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Refrigerant Piping 20
Refrigerant Piping 20
Refrigerant Piping 20
Suction Line
notes
suction line
Determine Refrigerant Velocity
pipe diameter, in. (mm)
2) 5) 2)
(1 (1 (2
8)
0)
15 )
2)
4)
3 5 (79)
(1 5)
8)
31 )
5
7
5,000
(1
(1
1/2 5/8 7/8
0
(2
(3
(4
(5
(6
4 1 /8 ( 1
)
3/4
3/8
30
/8
/8
/8
/8
/8
/8
(25.4)
13
21
11
25
/8
velocity, fpm (m/s)
2,000
(10.2)
1,000
(5.1)
500
(2.5)
R-22
1 2 5 10 20 50 100 200
(3.5) (7.0) (17.6) (35) (70) (176) (352) (703)
The refrigerant velocity inside a pipe depends on the mass flow rate and
density of the refrigerant, and on the inside diameter of the pipe. The chart in
Figure 19 shows the velocity of R-22 inside pipes of various diameters at one
particular operating condition—40°F (4.4°C) saturated suction temperature,
125°F (51.7°C) saturated condensing temperature, 12°F (6.7°C) of superheat,
15°F (8.3°C) of subcooling, and 70°F (38.9°C) of compressor superheat. For an
example system with an evaporator capacity of 20 tons (70.3 kW), the
refrigerant velocity inside a 2 1/8 in. (54 mm)-diameter pipe at this condition is
about 1,850 fpm (9.4 m/s).
The easiest and most accurate method for determining refrigerant velocity is to
use a computer program that can calculate the velocity for various pipe sizes
based on actual conditions. However, if you do not have access to such a
program, a chart like this may be useful.
suction line
Determine Refrigerant Velocity
Figure 20
Assume that this example 20-ton (70.3-kW) system contains one refrigeration
14 TRG-TRC006-EN