FAD Appl note Total 6 pages : 1 of 6

Computation of the FAD (Free Air Delivery) of a Compressor using the

Krohne Vortex FAD Meter Model VFM5090 FAD.


Brief Description of the FAD of a COMPRESSOR

Although FAD stands for Free Air Delivery, it is the amount of Atmospheric Air
(Free Air) that can be sucked in by the Compressor at inlet conditions( Suction Side ) of









Atmospheric Pressure at 1 atmosphere.
Atmospheric Temperature at 20C/15C.
Relative Humidity at 0% (100% Dry Air) &
The motor RPM at 100% of its rated value

The Krohne Vortex FAD meter VFM 5090 FAD is installed at the outlet
(Discharge Side ) of the compressor, where the

Operating pressure is typically 7 to 10 Bar (g).
Operating temperature may be close to 35-40C or higher (in case of no after cooler)
Relative humidity is 70% to 100% &
The RPM of the Motor Shaft may be 80% of its rated RPM value.




FAD Appl note Total 6 pages : 2 of 6


















The Krohne Vortex FAD meter VFM 5090 FAD measures the Air flow at the

Discharge Side i.e. V
(op)
, P
(op)
, & T
(op)


and compensates for the same at the

Suction Side i.e. V
(nor)
, P
(nor)
& T
(nor)
, RH at the Inlet & actual RPM



READ ON to Understand HOW the Krohne Vortex FAD meter
VFM 5090 FAD does so
















FAD Appl note Total 6 pages : 3 of 6


AIM

To Compute the FAD Free Air Delivery of the Compressor

To do this, we need to ESTABLISH a relationship between the
MASS of Free Air Q
m ( Inlet )
being taken in or sucked by the Compressor

and

the MASS of Air Q
m ( Outlet )
being delivered at the Outlet of the Compressor


To do so, we need to carry out a MASS BALANCE of the Air at the
Inlet to that at the Outlet
MASS of Free Air Q
m ( Inlet )
MASS of Air Q
m ( Outlet )


The Krohne Vortex FAD meter VFM 5090 FAD is installed at the Outlet & we
first need to compute the MASS of Air Q
m ( Outlet )
at the Outlet.

MASS of Air Q
m ( Outlet )
= V
(op) *
r
( op )


The Krohne Vortex VFM 5090 FAD measures the Operating Flow V
(op)
, while

the Density operating r
( op )
is a function of
Operating Pressure P
(op)
& and Operating Temperature T
(op)
- the Krohne
Vortex FAD meter VFM 5090 FAD has a PT 219 Pressure Sensor &
PT 1000 Temperature Sensor built in, to continuously monitor the same.
Molecular Weight of the gas ( built into the software of the FAD meter )
Real gas constant R .
Compressibility factor Z
( op )
Correction and
Wet gas mixture computation (to accommodate Relative Humidity changes)

Thus using the GAS LAWS the Density operating r
( op )
is computed.

P
(op)
* V
(op)
= n * R * T (op) * Z ( op )

V
(op
= Mass & n = Mass
Density operating r
( op )
Mol Wt. of the wet gas

Rearranging, we get

Density operating r
( op)
= P
(op)
* Mol Wt. of wet gas
R * T
(op)
* Z
(op)

FAD Appl note Total 6 pages : 4 of 6

In the above equation, the Compressibility factor Z
(op)
is computed using the
Redlich Kwonk equation and needs to be corrected for, as the error can be close to
0.4% for Air at an operating pressure of 10Bar (g)

&

the Relative Humidity factor is corrected for , as the error at 70 % RH & 100 % RH can
be - 4.0 % & - 5.6 % respectively.


Now, the MASS of Air Q
m ( Outlet )
at the Outlet can be computed using the equation.

MASS of Air Q
m ( Outlet )
= Volumetric Flowrate V
(op) *
Density operating P
( op )


Since, the

MASS of Air at the INLET =

MASS of Air at the Outlet

MASS of Free Air Q
m ( Inlet
) =

MASS of Air Q
m ( Outlet )


V
( nor ) ( Inlet )
= Q
m ( Outlet )

Density Normal r
( nor ) Inlet


Similarly , the Inlet Density r
( nor ) Inlet
, like the Density operating r
( op)
, is a function of



Relative Humidity ,
Compressibility factor Z
Temperature &, Pressure at the Inlet Conditions & can be computed.

V
( nor ) ( Inlet )
is the amount of FREE AIR being sucked in by the compressor


V
( FAD ) ( actual )
= V
( nor ) ( Inlet
* RPM rated
RPM specified


Compare the V
( FAD ) ( actual )
against the value given by the Compressor
manufacturer V
( FAD ) ( specified )


The Krohne Vortex FAD meter VFM 5090 FAD is the
Ultimate in Performance

FAD Appl note Total 6 pages : 5 of 6

Power Cost of Compressed Air


Every Compressor manufacturer specifies the FAD of the Compressor vis a vis the KWh
Rating of the Motor ( Refer the Table on the following page )

As per the Table




1474 cfm Compressor requires a 275 KWh motor

1474 * 60 cubic feet of Air ( Free Air ) require 275 KWh Power per hour

Therefore ,
Cost of 88,500 ( 1474 * 60 ) cubic feet per hour of Air ( Free Air ) is
275 * Rs 3/- ( 1 KWh costs Rs 3/- )

88,500 cubic feet of Air ( Free Air ) costs 82,500 paise


1 cubic feet of Air ( Free Air ) costs approx 0.95 paise


Very simple to compute the Monthly Bill of your compressor
Example : Your s is a 2,340 cfm ( Free Air ) Compressor

then, your Monthly Electricity Bill is

In Rupees = 2,340 * 0.95 * 60 * 24 * 30 / 100
= Rs 9,36, 000 /-
= Rs 1, 15, 24, 000 /- per Year
= approx Rs 1 Crore 15 Lacs per year



An Investment of close to 1% of this 1 Crore 15 Lacs is worth investing
to monitor this 1 Crore 15 Lacs



FAD Appl note Total 6 pages : 6 of 6












This is not cfm or m
3
/min., because it is at Reference
Conditions of
1 Atm & 20
0
C

It is therefore S cfm or N m
3
/min.

Customers also use the WRONG TERMINOLOGY and we do
the incorrect sizing in turn.