13.4 Water Supply Pipe Design Methods Handout

Republic of the Philippines
CAMARINES NORTE STATE COLLEGE

F. Pimentel Avenue, Brgy. 2, Daet, Camarines Norte – 4600, Philippines
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
ENGINEERING UTILITIES 2
13.4 WATER SUPPLY PIPE DESIGN METHODS
Flow Rates  The design load is typically expressed in gpm,
 the volume of fluid each second that is passing L/min or L/s.
through a cross-sectional slice of the pipe,
which is shown in the figure as a dotted circle. The design load of a pipe serving a group of
plumbing fixtures or for the total fixtures
installed on a project will depend not only on
Q = vA the number and type of fixtures installed
but on the operation of the fixtures.
Q = Flow Rate (volume per minute)
v = fluid speed METHOD 1: SIMPLE EMPIRICAL DESIGN METHOD
A = the pipe's cross-sectional area  Piping is sized with rules of thumb based on
observation and experience.
 It will vary by type of fixture and water
pressure at the fixture.  The empirical approach is used in design of
plumbing systems for residences and similar
 Each fixture in a plumbing system is designed buildings with simple plumbing system.
to operate at a specific flow rate, expressed
in:  Typically, a qualified plumber does design
 gallons per minute (gpm) during rough-in of the piping.
 liters per second (L/s)
 liters per minute (L/min) of flow.  This approach can lead to system problems in
complex piping arrangements.
 Residual water pressure (pressure available
at the outlet before a fixture) affects the flow FIXTURE UNIT
rate of a fixture. A higher residual pressure
 A method of estimating the design load for a
results in a greater flow rate and thus more
group of plumbing fixtures is typically based
water consumption.
Water Consumption on a quantity called the fixture unit.
 Water use in many homes is lowest from  The fixture unit is an arbitrarily chosen
about midnight to 5 AM, averaging less than
measure that allows all types of plumbing
one gallon per person per hour. Use climbs
fixtures to be expressed in common terms;
sharply in the morning around 6 AM, to about
3 gallons per person per hour. During the day, that is, a fixture having twice the instantaneous
water use drops off moderately and rises flow rate of a second fixture would have a
again in the early evening hours. Weekly peak fixture unit value twice as large.
flows may occur in some homes on
weekends, especially when all adults work  The sole purpose of the fixture unit concept is
during the week. to make it possible to calculate the design
load on a system composed of different types
 Peak flow rate measures maximum water of fixtures, each having different flow rates.
flow.
 Fixture unit values are assigned to the
 Peak flows at retail stores and other different types of plumbing fixtures.
businesses typically occur during business  The total number of fixture units is then used
hours. Peak flow occurs during meal times at
to establish the maximum probable water
restaurants. Rental properties, resorts, and
commercial establishments in tourist areas supply load and drainage load.
typically have flow rates that vary by season.  Dr. Roy Hunter of the National Bureau of
Water Demand
Standards (now the National Institute of
 The instantaneous peak demand for water
Standards and Technology, NIST) developed
in a pipe serving a number of plumbing fixtures
or serving an entire building is referred to as this method over a half century ago and it still
the design load. serves as the basis for estimating the design
 The design load is the maximum probable or load of a plumbing system.
peak instantaneous demand for domestic
 The Hunter method assigns a water supply
water by a group of fixtures.
fixture unit to each fixture.
 The water supply fixture unit (WSFU) is a
probability factor that represents each fixture
connected to the water supply system and
used to determine the total use of water within
a given system.
 The fixture unit value for fixtures having both

cold and hot water connections are taken as
three-quarters (3⁄4) of the listed total value
of the fixture.
METHOD 2: WSFU DESIGN TABLE METHOD
METHOD 4: EQUAL FRICTION DESIGN METHOD
 A more accurate approach to sizing the pipe

diameter in a complex network of pipes is the
equal friction design method.
 In this design method, it is necessary to

determine the total pressure drop required
between the water service and the fixture and
equate this to a pressure drop per 100 ft over
the equivalent length of pipe.
 Pressure available at the water service minus

pressure head and desired pressure at a
METHOD 3: VELOCITY DESIGN METHOD
fixture determines the desired pressure drop.
 The velocity design method entails
 This method is more complex and more
selecting the smallest pipe diameter without
accurate, but usually requires several
exceeding a pre-established maximum velocity
iterations before pipe diameters are selected.
for the demand load in the pipe.
 Sizing the piping using the equal friction
 It works well in preliminary design of a
design method requires several iterations.
plumbing system provided system layout is
Often, it is a matter of trial and error, even for
reasonably symmetrical.
experienced engineers; the process involves
 This method does require an investigation of first selecting a pipe size for the building main,
pressure loss to ensure that the residual which runs from the water system to the
pressure at the most remote fixture is riser(s), and then determining the friction loss
adequate. for the pipe used from the charts in Figures
13.6 and 13.7. The chart used will depend on
the type of pipe roughness (material).
 To make a pipe selection for a specific
condition using the equal friction design
method:
1. Find the volumetric flow rate along the
side of the chart.
2. Move horizontally across the chart to

the pipe diameters and, for specific
nominal diameters, note associated
pressure drops and velocities.
3. Select a pipe diameter having the

desired pressure drop (including fittings)
without exceeding the velocity limitation
requirements.

13.4 Water Supply Pipe Design Methods Handout

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Republic of the Philippines

CAMARINES NORTE STATE COLLEGE

 The fixture unit value for fixtures having both

METHOD 2: WSFU DESIGN TABLE METHOD

METHOD 4: EQUAL FRICTION DESIGN METHOD

 A more accurate approach to sizing the pipe

 In this design method, it is necessary to

 Pressure available at the water service minus

2. Move horizontally across the chart to

3. Select a pipe diameter having the

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