We Asked An Hi Expert!
Power Plant Ventilation;
Efficient Power Plant Ventilation Systems The Key is to Control The Pressure Drop Across The Openings When Designing the Ventilation System to ensure it works effectively.
Control the neutral layer to ensure the system’s efficiency;
All buildings with heat sources have a neutral layer. Openings above the neutral layer will exhaust heat and openings below it will provide air inlet. In general, the further an opening is form the neutral layer the more efficient it will be. It is therefore important to control the position of the neutral layer for maximum ventilation efficiency and this is done by control of the Pd across the openings.
Control Pd by restricting velocity across openings:
When designing the ventilation system, you will need to assess the effect that the various obstructions to the flow of air through ventilation openings such as louvres, attenuators or ventilators, will have on the overall effectiveness of the system, as losses (expressed as a k factor) can be significant. Accurate information allows you to manage this by controlling the velocity across the openings, taking control of the Pd.
Design sufficient low-level inlet openings to avoid under-pressure:
Under-pressure can result from a design providing insufficient low-level inlet openings. Air will take the path of least resistance and may come through other routes than the designed ventilation openings. It may come in from other areas or bring in dust as it comes from openings not designed for inlet. The Pd across inlet openings should be kept low and should never exceed 20Pa.
Avoid over-pressure with mechanical inlet:
When designing a ventilation system with mechanical inlet, particular care should be devoted to the exhaust (whether this is natural or mechanical) in order to ensure that the Pd is kept low.
Hi Power Plant Ventilation!
Why it’s important to get it right: safety and efficiency:
In addition to the inefficiencies we have seen, getting it wrong can have serious consequences on the building’s safety. Under or over-pressure can result in difficulty opening doors or, worse, doors being “pushed closed”. This can be very dangerous in a fire situation, making it difficult for people to escape and for the fire service to gain access and deal with the fire.
Is It only Natural For Power Plant Ventilation Systems to be Natural Ventilation System Designs or Is It Okie To Design Mechanical Ventilation in some instances when that's the best Choice.!?!
When is natural ventilation not the answer?
- Not enough height - When the building doesn’t provide enough height to achieve a good stack effect.
- Not enough internal gain - When there isn't sufficient internal gain to generate temperature gradient;
- Not enough low level space - When there isn't enough space at low level to provide for the required inlet area: with natural ventilation, the pressure differential across the inlet or extract system must not be too high, or it won’t work effectively;
- No direct access to outside - When the building is entirely or partially enclosed within a main structure, so that there is no direct access to the outside and therefore it is impossible to provide openings for natural ventilation. This is sometimes the case for turbine halls.
As a designer, which factors should you consider for mechanical ventilation?
First of all, the ventilation system you select must ensure that the maximum temperatures that allow efficient operation of the plant and provide comfortable working conditions, are never exceeded. Starting from this premise, you should consider:
- The amount of air, inlet and extract, that will be needed, and how to get it in and out; for example, whether it will need to be ducted.
- The system you select must ensure good distribution.
- Noise: the system should not add to the noise levels within the building or in the surrounding area.
- Natural or mechanical inlet: to use a natural inlet, the pressure drop must not be too high or it will affect the effectiveness of the overall system.
- Running costs
- If the system will also be used for smoke ventilation, you will need to provide the correct rating.
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