Distribution system

Consider the hot water distributive system which consists of an insulated cylindrical tank and an insulated
pipe network.

Assumption:

1. Tank is cylindrical with a flat lid and bottom.

2. Pipe is considered as whole length and fitting losses are not included.
3. Pipe and tank are in free Air.
4. Radiation heat loss was considered negligible.
5. Tank is completely full of hot water.
6.

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 1. Heat loss in tank

 Heat loss through tank wall

Consider the cross-section of the cylindrical tank below.

Where:

r 1= Inner tank radius

r 2= Outer tank radius

r 3= Outer radius of insulation

The tank wall resistance is calculated as follows:

r r
R1=R Conv, i=
1
h1 ( 2 π r 1 H ) R2=R Cond ,T =
()
ln 2
r1
R =R Cond , I =
()
ln 3
r 2 R4 =RConv ,o =
1
h2 (2 π r 3 H )
2 π k1 H 3 2π k2H

Where h1is the heat transfer coefficient of water with the tank wall in W/m 2.K and h2 is the heat transfer
coefficient of air to the external surface of the insulation in W/m 2.K, k 1is the thermal conductivity in tank
wall in W/m.K, k 2is the thermal conductivity of the insulation in W/m.K, H is the height of tank and R
corresponds to the thermal resistance in K/W.

Therefore,

2
 Rtotal , tank wall =R1 + R2 + R3 + R4

Heat loss through the tank wall is calculated as follows:

T water −T outdoor
Qtotal ,tank wall=
Rtotal , tank wall

Where Q total, tank wall is the heat loss through the tank wall.

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  Heat loss through tank lid and bottom
The tank lid and bottom resistance is considered to be similar and is calculated as follows:

1 r 2−r 1 r 3−r 2 1
R5=R Conv = 2
R 6 =R Cond ,T = R 7 =R Cond , I = R7 =R Cond , I =
h1 ( π r 1 ) 2
k1 ( π r1 ) 2
k2 ( π r1 ) h2 ( π r 21 )

Therefore,

Rtotal , tank lid∨bottom=R 5+ R 6+ R 7 + R8

Heat loss rate for through the tank lid and bottom is calculated as follows:

T water −T outdoor
Qtank lid∧bottom=2 ×
[ Rtotal ,tank lid∨bottom ]
The total heat loss through the tank is:

Qtank =Qtotal ,tank wall +Qtank lid∧bottom

2. Heat loss through piping system

Consider the cross section of the pipe below.

4
Where:

r 4 = Inner pipe radius in m

r 5= Outer pipe radius in m

r 6 = Outer radius of insulation in m

Calculate the thermal resistance of pipe

r r
R9 =R Conv ,i=
1
h3 ( 2 π r 4 L ) R10=RCond , P=
( )
ln 5
r4
R =RCond , I =
ln 6
( )
r 5 R12=RConv , o=
1
h2 (2 π r 6 L)
2 π k 3 L 11 2 π k4 L

Where h3 is the heat transfer coefficient of water and the pipe internal surface in W/m 2.K and
h 4is for insulation of pipe, k 3is the thermal conductivity of pipe wall in W/m.K, k 4is for the pipe
insulation in W/m.K, L is the length of pipe in m, R corresponds to the thermal resistance in
K/W

Note that h2 in R12 varies in the function of the pipe location that is whether in free air, soil, or concrete.

Therefore,

Rtotal , pipe =R 9 + R10+ R11 + R12

Heat loss rate for through the pipe is calculated as follows:

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 T water −T outdoor
Q pipe=
[ RTotalPipe
]
The total heat loss through the whole system is Q T

QTotal system =Qtank +Q pipe

Where,

Q Total system is in W

Calculate heat dissipation over a specific amount of time,

Q Total system ×t
Q system =
Total
time 1000

Where,

Q system is in kWh and t is the time for heat dissipation in hours

Total
time

3. Energy stored in heated water

Thermal energy store in the hot water is calculated as follows:

E=mC p ∆ T

Where

E = Energy in kJ

cp = Specific heat of water (kJ/kgoC (4.2 kJ/kgoC for water)

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 ∆ T = Temperature difference between the hot water and outdoor temperature

m = mass of water in kg

Therefore

E water ,kJ =m × 4.2×(T water−T outdoor )

Convert the energy in J to kWh

1
E water=E water , kJ ×
3600

Where:

E water in kWh

4. Thermal efficiency of the system

The thermal efficiency of the piping and the storage system is calculated as follows:

Ewater −Q
η= [ E water
Total
system
time
] ×10 0