Introduction

• After the cooling load has

been determined for the
space, a simple
psychrometric analysis can
be performed to determine
the quantity of air that must
be supplied to condition
this space, and the proper
temperature of that air.
• This analysis assumes that
the example space is served
by its own dedicated air-
conditioning system,
consisting of a cooling coil
and supply fan.
Types of ducts
1. Supply
It supplies the air into the required room (carries conditioned air)

2. Return
It carries the air back from the room to the AHU

3. Fresh
It pulls the air from outside to the air conditioner (carries fresh air)

4. Exhaust
It push the return air out of the building
HVAC Ducts 2
1

4
 Before duct design
1. Cooling load calculation
2. Convert Btu/h  cfm
3. DUCT AIR FLOW FUNDAMENTALS

nearly 0.1 pound if it were air

5
 DUCT AIR FLOW FUNDAMENTALS

AIRFLOW
EQUATION

CONTINUITY BERNOLLI FLUID TOT SYS.

EQUATION EQUATION RESISTANCE ANALYSIS

STATIC FRICTION

6
 CONTINUITY EQUATION

𝑽𝑽𝑽𝑽𝑽𝑽𝟏𝟏 = 𝑽𝑽𝑽𝑽𝑽𝑽𝟐𝟐

7
 Continuity of flow at control volume
𝑽𝑽𝑽𝑽𝑽𝑽𝒊𝒊𝒊𝒊 = 𝑽𝑽𝑽𝑽𝑽𝑽𝒐𝒐𝒐𝒐𝒐𝒐
𝑨𝑨𝟏𝟏 𝑽𝑽𝟏𝟏 = 𝑨𝑨𝟐𝟐 𝑽𝑽𝟐𝟐

100mm 140mm
4m/s 𝑉𝑉2

Find 𝑄𝑄1 and 𝑉𝑉2

8
 Continuity of flow at control volume
𝑽𝑽𝑽𝑽𝑽𝑽𝒊𝒊𝒊𝒊 = 𝑽𝑽𝑽𝑽𝑽𝑽𝒐𝒐𝒐𝒐𝒐𝒐
𝑨𝑨𝟏𝟏 𝑽𝑽𝟏𝟏 = 𝑨𝑨𝟐𝟐 𝑽𝑽𝟐𝟐 𝑄𝑄3

𝑄𝑄1
6 × 10𝑚𝑚3 /𝑠𝑠
4m/s

4 × 10𝑚𝑚3 /𝑠𝑠
Find 𝐴𝐴1 , 𝐴𝐴2 and 𝑄𝑄3 𝑄𝑄2
4m/s

9
 Continuity of flow at control volume
𝑽𝑽𝑽𝑽𝑽𝑽𝒊𝒊𝒊𝒊 = 𝑽𝑽𝑽𝑽𝑽𝑽𝒐𝒐𝒐𝒐𝒐𝒐
𝑨𝑨𝟏𝟏 𝑽𝑽𝟏𝟏 = 𝑨𝑨𝟐𝟐 𝑽𝑽𝟐𝟐 𝑄𝑄3

100mm
𝑄𝑄1
200mm
4m/s
50mm

Find 𝑄𝑄1 , 𝑄𝑄2 , 𝑄𝑄3 and 𝑉𝑉3 𝑄𝑄2

3m/s

10
BERNOLLI EQUATION
BERNOLLI EQUATION
BERNOLLI EQUATION
FLUID RESISTANCE - STATIC
FLUID RESISTANCE - FRICTION
FLUID RESISTANCE – DUCT ROUGHNESS
FLUID RESISTANCE – FRICTION CHART

17
FLUID RESISTANCE – DUCT ROUGHNESS

18
 Determine Supply Airflow
SI unit

supply sensible heat gain

=
airflow 1,210 × (room DB – supply DB)
IP unit
supply sensible heat gain
=
airflow 1.085 × (room DB – supply DB)
The quantity of air required to offset the space sensible heat gain is determined using the following formula
above; where,
• Sensible heat gain = sensible heat gain in the space, Btu/hr [W]
• [1,210] = product of density and specific heat, [J/m3•ºK]
• Supply airflow = quantity of air supplied to the space, cfm [m3/s]
• Room DB = desired space dry-bulb temperature, [ºC]
• Supply DB = supply air dry-bulb temperature, [ºC]

Remember that [1,210] is not a constant—it is derived from the density and specific heat of the air at actual
conditions.
 Determine Supply Airflow
• The next step is to either assume the supply air dry-bulb
temperature and calculate the supply airflow, or assume the
supply airflow and calculate the supply air temperature.

• For our example, we will assume that the supply air dry-bulb
temperature is 55ºF [12.8ºC]. Based on this assumption, the
quantity of air required to offset the sensible heat gain in this
space is 2,990 cfm [1.40 m3/s].

supply 21,623
airflow = = 1.40 m3/s
1,210 × (25.6 – 12.8)
• The rest of the analysis will fine-tune this assumption.
 Commonly used duct design methods:

• Figure 38.1 shows the schematic of

a typical supply air duct layout.
• As shown in the figure, supply air
from the fan is distributed to five
outlets (1 to 5), which are located in
five different conditioned zones.
• The letters A to I denote the
portions of the duct to different
outlets.
• Thus A-B is the duct running from
the supply air fan to zone 1, A-B-C is
the duct running from supply fan to
conditioned zone and so on.
• These are known as duct runs. The
run with the highest pressure drop
is called as the index run.
•
 Commonly used duct design methods:

• From load and psychrometric

calculations the required supply airflow
rates to each conditioned space are
known.
• From the building layout and the
location of the supply fan, the length of
each duct run is known.
• The purpose of the duct design is to
select suitable dimensions of duct for
each run and then to select a fan, which
can provide the required supply airflow
rate to each conditioned zone.
• Due to the several issues involved, the
design of an air conditioning duct
system in large buildings could be a
sophisticated operation requiring the
use of Computer Aided Design (CAD)
software.
 Commonly used duct design methods:

• However, the following methods are most commonly used for

simpler lay-outs
• 1. Velocity method
• 2. Equal Friction Method
• 3. Static Regain method
DUCT DESIGN METHODS COMPARISON

24
25
We’re going to focus on the equal friction method in this example
as it’s the most common method used for commercial HVAC systems
and its fairly simple to follow.

26
27
28
 DUCT DESIGN PROCEDURE (USING EF)

SPECIFY & CHECK SCHEMATIC DUCT & AIR

PARAMETERS SECTIONALIZING OUTLET SIZING
REPEAT

REPEAT COORDINATION BALANCING

29
STEP-1 (SPECIFY & CHECK PARAMETERS)

 APPLICATION & LOCATION

 VELOCITY RANGE
 FRICTION USED
 DUCT SHAPE & ASPECT RATIO
 NOISE CRITERIA

30
 STEP-1.1 (SPECIFY APPLICATION & DUCT LOCATION)

 APPLICATION TYPE & DUCT LOCATION

APPLICATIONS &
LOCATIONS

COMMON
LOCATIONS
APPLICATIONS

WITHIN WITHIN NOISE

SHAFT / ROOF ACOUSTIC OCCUPIED RESIDENTIAL COMMERCIAL INDUSTRIAL
SENSITIVE
CEILING SPCAE
 STEP-1.2 (DETERMINE VELOCITY RANGE)

 AIR VELOCITY WITHIN A DUCT (RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL ONLY)

STEP-1.2 (DETERMINE VELOCITY)
 RECOMMENDED VELOCITIES
(LOW VELOCITY SYSTEMS ONLY)
(AIR CONDITIONING SYS. DESIGN MANUAL)
STEP-1.2 (DETERMINE VELOCITY)
 RECOMMENDED VELOCITIES (CARRIER DESIGN MANUAL)
(LOW VELOCITY SYSTEMS ONLY)
 STEP-1.3 (FRICTION USED)

 AIR FRICTION RANGE (ASHRAE FUNDAMENTALS)

 STEP-1.3 (FRICTION USED)
 AIR FRICTION RANGE (AIR CONDITIONING SYS. DESIGN MANUAL)
 STEP-1.3 (FRICTION USED)
 AIR FRICTION RANGE (HVAC EQUATIONS, DATA & RULE OF THUMB)
STEP-1.4 (DUCT SHAPE & ASPECT RATIO)
(ASHRAE FUNDAMENTALS
STEP-1.4 (DUCT SHAPE & ASPECT RATIO)
STEP-1.4 (DUCT SHAPE & ASPECT RATIO)
(SMACNA)
STEP-1.5 (NOISE CRITERIA)
STEP-1.5 (NOISE CRITERIA)
 STEP-2 (SCHEMATIC SECTIONALIZING)

a DRAW A DUCT SCHEMATIC

a SPECIFY AIR OUTLETS NO. & FLOW
a ADD NUMBERS TO DUCTS AND FITTINGS
STEP-2 (SCHEMATIC SECTIONING)
STEP-3 (DUCT & AIR OUTLET SIZING)
(ASHRAE FUNDAMENTAL)
STEP-3 (DUCT & AIR OUTLET SIZING)
(ASHRAE FUNDAMENTAL)
 STEP-3.1 (DUCT SIZING)

⮚ PART # 2 [DUCT DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION]

⮚ 2.1.3.1) STEP-3.1 (DUCT SIZING)
48
49
⮚ PART # 2 [DUCT DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION]
⮚ 2.1.3.2) STEP-3.2 (AIR OUTLETS SIZING)
AIR OUTLETS SIZING TABLE (FLOTECH CATALOGUES)
AIR FLOW SELECTED SIZE AIR THROW
SR. NO# AIR OUTLET TYPE NC ΔP (pa)
CFM (L/S) (MM) (METER)
01 4-WAY SCD 200 (94) 225 X 225 3.7 18 9

02 4-WAY SCD 200 (94) 225 X 225 3.7 18 9

DOUBLE
03 DEFLECTION 300 (141) 450 X 150 3.8 15-18 19
SAR
04 300 (141) 300 X 300 5.4 18 8
4-WAY SCD
05 300 (141) 300 X 300 5.4 18 8
4-WAY SCD
06 500 (235) 375 X 375 6.9 18 8
4-WAY SCD
07 500 (235) 375 X 375 6.9 18 8
4-WAY SCD
4.9 12
08 DOUBLE 500 (235) 500 X 200 > 15
DEFLECTION
09 SAR 500 (235) 2400 LONG 6.0 19 11
3 SLOT X 25
MM SLOT
DIFFUSER
⮚ PART # 2 [DUCT DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION]
⮚ 2.1.4) STEP-4 (BALANCING – ADD VCDs)
52
53
Section Q V (FPM) Friction D (in) Rect AR
(CFM) Loss
AB 3100 1400 0.13 20.5 30 x 12 2.5
BC 1900 1250 0.13 17 30x9 3.33
CD 1400 1150 0.13 15 30 x 7.5 4
DE 900 1050 0.13 13
EF 500 900 0.13 10.5
BG 1200 0.13
GH 800 0.13
HJ 500 0.13

54
Duct Sizing Example

55
 Determine Supply Airflow
• Now we need to convert the cooling loads into
volume flow rates

supply sensible heat gain

=
airflow 1,210 × (room DB – supply DB)

supply 2100
= = 0.216 m3/s
airflow 1,210 × (8)
Delta T should be less than 10K so we’ll use 8 K
57
• Now we’re going to sketch out our ductwork route
onto the floor plan so we can start to size it.

58
• Duct and fitting labels

59
60
• Ductwork chart main duct flow rates

61
• To size the ducts you’re going to need a duct
sizing chart. You can obtain these from ductwork
manufacturers or from industry bodies such as
CIBSE and ASHRAE.
• We start sizing from the first main duct which is
section A.
• To limit the noise in this section we’ll specify that
it can only have a maximum velocity of 5m/s.
• We know that this duct also requires a volume
flow rate of 0.79m3/s so we can use the velocity
and volume flow rate to find the missing data.

62
• We take the chart and scroll up from the bottom left until we
hit the volume flow rate of 0.79m3/s.
• Then we locate where the velocity line is of 5m/s and we
draw a line across until we hit that.
• Then to find the pressure drop we draw a vertical line down
from this intersection. In this instance we see it comes out
at 0.65 pa per meter. So add this figure into the chart.
• As we’re using the equal pressure drop method we can use
this pressure drop for all the duct lengths so fill those in too.
• Then we scroll up again and align our intersection with the
upward diagonal lines to see this requires a duct with a
diameter of 0.45m so we add that into the table also.
• We know the volume flow rate and pressure drop so we can
now calculate the values for section C and then the
remaining ducts.

63
64
1. On the chart we start by drawing a line from 0.65 pa/m all the way
up and then draw a line across from our required volume flow rate,
in this case for section C we need 0.21m3/s.
2. At this intersection we draw a line to find the velocity and we can
see that it falls within the lines of 3 and 4m/s so we need to
estimate the value, in this case it seems to be about 3.6m/s so we
add that to the chart.
3. Then we draw another line on the other diagonal grid to find our
duct diameter which in this case is about 0.27m and we’ll add that
to the table too.
4. Repeat that last process for all the remaining ducts and branches
until the table is complete.
5. Now find the total duct losses for each duct and branch, that’s very
easy to do simply multiply the duct length by the pressure drop per
meter, in our example we found it to be 0.65pa/m. Do that for all
the ducts and branches on the table.

65
66
 Sizing ductwork fittings
• The first fitting we’ll look at is the 90* bend between ducts J
and L
• For this we look up our loss coefficient for the bend from the
manufacturer or the industry body

In this example we can see the coefficient comes out at 0.11

67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
Assume a dynamic loss coefficient of 0.3 for
upstream to downstream and 0.8 for upstream
to branch and for the elbow.

77
 Duct design
Duct designing (width x height)
Equal friction method
• It suppose equation friction losses across all of the
ducts parts.
At that method we detected
the duct size by

Air CFM + Air velocity Air CFM + Air faction

at that duct at that duct

Getting the duct

Getting the duct size
losses
 Duct design
Duct designing (width x height)

CFM = 200
For duct (1) CFM = 350
Velocity = 800 ft/m
CFM = 2000

CFM = 1650 CFM = 1450 CFM = 400

 Duct design
Duct designing (width x height)

CFM = 200
For duct (1) CFM = 350
Velocity = 800 ft/m
CFM = 2000

CFM = 1650 CFM = 1450 CFM = 400

 Duct design
Duct designing (width x height)

CFM = 200
For duct (1) CFM = 350
Velocity = 800 ft/m
CFM = 2000

CFM = 1650 CFM = 1450 CFM = 400

 Duct design
Duct designing (width x height)

CFM = 200
For duct (1) CFM = 350
Velocity = 800 ft/m
CFM = 2000

CFM = 1650 CFM = 1450 CFM = 400

 Duct design
Duct designing (width x height)

CFM = 200
For duct (1) CFM = 350
Velocity = 800 ft/m
CFM = 2000

CFM = 1650 CFM = 1450 CFM = 400

 Duct design
Duct designing (width x height)

CFM = 200
For duct (1) CFM = 350
Velocity = 800 ft/m
CFM = 2000

CFM = 1650 CFM = 1450 CFM = 400

 Duct design
Duct designing (width x height)

CFM = 200
For duct (1) CFM = 350
Velocity = 800 ft/m
CFM = 2000

CFM = 1650 CFM = 1450 CFM = 400

 Duct design
Duct designing (width x height)

CFM = 200
For duct (1)
CFM = 350 (10 x 10) in
Velocity = 800 ft/m
CFM = 2000 (12 x 12) in
(22 x 22) in

CFM = 1450 CFM = 400

CFM = 1650
(20 x 20) in (12 x 12) in
(20 x 20) in
Pressure loss in duct fittings

87
88
89
90
91
92
 Velocity method
• The various steps involved in this method are:
i. Select suitable velocities in the main and branch
ducts
ii. Find the diameters of main and branch ducts from
airflow rates and velocities for circular ducts. For
rectangular ducts, find the cross-sectional area from
flow rate and velocity, and then by fixing the aspect
ratio, find the two sides of the rectangular duct
iii. From the velocities and duct dimensions obtained in
the previous step, find the frictional pressure drop
for main and branch ducts using friction chart or
equation.
 Velocity method
• The various steps involved in this method are:
iv. From the duct layout, dimensions and airflow
rates, find the dynamic pressure losses for all
the bends and fittings
v. Select a fan that can provide sufficient FTP (fan
total pressure) for the index run
vi. Balancing dampers have to be installed in each
run. The damper in the index run is left
completely open, while the other dampers are
throttled to reduce the flow rate to the required
design values.
 Velocity method
• The velocity method is one of the simplest ways of
designing the duct system for both supply and return air.
• However, the application of this method requires
selection of suitable velocities in different duct runs,
which requires experience.
• Wrong selection of velocities can lead to very large ducts,
which, occupy large building space and increases the
cost, or very small ducts which lead to large pressure
drop and hence necessitates the selection of a large fan
leading to higher fan cost and running cost.
• In addition, the method is not very efficient as it requires
partial closing of all the dampers except the one in the
index run, so that the total pressure drop in each run will
be same.
 Velocity method

• For example, let the duct run A-C-G-H be

the index run and the total pressure drop
in the index run is 100 Pa.
• If the pressure drop in the shortest duct
run (say A-B) is 10 Pa, then the damper in
this run has to be closed to provide an
additional pressure drop of 90 Pa, so that
the required airflow rate to the
conditioned zone 1 can be maintained.
• Similarly the dampers in the other duct
runs also have to be closed partially, so
that the total pressure drop with damper
partially closed in each run will be equal
to the pressure drop in the index run with
its damper left open fully.
 Velocity method

• The following figure shows a typical duct layout. Design the duct system using a) Velocity
method,. Take the velocity of air in the main duct (A) as 8 m/s. Assume a dynamic loss
coefficient of 0.3 for upstream to downstream and 0.8 for upstream to branch and for the
elbow. The dynamic loss coefficients for the outlets may be taken as 1.0. Find the FTP
required
 Velocity method
• Select a velocity of 5 m/s for the downstream and
branches. Then the dimensions of various duct runs
are obtained as shown below:
• Segment A: Flow rate, Q A= 4 m3/s and velocity, VA = 8
m/s
• ⇒ cross-sectional area AA = QA/VA = 4/8 = 0.5 m2 ⇒
Deq,A = 0.798 m (Ans.)
• Segment B: Flow rate, Q = 1 m3/s and velocity, VB = 5
m/s
• ⇒ cross-sectional area AB = QB/VB = 1/5 = 0.2 m2 ⇒
Deq,B = 0.505 m
 Velocity method
• Segment C: Flow rate, QC = 3 m3/s and velocity, VC = 5
m/s
• ⇒ cross-sectional area AC = QC/VC = 3/5 = 0.6 m2 ⇒
Deq,A = 0.874 m (Ans.)
• Segment D: Flow rate, QD = 2 m3/s and velocity, VD = 5
m/s
• ⇒ cross-sectional area AD = QD/VD = 2/5 = 0.4 m2 ⇒
Deq,D = 0.714 m (Ans.)
• Segments E&F: Flow rate, QE,F = 1 m3/s and velocity,
VE,F = 5 m/s
• ⇒ cross-sectional area AE,F = QE,F/VE,F = 1/5 = 0.2 m2
⇒ Deq,A = 0.505 m (Ans.)
 Velocity method
• Calculation of pressure drop:
• Section A-B:
• ΔP A-B= ΔP A,f+ ΔPB,f + ΔPu-b + ΔPexit
• where ΔPA,f and ΔPB,f stand for frictional pressure
drops in sections A and B, respectively, ΔPu-b is the
dynamic pressure drop from upstream to branch and
ΔPexit is the dynamic pressure loss at the exit 1.
 Velocity method
• The frictional pressure drop is calculated using
the equation:
 Velocity method
• The dynamic pressure drop from upstream to
branch is given by:
 Velocity method
• The dynamic pressure drop at the exit is given
by:
Velocity method
 Velocity method
• Thus the run with maximum pressure drop is
A-C-E-F is the index run. Hence the FTP (fan
total pressure) required is:
• FTP = ΔP = 69.3 Pa (Ans.)
106
Finding the index run – duct sizing

Next we need to find the index run which is the run with the largest pressure drop.
It’s usually the longest run but could also be the run with the most fittings.
We find it easily by adding up all the pressure losses from the start to the exit of each branch .

For example to get from A to C we lose 5.04pa

A (1.3pa) + B (1.79pa) + C (1.95pa)

For A to F we lose 8.8pa

A (1.3pa) + B (1.7pa) + D (1.3pa) + E (2.55pa) + F (1.95)

For A to I we lose 10.56

A (1.3pa) + B (1.7pa) + D (1.3pa) + E (1.34pa) + G (2.6pa) + H (0.36pa) + I (1.95pa)

For A to L we lose 12.5pa

A(1.3pa) + B (1.7pa) + D (1.3pa) + E (1.34pa) + G (2.6pa) + H (0.93pa) + J (0.65pa) + K (0.72pa) + L
(1.95pa)

Therefore the fan we use must overcome the run with the highest loss, that being A – L with 12.5pa,
this is the index run.

107
 Velocity method

• The following figure shows a typical duct layout. Design the duct system using a) Velocity
method,. Take the velocity of air in the main duct (A) as 8 m/s. Assume a dynamic loss
coefficient of 0.3 for upstream to downstream and 0.8 for upstream to branch and for the
elbow. The dynamic loss coefficients for the outlets may be taken as 1.0. Find the FTP
required
Calculating Friction Rate

109
110