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The August 2003 issue of the Engineered Software Fluid Flow Newsletter describes how you can use PIPE-FLO for equipment selection. One of the most important items in equipment selection is accurately calculating the system design points. If you don’t have a good understanding of how the equipment will operate in your system, you will not be able to match your pumps and control valves to your system needs. This increases both your operating cost and maintenance cost.

PIPE-FLO provides you with the software tools to help you select the best equipment, and see how the total piping system operates.

When selecting equipment for a piping system, you must first determine the flow rate through the system and the number of pumps required. This information is only known after analyzing the system’s process needs.

Once you know the number of pumps required and each pump's design flow rate, you can go about the job of designing the pipelines and calculating the pumping requirements.

This step is typically accomplished by laying out the piping system (how the pumps, components, and control valves are connected) using CAD software. Next, the individual pipelines are sized for the design flow rate that is expected. This is often done using a spreadsheet program.

PIPE-FLO streamlines this process by incorporating both the drawing and sizing features into a single program. You can draw the piping schematic using PIPE-FLO’s built in drawing tools. Once the system is drawn, you can size the individual pipelines. PIPE-FLO looks up much of the required information for the calculations using engineering data tables that you can customize to meet your needs.

After all the pipelines are sized, PIPE-FLO performs a complete hydraulic analysis, calculating the balanced flow rates and pressures throughout the system.

The results from the total system calculation provide the design point values needed for the pump and control valve selections.

If you would rather have your pump and control valve vendors select the equipment for you, you can send them a Piping System View (PSV) model of your piping system. Once they download the free PIPE-FLO Viewer program from the Engineered Software Website, they can open your PSV model and see how your piping system operates. Using this information they can do a better job of selecting the equipment for your piping system.

Since the PSV file is read only, the vendors cannot make any changes to your system model, even if they have a full working version of the PIPE-FLO program.

PIPE-FLO TRAINING

At Engineered Software, we want you to get the most out of your software investment. We offer a range of training options, from our Quick Start Web Tutorial that helps you get started on your first system, to our two-day hands-on FLO-Master Seminars. We offer a training solution for your every need. Call your Engineered Software representative toll free at 800-786-8545 to find out more about our training options, or e-mail us at sales@eng-software.com.

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Once your system model is created, the next step is to select the pumps. This is accomplished by:

• Determining the design flow rate required through each pump.

• Calculating the Total Dynamic Head (TDH) and Net Positive Suction Head available (NPSHa).

• Choosing the pump supplier and opening their catalog.

• Limiting your selection to the desired pump types and speeds found in the manufacturer’s product line.

• Searching the manufacturer’s catalog and developing a list of pumps that meet your system’s needs.

From the list of selected pumps, evaluate each pump and determine the best pump for your application.

PIPE-FLO automates the process by calculating the pump’s TDH and NPSHa needed for pump selection. Using manufacturer supplied electronic pump catalogs, the program searches through the manufacturer’s catalog and finds all of the pumps meeting your system’s pumping requirements. Finally, you can view the pump curves in the program and select the best pump for your application.

This process is demonstrated in the tutorial included with the PIPE-FLO Demo. Using the demo you can follow the pump selection process from start to finish, and see how PIPE-FLO can help in your next pump selection.

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After the pumps are selected, you can perform the calculations needed to select the control valves. Once again, PIPE-FLO can help you in the valve selection process:

• First, determine the type of control valve and set point required for your system to meet its' design objectives.

• Use PIPE-FLO to perform the system calculation, providing the control valve inlet pressure, flow rate, and differential pressure.

• Open an electronic valve catalog and choose the valve construction, pressure rating, and characteristic trim.

• Using the valve selection criteria, PIPE-FLO searches the catalog and provides a list of control valves meeting your needs.

• Evaluate each control valve on the list and determine the best valve for the application.

• Insert the selected control valve in the piping system to see how the selected valve operates in the system.

PIPE-FLO WEB PRESENTATION

Want to see how PIPE-FLO can help you select pumps and control valves using manufacturers’ electronic catalogs? Then sign up for a free PIPE-FLO Web presentation!

During this 45-minute Web presentation, you’ll see how PIPE-FLO can provide you with a clear picture of the total piping system. One of our support engineers will take PIPE-FLO through its paces, answer your questions, and show you how to use PIPE-FLO to select centrifugal pumps and control valves from manufacturer’s electronic catalogs.

To sign up for the next Web Presentation click on http://www.eng-software.com/webdemo, pick a time, and enter the registration information. All you need is a computer with Web access, a phone, and 45 minutes.

Act now! The Web presentations are filled on a first-come, first-serve basis, so register today.

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One of PIPE-FLO’s major strengths is the ability to insert the selected pumps and control valves into the piping system model. PIPE-FLO then calculates the pressures and flow rates through the system. Using the manufacturer’s operating data, PIPE-FLO shows you where each pump operates on its curve, along with the control valve position needed to achieve the desired system operating conditions.

PIPE-FLO also shows you when equipment is not operating within the manufacturer’s recommended range. For example, PIPE-FLO warns you when a pump is running outside the manufacturer’s recommended operating range, or when it’s cavitating. This is important information to know when designing a new system or evaluating an operating system.

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