Document re1YvkNR1QzgvdQaKnk9exY9G
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CHAPTER 34
1965 Guide And Data Book
the sir face velocity is determined by economic evaluation of
initial and operating costs for the complete installation as
influenced by: (1) heat transfer performance of the specific
coil surface type for various combinations of face areas and
row depths as a function of the air velocity, and (2) air ride
frictional resistance for the complete air circuit (including
coils) which affects fan sue, horsepower and sound-level re
quirements. The performance of an extended-surface cooling
coil depends upon its correct choice and matching with other
original equipment components, and upon proper application
and maintenance.
Coil ratings are based on a uniform face velocity. Inter
ference with uniform air flow through the coil will affect
performance. Such air flow interference may be caused by
air entrance at odd ftnglog or by inadvertent blocking of a
portion of the coil face. To obtain rated, performance it is
necessary that the air quantity be adjusted on the job to
correspond with that used when selecting the coil, and that it
be kept at this value. The most common causes of a reduction
of air quantity are the fouling of the filters and collection of
dirt or frost on the coils. These difficulties can be avoided by
proper Hpgjgn and regular servicing. There are a number of
ways in which coils may be cleaned. A common method is to
wash them with water. They can sometimes be brushed and
cleaned with a vacuum cleaner. In bad cases of neglect,
especially on restaurant jobs where grease and dirt have
accumulated, it is sometimes necessary to-remove the coils
and wash off the accumulation with steam, compressed
air and water, or hot water. The best practice, however,
is to keep the filters serviced, and to inspect and wash the
coils at regular intervals.
In the selection of coils, sufficient surface area must be in
stalled to transfer the total heat load from the air to the cool
ing media, under the required temperature conditions and
.mass flow rates of-both air and refrigerant. The coil total
heat capacity should also be in baianco with the capacity of
related equipment, such as compressors. .
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In the case of dehumidifying coils, it is also important that
the proper amount of surface area be installed to obtain the
ratio of air ride sensihle-to-total heat which is requiredTor
maintaining the air dry-bulb
wet-bulb temperatures in
the conditioned space. The method for calculating the sensible
.and total heat loads, and the leaving air conditions at the coil
to satisfythe sensible-to-total heat ratio required for the con
ditioned space is given in Chapter 27. The same room air
conditions can be maintained with different air quantities
(including outside and return air)-through the coiL However,
for a given total air quantity with fixed percentages of.outride
and return air, there is only one set of airconditionS'leaving
. the coil which will maintain the room airconditions. Once the
- air quantity and leaving air .conditions at the coil have been
selected, there is only one combination of face area, row depth
and air face velocity, for a given coil surface design and ar
rangement, which will maintain the required room air condi
tions. Therefore, in making final coil selections, it is necessary
to recheck the initial selection to assure that the leaving air
conditions, as' calculated by coil selection procedure, will
match those as determined from the cooling load estimate.
This may involve a reselgction with changes in air face ve
locity, coO rise' and coil depth..
Coil ratings and selection procedures are usually presented
in one of two wayB:
I. Banc data meVi<xL Go& performance parameters are pub lished in the form of tables or charts from which the coQ row
depth is calculated, after determining the required coil sensible and total heat capacities and other design variables from the job
, conditions. The initial selection will generally indicate a nonintegral row depth requirement. It is frequently necessary to
recheck and reeelect the coQ to more closely m*t/-h the required air and refrigerant conditions with the integral row depth actu ally installed, particularly for dehumidifying coils. The method is generally used in selecting coils or coil hmfei for field assembly since there is a vast number of eise and row depth combinations available.
2. Unit rating method. Performance for specific combinations of coil face area and row depth are presented in tables or charts. This method provides a direct selection of specific coils to match the required capacity under the job conditions. It is frequently used in selecting coils for central station type air-handling units and* also employed in determining performance for factoryassembled self-contained air conditioners.
With either method (1) or (2)," coil selections are quite flexible. It is possible, \with a given type of coil surface, to choose various combinations of coil face area, row depth, air velocity, air quantity, etc., for the same duty. .
The proper selection of coils requires on-understanding of ,the requirements of each case, and should be. based on mi economic analysis of the plant Hwtign as.a whole. While no general rule can be established .for the selection'of. cooling coils, it is possible, nevertheless, to point out-the limits of usual practice and to indicate the influence of the variables involved in the coQ selection.
-Application Range
Dry surface (sensible cooling) coils, and dehumidifying coils (which accomplish both cooling and dehumidification), are usually rated within these lmiit8:.
Entering Air Dry-Bulb -- 65 to 100 F.
Entering Air-Wet-Bulb * 60 to 85 F. .
Air Face Velocity 300 to 800 fpm (sometimes as low as
200 and as high u 1500).
Volatile Refrigerant Saturation Temperature -- 30 to 55 F at
coil suction outlet (refrigerant vapor
superheat at coQ suction outlet is 6
. . deg or higher). .
Entering Water Temperature = 35 to 65 F.
Water Quantity * 1.2 to 6 gpm per ton (equivalent to a water
temperature riseoffrom4 to 20deg).
Water Velocity -- 1 to 8 fps.
For special applications, the range in design variables tabulated above may be exceeded.
Dry Cooling Coils
Since no air dehumidification is obtained for thin applica
tion, dry coil selection is made on the
of dry-bulb tem
peratures involving sensible-heat transfer only, the 'same as
with heating coils.
Dehumidifying Coils `
- ':" /
-. The ratio of air ride sensible-to-total heat removed varies in
practice from about 0.6 to 1.0, i.e., sensible heat is from 60.to
100 percent of the total, depending upon the application.
(See Chapter 27.) For a given coil surface
and arrange
ment, the required sensible heat ratio may be satisfied with.
wide variations in and combinations of air face velocity, re^
fngerant temperature and coil depth, although general rules
as.to their values may be misleading. The maximum coil air
face velocity should be limited to a value which will prevent
water carry-over into the air duct work. Although dehumide
fying coils for comfort application are frequently selected in
the range of 500 to 600 fpm air face velocity, central station
type air-handling units are available which.operate.at air
face velocities of 700 fpm or higher without carryover of
moisture into the duct work. Refrigerant temperatures ordi
narily vary between 35 and 50 F. Water velocities normally
range from 2 to about 8 fps.
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Air-Cooling and Dehumidifying Coils
609
The performance of dehumidifying coils is determined by a
sene of tests carried on under laboratory conditions. Coil
stings are prepared from such laboratory test data to fadli-
tatecofl selection. There are several forms or methods used
by manufacturers in publishing coil ratings, such as: (1)
entering and leaving air conditions, (2) effective coil surface
temperature, and (3) basic data selection using heat transfer
performance parameters. The selection of dehumidifying coils for factory-assembled
self-contained air conditioners is generally accomplished in
conjunction with laboratory testing. The current industry
Btepdards call for ratings at 33.4 cfm per thousand Btu.-of capacity and this is approximately. 400 cfm per
ton of refrigeration. The use of an entering air condition
of 80 F dry-bulb and 67 F wet-bulb is representative of the
entering air conditions actually encountered in many com
fort operations because,' while the indoor'conditions: are
asiially lower
67 wet-bulb, the introduction of.out
door air will usually bring the mixture of air to the cool
ing coil up to an approximation of the 67 wet-bulb entering
air fpnditinn at design conditions.
The of dehumidifying coils for field-assembled
projects and for central station type air-handling units is
usually accomplished by use of coil rating tables. The prac
tice of selecting coils from the load-division indicated by the
calculation has worked out satisfactorily for the usual
human comfort applications. Additional design precautions
and refinements are being used for more exacting industrial
applications and, for improved results on all types of air con
ditioning in the more humid areas. One of these refinements
is the use of a separate cooling coil to cool and dehumidify the
ventilation air before admixture with recirculated air. This
procedure
care of one of the main sources of moisture in
the uffnat application. Provision for reheat is required for
poTT industrial applications, and is used for better results on
some commercial and comfort applications.
In choking the operating results obtained from dehumidi
fying coils in various air-conditioning installations, it is
necessary to keep in mind the influence of the climatic condi
tions of the various areas encountered. -The majority of prob
lems are encountered at Hghtload conditions when the cooling
requirement is considerably ! than at design conditions.
In the hot, dry climates, where the outdoor dew points
are so constantly low that dehumidifying is not generally
a problem, the light-load condition does not pose any special
problems. In the hot, humid climates, where the outdoor
dew points are generally high and close to the dry-bulb tem
peratures, the light-load condition has a higher proportion
of. moisture'and a correspondingly lower proportion of
sensible heat. These' climatic conditions result in higher
dew points in the conditioned spaces during the light-load
conditions unless some of'the special'for controlling
the'inside dew points are used. In the geographic locations
where warm weather occurs with both high and low dew
points, such as around the Great Lakes, the bight-load
operating conditions with the higher percentage of moisture
loading will be encountered less frequently and consistently
than in the south coastal areas.
Care should be taken to avoid freezing at light loads. In
general, freezing occurs when the coil surface temperature
falls to 32 F. With usual coils for comfort installations,
. this does not occur unless the evaporating temperature at
the coil outlet is about 20 to 25 F. The exact value de
pends on the design of'the coil and the amount of loading.
Although it is not customary to choose coil and 'condensing
units to balance at low temperatures.at.peak loads,'there
is danger of/this occurring when the load decreases. This
condition is further aggravated if a bypass is used, causing
less air to be passed through the coil at light loads.
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HEAT TRANSFER AND AIR FLOW RESISTANCE .
. The rate of sensible heat transmission from air passing over a clean tube, with or without extended surface, to a fluid flow ing within it is impeded by three resistances. The first is that from the air to the surface of the tube and is usually called the external surface or air-film resistance. The second- is the .re-, sistance to the conduction of heat through the fin and tube roeteb Finally .there is another surface or film resistance to the flow of heat between, the internal surface of the metal and the fluid in .the tube. For some applications, an additional thermal resistance is included to account for surface fouling. For the applications under; consideration both the resistance of;the metal to heat conduction, and the internal surface or film resistanee are usually low as compared with-the air-side surface resistance. Economy in space, weight, and cost makes it advantageous to decrease the external surface resistance, where it is proportionately large, to approach that of the metal and that from the tube to refrigerant. This may be ac complished by increasing the external surface by means of fine. Water spray, sometimes applied to the same surface, while not necessarily increasing the overall heat transfer much,- may serve other purposes such as air and coil cleaning. , The transfer of sensible heat between the cooling medium and the air stream is influenced by several variables:
1. The temperature difference. 2. The design and surface arrangement of the coiL 3. The velocity and character ofthe air stream. ' . 4. The velocity and character of the medium in the tubes.
The driving force is usually taken as the logarithmic
mp>n temperature difference for cooling without dehumidifi
cation. The rating of cooling coils for combined cooling and dehiiTnidifiirattnn is discussed later in this chapter. With water
coils there is a rise in water temperature and with volatile
refrigerants there is often an appreciable pressure drop and
corresponding change in evaporating temperature through
the refrigerant circuit. The problem is further complicated by
the fact that the refrigerant is evaporating in part of the cir
cuit and superheating in the remainder. In the case of volatile
refrigerants, a cooling coil is tested and rated in conjunction
with a specific distributing and liquid-metering device, and the
are stated for a given superheat condition of leaving
vapor. ' The design and surface arrangement of the coil include
such items as materials, type, thickness,- height, and spacing
of the fins, and the ratio of this surface to that of the tube,
the use of the staggered or in-line tube arrangement,. and
provisions to increase the air turbulence such as the use of
configurated instead of flat fine. Staggered tubes increase
the total heat transfer, as opposed to the in-line arrangement,
end configurated fins may be more effective than flat. This
design and surface arrangement has a great effect on the air-
film heat-transfer resistance.
The velocity of the air usually considered is the coil face
velocity. This bears a varied relation to the actual velocity
over the surface, depending.upon the individual .coil design,
As long as a fired design of .coil i9 under consideration, face
velocities may be used, but they may be unsatisfactory- in
comparing different designs, as it is the actual surface ve
locity that is significant. The air volume is usually based on
standard air at 70 F and a barometric pressure of'29.92 in.
mercury.
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