Fundamentals to frontiers

Expansion tanks
By WILLIAM J. COAD
The fundamental components of a
hydronic system a r e the heat
source, load, circulator, piping, and
expansion tank. Strangly enough,
the most complex device of the five
is probably the one that would ap-
pear to be the least complicated -
the expansion tank. Considering the
fundamentals, the expansion tank
serves a dual purpose. It allows for
the volumetric changes in the flu-
id, resulting from temperature
changes, to occur between planned
pressure limits; and it establishes
the point of constant or known pres-
sure in the system. In many cases.
the tank serves the additional pur-
pose of being an integral part of the
air control subsystem.
It appears that very little has
been published regarding the design
afid sizing of a closed expansion
tank since the article "Compression
Tank Selection for Hot Watet Heat-
ing Systems," by H. A. Lockhart
and 6 . F. Carlson, appeared in the
A S H R A E Journal Section of
Hecrtir~glPi~~rngiAir Co~lditioilingin
April 1953! Yet, since that time,
there have been immense strides in
the application of hydronic sys-
tems.
The correct sizing of expansion
tanks is becoming ever more critical
as larger volume systems are being
employed. Not only are large vol-
umes a result of large capacity sys-
tems, but they are also an integral
part of solar systems and other
power conserving systems that
utillze thermal storage through liq-
uid phase temperature changes. The
very important observation made in
the article cited above was that the
sizing of a tank relates not only to
the volume of water in the system,
the temperature limits, and the
pressure limits, but also t o how the
trulk is dc~sigi7rdi t ~ t ot l ~ esystrm!
The derivation of the formulas for
sizing tanks is rather fundamental if
it can be assumed that the air cush-
ion behaves as a perfect gas. For
such equations, all the necessary
values that are not established as
design parameters are readily avail-
able from any steam table. The only
complications are those relative to
how the tank is employed in the sys-
tem. As an example, if it is assumed
that the water in the tank always
remains at its initial temperature,
that compression and expansion of
the air in the tank are isothermal,
and that the air in the tank was ini-
tially compressed from atmospheric
pressure in the tank, Equation 1 (see
table) can be readily derived. Thus,
if a designer uses this equation and
anticipates the system performance
to be in accordance with his design,

Equations f o r expansion t a n k siztng

-- -- -- - - - - - -- - --- --
Equation Example tank
No Equation Assumptions size gal
Air compresses isothermally ( t l )
* Water in tank is at temperature tl
Initial air charge is atmospheric

Air comDresses isothermallv it11

V liv2 v1 1) - 3ult1
2 v = .- -L - --- * Water in tank is at temperature t 2
lo,lp, - P,,/Pz)- (vzIv1 I ) (I - p JP,)
lnit~alair charge IS atmospheric

Air compresses isothermally ( t ~ )

Initial air charge is at pressure pl

where, with volumes in consistent units:

V,, = volume of water in system t2 - highertemperature F
(piping heat exchangers etc )'
V, - volume of expansion tank
vl
v2 -
speciftc volume of water at temperature t l

specific volume of water at temperature t7

p,, - atmospher~cpressure psia
(2 - linear coefficient of thermal expansion 1 deg F
pl - pressure at lower temperature, psia
St hignei temperature minus lower teiriperature F
p2 pressure at higher temperature psia

tl lower temperature F

*At t , and not including water in the tank

Fundamentals to frontiers
he must take all possible steps to
asbure that his design will satisfy the
assumptions. This might include
leaving the tank uninsulated and in-
stalled in such a way that thermal
circulation between the piping and
the tank will be minimal.
If, on the other hand, the assump-
tions are that the initial charge of
water in the tank changes tempera-
ture with the main volume of water,
that the air in the tank is at its initial
charge temperature and compresses
and expands isothermally, and that
the air in the tank was initially com-
pressed in the tank from atmos-
pheric pressure, Equation 2 re-
sults. The equation becomes a bit
more complex if the air in the tank is
assumed to increase in temperature
with the liquid (it must be remem-
bered that the total pressure of the
gas in the tank is the sum of the
partial pressures of the air and water
vapor and that a saturated condition
always exists). Although not totally
accurate, this equation would be a
fair approximation of the condition
where a portion of a thermal storage
tank is used to provide the expan-
sion cushion.
If the initial air charge in the tank
is not compressed from atmos-
pheric pressure in the tank itself
but rather is forced into the tank at a
design operating pressure (either
from a compressed air system or as
with a precharged diaphragm type
tank) and the air is assumed to com-
press and expand isothermally,
Equation 3 results. The significance
of recognizing the differences in
these assumptions can be illustrated
with an example. Assume that a sys-
tem contains 10,000 gal of water,
has a fill pressure of 15 psig at the
tank with a maximum limit set at 25
psig, and is designed to operate over
a temperature range of 70 F (fill) to
220 F.
The calculated tank sizes for the
three different conditions are shown
in t h e table along with the
equations. The differences among
these sizes are seen to be signifi-
cant, indicating that in the selection
of the tank, the designer must:
1) Determine what operating as-
sumptions are to be employed in
selecting the tank sizing equation.
2 ) Design the system to achieve
the assumed conditions as closely
as possible.
From the standpoints of ther-
modynamics and hydraulics, these
equations can be used to size ex-
pansion tanks with an equal degree
of accuracy for heating water sys-
tems, chilled water systems, and
dual temperature systems. When a
tank with a liquid-gas interface is
used in a chilled water system,
however, unless extreme pre-
cautions are taken there is a con-
tinual pumping effect that removes
air from the tank by absorption in
the water, thus causing the small
tanks designed by these relation-
ships to water log frequently. One
option is to provide oversized tanks
t o minimize t h e frequency of
needed air charging; another is to
design such systems to prevent the
absorption phenomenon, which has
numerous other detrimental effects
on system performance. R
O n this page errch m o n t h , the airrhor
shares his engineering philosophy by explor-
ing ( I wide vurieiy o f topics ranging ,from
.fzrndamentals to new frontier:, , ns tliey relate
t o bitilding rnvirorimental s y s t e m s . MI..
Cond is vice president o f Charles J . R .
McClrtre & Associates cind qffiliuie prcges-
sor. of ~nechnnicalengineering at Washing-
rorr Unii,ettriiy, St. Lo~ris,1Mo.
HeatingIPipinglAir Conditioning, May 1980