Air Management and Pressurization Part 1 - The Rationale

Behind Closed System Design

Closed loop systems create the need for accurate
pressurization and air management in a hydronic heating
and cooling system. Unfortunately, proper air
management often turns out to be an Achilles heel in a
hydronic systems design. Design it wrong and a host of
problems can erupt, from noisy operation to poor
efficiency and shortened equipment life. It begs the question -- why even design a system
to be closed in the first place? After all, condensate systems and cooling tower systems
are designed to be open to the atmosphere why not heating and cooling water systems?
Closed is BETTER
Many years ago hydronic systems were designed to be open, using expansion tanks that
were open to the atmosphere. Such systems are rare these days and for good reason.
First, open systems tend to collect too many empty soda cans and dead pigeons, which
isnt good for the system or the poor soul responsible for removing them. Second, opens
systems are constantly absorbing oxygen which leads to rapid corrosion of virtually every
component in the piping system, from boilers to valves. Finally, any system that is open is
subject to a certain amount of evaporative losses, which means make-up water must
constantly be added to the system.
Why suffer all of this when you can simply close the system up and extend the life of the
equipment indefinitely while never having to add hardly any new water at all? Thats the
reason why most hydronic heating and cooling system you encounter these days are
closed at least they are supposed to be. Keep in mind, if its leaking, its not a closed. If,
for some unknown reason, maintenance personnel is occasionally draining water from the
system to use it for some other task, its also not closed. Either situation will compromise
the integrity of the closed system by introducing oxygen and necessitating fresh make-up
water.
Remember Water GROWS!
So hot and cold water systems should be closed. This means that systems must also be
designed to maintain a minimum pressure while providing room for expansion and a
means to safely relieve excess pressure. Why? Because water grows when it is heated
and since water cant be compressed, the piping system must be able to accommodate

this extra volume yet still maintain a minimum pressure. This is the role of the expansion
tank.
All expansion tanks used in a hydronic system incorporate a pre-charge of air which
serves as a cushion that can expand and contract along with the changing volume of water
as it is heating and cooled. The expansion tank is the central component in any closed
loop air management system.
Over the next several posts, we will discuss the different types of expansion tanks, air
control versus air elimination design, expansion tank sizing, and proper design for air
management and how to calculate building fill pressure. Understanding the rationale
behind closed system design and why air management is needed is the best starting point
for a more in-depth discussion.

Air Management and Pressurization Part 2 Air Control versus

Air Elimination

Air must be managed in every type of closed hydronic system, either by (1) routing it to a
specific place in the system where it cant create problems like pipe corrosion or air
blocking of components, or (2) by continuously eliminating it.

These are the two basic approaches to air management known as air control and air
elimination. Both rely on an air separator to separate air bubbles from the system water,
and both require an expansion tank with an air cushion. This air cushion is necessary to
accommodate the expansion of water as it is heated; it also helps keep the system
operating within the proper pressure range.
Air Control
Air control systems account for approximately 5 - 10% of air management systems. This
is an older approach to air management, but still common enough for contractors and
engineers to be familiar with its unique operating principles.
Air control systems rely on what is known as a standard type tank. In a standard tank
there is no separation or barrier between the water and the air in the tank. The air that fills
the empty space above the water serves as a cushion that allows the water to expand as
the system temperature increases (remember water grows when it is heated!) while still
keeping the system pressurized as the system cools and the water volume decreases.
Standard tanks are designed to receive the air that is separated out of the water by an air
separator, and therefore should always be installed above the separator. This can be
structurally challenging given the size and weight of an expansion tank, which is why this
approach to air management continues to be phased out as systems are upgraded.

Air Elimination
Air elimination is a more modern approach to air management. It is also typically less
costly to install because it eliminates the problem of elevating and supporting a heavy
tank.
Air elimination systems use expansion tanks that have an internal bladder or diaphragm
that keeps the water separate from the air cushion. With a bladder or diaphragm tank there
is no reason to maintain air within the system beyond that which is already within the
expansion tank. The air cushion inside the expansion tank is pre-charged with air to flex
back and forth with water expansion. Thus any entrained air is separate from the system
through the air separator and completely eliminated via a high capacity air vent installed
on the air separator.
Bladder/diaphragm tanks neednt be located above the air separator since they are not
there to collect air. Rather, they can be installed right on the floor right beside the air
separator. They can also afford to be quite a bit smaller, taking up less room in an
equipment room. Given these two advantages, its not surprising that 90 to 95% of new
systems are designed to be air elimination systems.
There are, however, a couple of piping measures to keep in mind. It is best to a avoid
connecting a bladder tank directly above or below the pipe. This could lead to trash
plugging the drain or the formation of an air pocket if an air trap is made. It is also
recommended to provide a 12 minimum anti-thermo-siphon loop to prevent gravity
heating of the tank.

Air Management and Pressurization Part 3 How to Calculate

System Fill Pressure

If youre a mechanical engineer responsible for designing the hydronic system for a new
building, one of the kindest things you can do for your client is include the initial system fill
pressure on your drawings. This one accurately calculated value could help your client
avoid a lot of operational problems in the future.
What is system fill pressure?
Frequently referred to as the cold fill pressure the system fill pressure is the pressure
required to fill a hydronic system with water and still leave enough pressure at the top of
the system to vent air off.
System fill pressure will take into account the:
(1) System height, which is the vertical distance from the bottom of the piping system to
the highest piece of piping in the system, and
(2) Any additional pressure in a heating system that may, in rare cases, be required to
prevent water from flashing to steam.
The fill pressure must be high enough to fill the system with water and still have enough
pressure to vent off air. In some cases it must also be high enough at all points in the
system to prevent flashing in the piping or pump cavitation.
How To Calculate System Fill Pressure
Calculating the system fill pressure is pretty simple. Lets say you have a system that is 30
feet in height. (Remember, this is the system height, not the building height!) Since we
know that 2.31 feet of elevation equals 1 psi we simply divide 30 feet by 2.31 to determine
the static head pressure:
Thus, our static pressure is 13 psi. This will get our system filled, but it will not be
sufficient to meet the operational demands of the system once it starts operating. We
must add some additional pressure (typically 4 psi is enough) to make sure there is
enough pressure at the top of the system to make an air vent open. Since 13 psi + 4psi
equals 17 psi, this is the pressure that the pressure reducing valve shall be sat at upon
system fill. This is the value that should be included on the plans.
Sometimes you need a little more
4 psi at the top of the system is generally enough surplus pressure for most hydronic
systems to operate. However, systems that are designed to operate above 220F may
require more. This is because water boils at a lower temperature when it is under low
pressure. Thus, in order to keep water from flashing to steam in a higher temperature
closed system, it is necessary to increase the system pressure. TABLE 1 provides a

reference for what the minimum cold fill pressures at the top a system should be based on
system height and maximum operating design temperature.

Minimum Cold Pressurization at the Top of Closed Low Temperature Hot-Water

Heating System (Pumps Off)
Note that for higher temperature applications, if the pump is installed near the top of the
system, the pressure-reducing valve may have to be set at a higher pressure. Also, it is
important to know what the Net Positive Suction Head Requirement (NPSHR) is for the
pump. A high NPSHR is another reason you may have to increase the fill pressure.
Once youve made these simple calculations, and double-checked the NPSHR on the
pump, you are ready to pass this crucial information onto the installing contractor by
including it on the plans!

Air Management and Pressurization Part 4: Expansion Tank

Sizing
Properly sized expansion tanks (standard or bladder/diaphragm) are critical to a
successful air management in a hydronic system.
Every expansion tank manufacturer has a written form that provides the steps and
calculations for sizing an expansion tank. Most, if not all, have developed software that

does the work for you. Bell & Gossett has a great one, ESP-Plus which can be
downloaded here. But regardless of whether you use software or charts and longhand
calculations to size an expansion tank, there are a few pieces of information youre going
to have to have either way. These key values are:
1. Total system water volume
2. Minimum and maximum system operating temperatures
3. Maximum system operating pressure
4. Minimum operating pressure at the tank to maintain 4 psig at the high point in the
system.
5. Maximum operating pressure at the tank

We like to add one more to the list: The system component with the lowest pressure
rating. Obviously, you dont want the system pressure to ever exceed the pressure rating
on the boiler or other component, lest you blow the ASME relief valve!
After you know these values, choosing an expansion tank for the system you are
designing is a matter of completing a relatively simple manufacturers sizing worksheet or

plugging in a few numbers into a sizing program. But before you get to that point, its
important that you understand the logic (and physics) that dictates the sizing of your
expansion tank.
First, it is important to remember the two primary purposes of an expansion tank in a
hydronic system:
The tank (whether it is a bladder tank or a standard tank) must be sized such that it can
store the required volume of expanded water without exceeding the maximum pressure
allowable. It must also be able to maintain the required pressure when the system is cold
and water volume is at its lowest. Thats where an old chemistry lesson comes into play.
Remember Boyles Law? Boyles Law, and its associated equation, p1V1=p2V2, states
that the absolute pressure exerted by a gas (such as air) is inversely proportional to the
volume it occupies within a closed system, assuming the temperature and volume of the
gas remain the same. In a closed hydronic system, the volume of water changes
constantly as a result of even the slightest temperature change. As this water volume
increases, the volume air within a bladder tank decreases, as the free-floating molecules
of air get squeezed together. As the volume of the air and water changes, so does the
pressure. As you decrease (squeeze) the air volume in the expansion tank, you actually
increase the pressure within the system proportionately. If you decrease the air volume by
half, you double the pressure within the system.
Thats Boyles Law, and it serves as the basis for how we size expansion tanks.
Still Confused?
Heres another way to think about it. In sizing an expansion tank for a hydronic system, we
are actually predicting the expansion volume of the system and determining how much of
an air cushion is needed to keep the system pressurized under low operating
temperatures and provide enough space for expansion under higher operating
temperatures to avoid over pressurization and blowing relief valves.
Another potential problem when dealing with compression tanks is water logging the tank.
Thru gravity recirculation air can be reabsorbed from the compression tank. Water-logging
occurs when the compression tank reaches the point where all of the air has been
removed from the tank and there is no room left for expansion. The addition of an Airtrol
Tank Fitting helps prevent this recirculation.
REMEMBER - Size and pipe your expansion tank correctly, and you will never have to
worry about a water-logged tank or a blown relief valve!

Air Management and Pressurization Part 5: Is It A Compression Tank or an

Expansion Tank?
As we bring our first series about air management in a hydronic system to a close, were
going to revisit tanks not what they do (weve already covered that) but what we call
them. Specifically, we want to address whether or not there is a difference between what
some industry professionals call an expansion tank and what others call a compression
tank.
Short answer: It depends on whom you ask.
Long answer: Yes, there is a difference. But
practically speaking about todays usage, the words
are frequently used interchangeably. So it is very
important to clarify the physical attributes of the tank
in question.
This all begs a little bit of a history lesson.
Remember in Part 1 when we said that many years
ago most hydronic systems were design as open
systems and the water was allowed to expand in a
tank that was open to the atmosphere? Technically, those were expansion tanks not the
closed vessels (plain steel or bladder/diaphragm tanks) we use today.
Compression tanks are what we use today, and what weve been discussing throughout
this series on Air Management even though we too sometimes refer to them as
expansion tanks. Compression tanks are pneumatic cushioning devices that absorb the
fluctuating pressures result from temperature changes in the water. Yes, water is allowed
to expand into these tanks, but they are not open to the atmosphere like the original
expansion tanks were. Rather they contain an air cushion that compresses as the
water expands. A compression tank can be a plain steel tank where the air cushion and
water actually touch or a bladder/diaphragm tank where there system water and air
cushion are separated by a physical barrier.
Its easy to see how the term expansion tank got carried over as a way of referring to the
tanks used in more modern closed systems. After all, they do give the water room to
expand but technically they were and always will be designed to be compression tanks
that allow for the expansion of water in a closed hydronic system.