ANNEXURE - IV
3-4
should be given to increasing the stack diameter
from that calculated in order to allow air move-
ment within the core of the stack, or using a
secondary ventilated stack instead of a primary
ventilated stack.
— The height of the building: the height of the building
and associated stack height will determine the
velocity of the waste water in the stack and the
likely positive and negative pressure created.
— The types of fitting that are to be used: this will have a
bearing of the flow of the waste water within the
stack with particular regard to the radius of any
offsets and turbulence from any adjoining
branches.
— Any changes in direction: changes in direction
should be avoided wherever practicable as they
generate back-pressure leading to loss of trap seal
as air is blown through the trap or, in extreme
cases, foul water being pushed back into the
building through the lowest connected appliances
on that floor.
— How the stack is to be ventilated: all discharge stacks
ideally should be ventilated to atmosphere BS EN
12056-2(27). This is the designer’s most effective
tool in balancing pressures within a discharge
stack as it will allow air out under positive
pressure situations and entrain air under negative
pressure situations. Air admittance valves will
only entrain air to relieve negative pressures and
therefore cannot be used for positive pressure
applications. The designer should also give
consideration to the location of the vent
termination so as not to be affected by the wind.
— Surcharging of the underground drain: if it is antici-
pated that the underground drainage system is
liable to surcharge, measures must be taken to
prevent foul water entering the building. This is
achieved by ensuring that there are no low-level
appliances connected and, in addition, relieving
the positive pressures generated whilst the system
is still in use during the surcharge period by
means of adequate venting.
Figure 3.1 gives an indication of the pressures generated
with a discharge stack under normal operation and the
effect on the traps connected for a multi-storey building.
3.4.4.3 Discharge stack sizing
Discharge stack sizing is achieved using the ‘discharge
unit’ method set down in BS EN 12056-2(27) for all gravity
drainage systems using the following formula:
Q ww = K ∑ (DU ) (3.1)
where Qww is the waste water design flow rate (l·s–1), K is
the frequency factor and ∑ DU is the sum of the discharge
units.
Table 2 of BS EN 12056-2 (27) gives discharge units for a
wide range of appliances and sanitary fittings in common
use for all four system types. Some values, drawn from this
table, are given in Table 3.1.
Public health and plumbing engineering
2
3
4
5
6
Legend:
1 Open to atmosphere
2 Negative pressure
3 Induced siphonage related to suction (negative pressure)
in the stack
4 Back pressure related to positive pressure in stack
5 Positive pressure
6 Typical air pressure distribution in stack with two branches
discharging
Note: Connection close to base of stack is not recommended but
is shown here to illustrate pressure effects.
Figure 3.1 Pressure effects and seal losses due to water flow in a
discharge stack (reproduced from BS EN 12056-2(27) by permission of the
British Standards Institution)
When calculating the discharge stack diameter the
designer must first establish the waste water flow rate (Q)
by selecting the most appropriate value(s) for the
appliance(s) connected to the stack from the table. Once
each connected appliance has been allocated an
appropriate value, the total number of discharge units for
each stack can then be calculated by totalling the number
of discharge units from all the connected appliances.
When the sum of the discharge units (∑ DU) has been
calculated, the designer selects an appropriate frequency
factor (K) for the type of building/development using BS
EN 12056-2, Table 3. Some values, drawn from this table,
are given in Table 3.2.
Having selected a value for the frequency factor (K) and
determined the sum of the discharge units (∑ DU), these
values can then be substituted into equation 3.1 to give the
waste water flow rate (Q) for each discharge stack.
Example
Determine the waste water flow rate for 8 apartments each
with a WC, wash basin, bath, kitchen sink and domestic
washing machine.
From Table 2 of BS EN 12056-2(27), a discharge unit (DU)
value appropriate to each appliance is selected: