigerants.

Energy consumption caused by increased condensing temperature

4,0% 3,5% 3,0%
[ kWh/k]

2,5% 2,0% 1,5%

1,0% 0,5% 0,0% 10
Motor efficiency : 0,9 Isentropic efficiency: 0,7 Evaporation temperature: -20 C

R717 R134a

15

20 25 30 35 Condensing temperature [ C]

40

45

consumption for semi hermetic pumps Depending on the efficiency and the operation conditions of the refrigeration unit the direct pump power influence the power consumption of the refrigeration unit in the following relation:

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Pressure loss discharge side
The hot gas leaving the compressor is led to a desuperheater (for heat recovery) or directly to the condenser. The pressure loss on this side of the compressor also causes some extra energy. The fourth and fifth diagram shows the relation similar to the diagram above. and liquid refrigerant will not be carried along. In that case a liquid column with vapor bubbles will build up creating a static pressure loss. In other words the riser has to be designed for the specific cooling load (vapor amount) in order to minimize the pressure drop. This also implies that for a given load a specific pipe size is optimal. This again means that the design has to be carefully examined by experienced personnel when operating evaporators at part load. In the case it is possible to install double risers, but the design is out of the scope of this info pack. The impact by the riser pressure drop is the same as already explained: In order to maintain the right evaporator performance and cold store temperature the refrigeration compressor will operate at a lower suction pressure which cost extra energy. An example: For too large riser the potential static pressure is depending on the refrigerant density. For R717 the static pressure loss of pure liquid is 6,4 KPa/m which cost approximately 6400 kWh/year (@ -30 C, 5000 h/year, P_e = 100 kW). Vertical piping for two-phase refrigerant flow (riser) Vapor lines (suction lines) for transportation of lubricant oil back to the compressor Often the refrigerant distribution system (pipes) is placed outside on the roof of the cold store or along the ceiling in order to optimize the logistics in cold store and in large systems to make easy access the valves. In pump circulated systems more liquid refrigerant is fed to the evaporator that evaporated (circulation rate > 1) and more or less liquid has to flow along the vapor against gravity in a vertical pipe, a riser. The liquid refrigerant (or oil) is to be pulled by the vapor flow: If the pipe diameter is small the vapor velocity is high and the liquid is drawn up, but the frictional pressure drop is high. If the flow velocity is too low (too large pipe diameter) oil

Mixture of liquid and gas flow in a riser

Summary
Generally the largest impacts on energy consumption are the actual evaporation and condensing temperatures where the focus should be. Secondly the pressure loss on the low pressure side is more important than the pressure loss on the high temperature side. Comparing the two diagrams it is clear that the pressure loss (in Pa) on the suction side is more important than the discharge pressure loss.

Pressure loss determined by the service of the piping

In some parts of a refrigeration installation the

Valve station in R717 system

service of the piping is dictating the sizing and thereby the pressure drop:

Oil management
Depending on the compressor type and the efficiency of the oil separation more or less lubricating oil which will as already mentioned be carried into the piping systems. The oil can be soluble or non-soluble and the management of the oil in the system has to be handled by the design of the pipe system. Soluble oils are used in DX type systems in which the oil dissolved in the liquid refrigerant has to be dragged back to the compressor by the gas flow and inclination of piping. For refrigerant systems based on ammonia (R717) as refrigerant non soluble oil is used to lubricate the compressor.

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The oil management in these systems is based on the fact that the oil is heavier than the ammonia. The systems must therefore be equipped with oil tapping valves spread around the entire system at the points where the oil concentrates. If the pipe system is not properly designed or serviced on a regular basis oil presence will
density [kg/m ] c = flow velocity [m/s] friction factor [-] L = pipe length [m] di = internal pipe diameter [m] sum of friction coefficients for bends, contractions, expansions etc. [-] Ppump = pump effect [W]
3

damage the insulation. At warmer pipes the moisture will vet the insulation. In both cases the efficiency of the insulation will be lowered resulting in higher parasitic heat.

Nomenclature
p = pressure difference [Pa] ptot = total pressure difference [Pa]

Corrosion
Water (and oxygen) has to be present in order to corrode a metal surface. Even though work in being done to keep the insulation/vapor retarder intact it is nearly impossible to keep moisture out of the insulation and thereby the pipe surface. Due to this carbon steel piping is normally coted before insulation. More information is to be found in [1].

eventually increase the pressure drop and reduce the evaporator performance, which the refrigeration unit will compensate for by decreasing the suction pressure correspondingly.

Insulation
Piping in refrigeration systems are often insulated in order to Minimize parasitic heat entering the

q = liquid flow [kg/s]

pump

system Eliminate moisture condensation on the outside and ice build up Eliminate condensation of refrigerant inside vapor lines Concerning the parasitic heat the choice of insulation thickness is like the pipe size a trade-off between installation cost (thickness) and running cost (extra power consumption for the compressor and condensator). Recommendations can be found in [1] Outside the cold store itself the refrigeration piping is often colder than the dew point of the air which has to be taken into account when choosing the type of insulation. Some type has a very low permeability for water vapor and others need to have a vapor retarder at the outside in order to avoid water vapor to penetrate and condensate inside the insulation. In both cases it is evident to keep the insulation / vapor retarder undamaged in order to keep the moisture out. On subzero piping the moisture will build up as ice inside the insulation which will further

efficiency of pump [-]

Pref = compressor effect [W] COP = Coefficient Of Performance [-]

ref

= pressure ratio compressor

pdisch = outlet pressure compressor [Pa a] psuct = suction pressure compressor [Pa a]

References
[1] AHSRAE HANDBOOK, Refrigeration, 2010 ISBN 978-1-933742-82-3

The work associated with this information pack has been carried out in accordance with the highest academic standards and reasonable endeavours have been made to achieve the degree of reliability and accuracy appropriate to work of this kind. However, the ICE-E project does not have control over the use to which the results of this work may be put by the Company and the Company will therefore be deemed to have satisfied itself in every respect as to the suitability and fitness of the work for any par ticular purpose or application. In no circumstances will the ICE-E project, its servants or agents accept liability however caused arising from any error or inaccuracy in any operation, advice or report arising from this work, nor from any resulting damage, loss, expenses or claim. ICE-E 2012

For more information, please contact: Lars Reinholdt (lre@teknologisk.dk)