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ASHRAE Journal - Optimizing Design Control of Chilled Water Plants Part 2 Condenser Water Distribution System Design
ASHRAE Journal - Optimizing Design Control of Chilled Water Plants Part 2 Condenser Water Distribution System Design
T
7. Finalize piping system design, calcu-
his is the second of a series of articles discussing how to optimize the late pump head, and select pumps.
8. Develop and optimize control se-
design and control of chilled water plants. The series will summarize quences.
Each of these steps is discussed in this
ASHRAE’s Self Directed Learning (SDL) course called Fundamentals of series of five articles. This article dis-
cusses Step 3: designing the condenser
Design and Control of Central Chilled Water Plants and the research water distribution system. Steps 2 and 4
will be discussed in the next article.
that was performed to support its development. See sidebar, Page 36 Three common piping arrangements
for condenser water pumps are:
for a summary of the topics to be discussed. The articles, and the SDL
•• Option A: Dedicate a pump for each
course upon which it is based, are intended to provide techniques for condenser (Figure 1a);
•• Option B: Provide a common header
plant design and control that require little or no added engineering at the pump discharge and two-way au-
tomatic isolation valves for each con-
time compared to standard practice but at the same time result in sig- denser (Figure 1b); and
•• Option C: Provide a common head-
nificantly reduced plant life-cycle costs. er with normally closed (NC) manual
isolation valves in the header between
A procedure was developed to provide 3. Select condenser water distribution pumps (Figure 1c).
near-optimum plant design for most chill- system. The advantages of dedicated pumps
er plants including the following steps: 4. Select condenser water tempera- for each condenser (Option A) include:
1. Select chilled water distribution tures, flow rate, and primary pipe sizes.
system. 5. Select cooling tower type, speed con- About the Author
2. Select chilled water temperatures, trol option, efficiency, approach tempera- Steven T. Taylor, P.E., is a principal at Taylor
flow rate, and primary pipe sizes. ture, and make cooling tower selection. Engineering in Alameda, Calif.
Chiller No. 1
CHW Pump
Chiller No. 1 No. 1 Chiller No. 1
CHW Pump No. 1 CHW Pump
Chiller No. 2
No. 1 N.C.
CHW Pump
Chiller No. 2 No. 2 Chiller No. 2
CHW Pump No. 2 Chiller No. 3 CHW Pump
No. 2 N.C.
CHW Pump
Chiller No. 3 No. 3 Chiller No. 3
CHW Pump No. 3 CHW Pump
Optional No. 3
Standby Pump
Figure 1: Condenser water pump piping options. Option A (left): Dedicated pumps. Option B (center): Headered pumps with con-
denser auto-isolation valves. Option C (right): Headered pumps with manual isolation valves.
1. The pump can be custom-selected for the condenser it 2. Including a standby pump is much simpler. Adding a
serves. Pump selection can then account for variations in standby pump to Option A is cumbersome and expensive because
condenser pressure drop and flow rates when chillers are not it requires extensive piping and manual or automatic isolation
identical. This can reduce pump energy compared to Option B valves. If standby pumps are desired, Option B is the best option.
where the head of each pump must be the same and sized for 3. Isolation valves can double as head pressure control valves.
the condenser with the highest pressure drop; balance valves See discussion on head pressure control later. For Option A,
at the other condensers must be throttled to generate this same head pressure control would require the addition of variable
pressure drop. speed drives on condenser water pumps or tower bypass valves.
2. Controls are a bit simpler because the pump can be con- 4. It is easier to integrate a water-side economizer. See
trolled using the contact provided with the chiller controller. discussion on waterside economizers below. Since waterside
This ensures that the pump starts and stops when the chiller economizers are only operational in cold weather when loads
wants it to. With Option B, the control of the isolation valves are generally low, the condenser water side can use one (or
and pumps is by the direct digital control (DDC) system and more) of the condenser water pumps serving chillers rather than
must be coordinated with the needs of the chiller controller to providing a dedicated pump. This reduces first costs.
avoid nuisance trips. For instance, the pumps generally must Headered pumps with manual isolation valves (Option C)
run for several minutes after the command for the chiller to stop can have the advantages of Option A (although it works best
so that the chiller can pump down the refrigerant. with identical chillers) and it overcomes the redundancy dis-
3. Pump failures do not cause multiple chiller trips. With advantage of Option A but accommodating a pump failure
dedicated pumps, if a pump fails, only the chiller it serves will requires manual manipulation of valves vs. the automatic
see a flow disruption and trip. With Option B, all operating response in Option B. Including a standby pump is possible
chillers will see a flow reduction when a pump fails, possibly with Option C but it only works (depending on which pump
causing more than one chiller to trip due to low flow or high fails) with the header isolation valves open and chillers must be
refrigerant head. However if there is a lag or standby pump staged by manually opening and closing their isolation valves.
with Option B that can be started quickly, trips can usually be First costs are usually lowest with Option A if the chiller and
avoided because it takes some time for refrigerant head to rise. pump pairs are close-coupled and the manual isolation valves
The advantages of headered (manifolded) pumps (Option between the two are eliminated (each chiller-pump pair is iso-
B) include: lated for service as a pair). Option C is usually less expensive
1. Redundancy is improved. With Option A, if a pump fails than Option B, but Option B is usually the best choice where
and a chiller other than the one it serves also fails (albeit a head pressure control and standby pumps are required.
rare event), then two chillers will be inoperative. With Option
B, any pump can serve any chiller and under many conditions Refrigerant Head Pressure Control
one pump can provide enough flow for two chillers to operate All chillers will require a minimum refrigerant head (lift)
near full capacity. between the evaporator and condenser. This can be quite high
Figure 2: Cooling tower cell isolation options. Option A (left): Weir dams and/or low flow nozzles. Option B (center): Auto-
isolation valves on supply only. Option C (right): Auto-isolation valves on supply and suction.
for most screw chillers and some hermetic centrifugal chill- condenser water temperature leaving the chiller, not entering
ers, and very low for magnetic bearing chillers, which have no the chiller). Pump speed can be controlled by the temperature
oil return considerations. There are two common reasons why leaving the condenser at a setpoint that corresponds to mini-
low refrigerant head pressure can occur: mum condenser pressure, or (preferably) by a signal from the
•• At start-up when water temperature in the cooling tower chiller controller indicating head pressure needs; most chiller
basins is cold. Some chillers can operate for a short period of controllers have an analog output dedicated for this purpose.
time with low start-up head while others will trip on low head •• For systems with headered pumps (Option B, Figure 1), the
pressure safeties almost immediately. To determine if head isolation valves can double as head pressure control valves by
pressure control is required, for cold starts, consult with the converting them from two-position to modulating. Valve position
chiller manufacturer. is typically controlled by the chiller controller head pressure con-
•• When integrated waterside economizers are used (dis- trol analog output, either directly or through the DDC system.
cussed later). Head pressure control is almost always manda- This signal will close the valve when the chiller shuts off.
tory since cooling tower water temperatures are deliberately The second two options mentioned previously reduce flow
kept very cold for long periods. through the condenser. Many engineers are concerned that
Options to avoid low head pressure problem include: low condenser water flow will contribute to fouling of the con-
•• Tower three-way bypass valves. The bypass water is di- denser tubes, but there is little definitive evidence to support
verted around the tower fill into the cooling tower sump or the concept that high velocity keeps tubes clean; strainers and
into the suction piping, thus avoiding natural cooling that oc- sidestream filters that prevent particles from entering the con-
curs across the tower fill even when tower fans are off. Piping denser in the first place are preferred. But even if this is an is-
the bypass to the suction line also avoids the mass of water sue, for most head pressure control applications there are few
in the basin for an even faster warm-up, but the design can hours at reduced flow—only during cold starts—so the impact
be problematic: unless the bypass line is balanced to create a on tube fouling should not be significant. Low flow through
pressure drop equal to the height of the cooling tower, air will the cooling tower may also be an issue (see discussion later)
be drawn into the system backwards from the spray nozzles but, again, it should not be given the short duration.
since piping above the basin will fall below atmospheric pres-
sure. For staged or variable condenser water flow systems, the Minimum Flow Rates
bypass must be balanced at the lowest expected flow rate. This When water enters the cooling tower, it is distributed uni-
creates a high pressure drop and reduced flow if more pumps formly across the fill through spray nozzles via a piping head-
operate, but reduced flow is acceptable when the intent of the er or gravity distribution basin. Each cell has a minimum flow
bypass is to raise head pressure. The bypass valve is controlled rate to ensure that tower fill is fully wetted along the face of
by supply water temperature typically with a low limit setpoint the air entering the fill. If there are dry spots along this face,
well below the normal setpoint used to control tower fan on/ air will bypass the wetted fill due to lower pressure drop and,
off and speed. Tower bypass is most commonly used where more importantly, cause scale to build up at the boundary be-
towers must operate in very cold weather to avoid freezing tween the wet and dry fill as water is evaporated and dissolved
in the fill. The following two options are less expensive and, solids remain. So it is important to maintain minimum tower
therefore, preferred in other applications. cell flow rates, particularly in areas with hard makeup water.
•• For systems with dedicated condenser water pumps (Op- In plants with multiple cooling towers and chillers, it is
tion A or C, Figure 1), variable speed drives on the pumps can desirable to operate one condenser water pump at low loads,
be used to reduce water flow to the chiller. Head pressure can which will reduce the flow rate through cooling towers. Op-
be maintained even with very cold supply water as long as tions for maintaining minimum flow rates (Figure 2) include:
the flow rate can be reduced so that the condenser refrigerant Option A: Select tower weir dams and/or nozzles to allow
pressure can be high enough (head pressure depends on the one pump to serve all towers. For systems with two or three
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Chiller No. 2
Chiller No. 2
Either Pump
Or Valve
Plate and Frame (Not Both)
Heat Exchanger
condenser water.
For detailed design guidance on sizing waterside economiz-
er heat exchangers and flow rates, see Stein.1
Figure 3 shows a “non-integrated” waterside economizer
where the economizer heat exchanger is piped in parallel
with the chiller evaporators on the chilled water side. This
design allows the economizer to operate only if the chill- Figure 5: Waterside economizer, integrated, primary-only.
ers are not operating and vice versa; they cannot operate
together. This design was the most common when water- stead, waterside economizers must use an integrated piping
side economizers first became popular in the 80s, but it arrangement shown in Figure 4 for a primary-secondary
is not very efficient and is no longer allowed to be used system and Figure 5 for a primary-only system. Integrated
by energy standards such as ASHRAE Standard 90.1.2 In- systems, which cost only slightly more than non-integrated
32 A S H R A E J o u r n a l September 2011
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chiller compressors is also more and
more common as the cost premium vs. 1.4 Million
fixed speed continues to fall. But vari-
TOPP
able speed drives on condenser water
3. Hartman, T. 2001. “All-Variable Speed Centrifugal Chiller 5. Hydeman, M., G. Zhou. 2007. “Optimizing Chilled Water Plant
Plants.” ASHRAE Journal 43(9):43 – 51. Control.” ASHRAE Journal 49(6):44 – 54.
4. Hartman, T. 2005. Designing Efficient Systems with the Equal 6. ARI Standard 550/590-2003, Performance Rating of Water Chill-
Marginal Performance Principle. ASHRAE Journal 47(7):64 – 70. ing Packages Using the Vapor Compression Cycle.
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36 A S H R A E J o u r n a l September 2011
www.info.hotims.com/37990-66