Storage Tank and Pipe Sizing for Large Plants:

How to Meet CFM Needs

Ron Marshall
Marshall Compressed Air Consulting
Keynote Speaker Sponsored by

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Storage Tank and Pipe Sizing for Large Plants: How to
Meet CFM Needs
Introduction by
Compressed Air Best Practices® Magazine

Sponsored by
 About the Speaker

• Consultant MCAC

• 38 years with Power Utility

• 27 years Technical CA
Support
Ron Marshall Sponsored by
Marshall Compressed Air Consulting
• CAC Level 2 Instructor

• International Trainer UNIDO

• 600+ projects completed

Wanted Energy Wasters
Coming Up

• The importance of storage and piping

• Important storage concepts
• Rules of thumb and best practices
• Primer of storage calculations
• Basic uses
• Compressor control
• Air quality
• Storage for high flow short duration events
• Pressure protection of critical uses
• How to estimate your effective storage
• Summary
The importance of storage and piping

Without storage and well sized piping:

• Compressors run inefficiently

• Pressure is higher than required, at

compressor, low at end uses
• Pressure fluctuates wildly

• Dryers may be overloaded

• Large loads pull down system pressure,

keep compressors running
• Critical end-uses are starved for pressure
Important storage concepts

• When air is used from storage the pressure

drops, effective storage must have a psi change
• The amount of available air from storage can
easily be calculated if we know the volume and
allowable pressure differential
• The pressure drop during events can be
calculated if we know the storage volume and the
duration and flow of the event
• Storage should be sized to keep pressure above
lowest allowable pressure
Important Piping Concepts

• Compressor room header should be large

enough for all compressors with minimal
pressure loss
• Avoid high velocity 90’s, and dead headed
T’s, use long radius bends and 45 degree
• Distribution piping should be arranged in a
loop with the target of less than 2 percent
pressure drop
• Piping drops should come off the top or side
of the piping
• Piping drops should be adequately sized for
peak flows
• Piping to be sloped slightly to allow water to
travel to low point drains
Can piping be used as storage?

• Unless the piping diameter and

length is substantial the total volume
is usually insignificant, install tanks
• Count only piping at or above 2 inch
• Use USDOE MEASUR tool to
estimate system volume
• Examples:
• 1,000 feet of 2-inch = 200 gallons
• 1,000 feet of 6 inch = 1,500 gallons
Storage Calculation Example – MEASUR Tool
Rules of Thumb and Best Practices

• Control storage should be between Dry

Tank
3-5 gallons per cfm of trim
compressor capacity Wet
Tank

• Wet storage 1/3 of control capacity

and dry storage 2/3rds, important for
air quality
• Compressor room piping 20 to 30 fps
velocity
• Distribution piping 30-40 fps velocity
• Down-drops 40 – 50 fps
• Use MEASUR to calculate
Source: Compressed Air Challenge
Primer of storage calculations

• When sitting on the pad at

atmospheric pressure a receiver Tmin  (C − R )  Pa
contains its volume in cubic feet Vcf =
• Every additional volume added by an P1 − P2
air compressor increases the
pressure by one atmosphere Vcf = receiver volume in cubic feet
• Typical atmospheric pressure about Tmin = time in minutes
C= flow in cubic feet
14.5 psia, depends on site conditions
R= refill rate in cubic feet
• 8 volumes is about 101 psi Pa = Atmospheric Pressure (absolute)
• One cf = 7.48 gallons P1 = start pressure
P2 = end pressure
Source: Compressed Air Challenge
Basic Uses of Storage

• Control storage to stabilize

pressure and keep the
compressors running efficiently
• General storage to stabilize
pressure far from the compressor
rooms
• Dedicated storage to protect end
uses or protect other end uses
from high flow short duration
demands
Efficient Compressor Control

• Good “effective storage” size makes

load/unload compressors more efficient by
reducing cycle frequency
• Flow vs power curve is not linear
• Often only 1 gallon per cfm exists
• A system with 1 gallon per cfm would cycle
every 12 to 20 seconds, poor
• A system with 5 gallons/cfm 60 to 200
seconds, good
• With 10 gallons per cfm cycle times are 4
minutes or longer, excellent
• Cycle times can be reduced by widening the
pressure band settings
Source: Compressed Air Challenge
Cause of Non-linearity

Source: Marshall CA

133
Effectiveness of Storage – Pressure Loss Matters

The load/unload control lubricant injected rotary screw compressor in each

of the diagrams has a 10-psi control band. First has zero effective storage,
the second has 6/10 x 5 = 3 gallons per cfm effective. Component sizing and
interconnection pipe sizing is important.

Compressor Compressor

Filter 3 psid Filter 1 psid

Dryer Dryer 2 psid

4 psid

Filter Filter 1 psid

3 psid
Storage Storage (5 gal/cfm)
(5 gal/cfm)
Source: Compressed Air Challenge

133
Example of Secondary Storage

• Maintains more stable pressure at point of

use
• Improves speed, thrust or torque of an
application
• Reduces the rate of pressure decay in a
system during demand events
• Be used to control demand events (peak
demand periods) in the system by reducing
both the amount of pressure drop and the
rate of decay.
• Allows system pressure to be lowered

Source: Compressed Air Challenge

Main Storage for High-flow Short-duration Events

• Large storage slows down compressor

cycles
• Short duration air can often be supplied
from storage rather than starting another
compressor, minimizes unloaded run time
• Pressure flow controller maintains
constant plant pressure when air is used
from storage
• Lower plant pressure reduces artificial
demand
Source: Compressed Air Challenge
Secondary Storage for High-flow Short-duration Events

• Air can be used at a high rate of flow

but due to a restriction the compressor
doesn’t see it, makes compressor
control easier
• Air is replenished slowly between
cycles
• There must be time between cycles to
fill the tank to starting pressure
• Check valve retains air in case of
system low-pressure events
• Allows main compressor discharge
pressure to be lowered
Source: Compressed Air Challenge
High-Pressure Storage for High-flow Short-duration Events

• Tank filled from high pressure source or

dedicated compressor
• Output is regulated
• Wide pressure differential multiplies the
effectiveness of the storage
• Every 14.5 psi in extra pressure adds
one more volume
• A receiver with 100 psi available
differential is 10x more effective than
one with 10 psi differential
• Allows main compressor discharge
pressure to be lowered
Source: Compressed Air Challenge
Pressure Protection of Critical Uses

• Small volume with check valve added to

protect small pressure critical application
• Air is trapped by check valve, when
system pressure goes down there is still
adequate pressure to operate application
• Receiver sized for multiple operations
and reasonable leak load
• Once low pressure is corrected
compressor discharge pressure can be
lowered

Source: Compressed Air Challenge

How to check your effective storage
• Check cycle time, should be no less than 2 minutes

Source: Marshall CA
Summary

• Size storage and piping well for efficiency, minimum

pressure loss, and good pressure stability
• Pressure must change to utilize the air in storage, design
for it and use pressure/flow controller
• Design for 3-5 gallons per cfm, limited piping velocity, if
possible, go bigger
• Use MEASUR tool to calculate volumes and velocities
• Basic storage uses
• Compressor control
• Air quality
• Storage for high-flow short-duration events
• Pressure protection of critical uses
• Time your cycles to see if your storage is effective
• Goal: Minimize compressor discharge pressure, reduce
unloaded compressor run time
 About the Speaker

• Co-owner – Fluid-Aire
Dynamics, PneuTech, Unipipe
Solutions

• Primary Director of Unipipe

Product Line
Derrick Taylor Sponsored by
Unipipe Solutions
• Designed and installed
hundreds of compressed air,
vacuum, nitrogen, and high-
pressure systems

• Motto: “Be easy to do

business with”
Commonly Under-Sized System 2” Headers / 1” Subheaders / 1”Drops + Dead End Layout

● Not a Loop Type

System

● Not Every Drop will

Have the same PSI

● Two separate systems

are the same although
vastly different supply
and demand

● PSID to final Drop is

almost 15 PSID

Installed Cost
Pipe & Fittings
$27,700
Labor $15,700
Total Cost $43,400
Under-Sized Piping Leads to Pressure Drop

●Pressure drop from the “compressor room” to

the point of use should not exceed 3 - 5 PSI

●Golden Rule: 2PSI in system pressure

reduction, saves 1% in energy

●Reducing system pressure is difficult if piping

is marginally sized or undersized

●Consider the possibility of future expansion

and/or additional machinery
Right-Sized A - 1-1/2” Headers / 1” Sub-Loops / 1” Drops + Loop Layout
B - 2-1/2” Headers / 1” Sub-Loops / 1” Drops + Loop Layout

● Two independent loop

type systems

● Almost ZERO PSID to

any given point

● Properly sized for each

application

● $8,200 over previous

design

● ROI = 1.4 years (24/7)

Installed Cost
Pipe & Fittings
$36,000
Labor $15,600
Total Cost $51,600
Right-Sized Piping Serves a Compressed Air System the Best

●Properly designed
compressed air systems
have minimal pressure drop
(not necesessarly 0 PSID)
and allow for expansion if
needed.

●They are typically in a loop

type configuration
(exceptions apply)

●They are centrally located

so no drop is too far away
from the main loop
Over-Sized Piping is Wasteful and Misunderstood

Over-sized Piping is a problem that is ignored

Better than under-sized piping, but the value of over-

sizing is misunderstood

The argument:
● It acts like a storage tank
● Better safe than sorry…
just go up a couple sizes
● The tank discharge is 2” or 6” etc.
Commonly Over-Sized System 2” Headers / 1” Subheaders / 1”Drops + Dead End Layout

● Not a Loop Type

System

● Piping is the same size

although vastly
different supply and
demands

● No PSID - GOOD
● $14,500 Premium over
properly designed
loop system - Waste of
nearly 25%

Installed Cost
Pipe & Fittings
$46,900
Labor $19,200
Total Cost $66,100
Over-Sized Piping for Storage is a Terrible Idea
The Reality of Using Over-Sized Pipe for Storage

●A tank is much more cost effective

than over-sized piping

●Larger pipe takes longer to install,

in some cases extending downtime,
adding to cost

●Moisture and debris settle in low areas

waiting for a surge of air to move them
(if they don’t become fixed)
 Why Unipipe?
Watch the video!
Storage Tank and Pipe Sizing for Large Plants: How to
Meet CFM Needs
Q&A
Please submit any questions through the Question Window on
your GoToWebinar interface, directing them to Compressed Air
Best Practices Magazine. Our panelists will do their best to Sponsored by
address your questions and will follow up with you on anything
that goes unanswered during this session.
Thank you for attending!
 Thank you for attending!

The recording and slides of this webinar will be made

available to attendees via email later today.

PDH Certificates will be e-mailed to Attendees within 2 days.

 March 2024 Webinar
Sizing Vacuum Pumps and Piping for Various Applications

Andy Smiltneek
Growth Solutions Consultants
Keynote Speaker

Thursday, March 7, 2024– 2:00 PM EST

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