Been spending some time trying to get more into the sizing
part of duct for Revit… we’ve been working on a project for a client that
required well formed systems. When I
turned the duct systems checking tools on, I kept getting some really nasty
little errors that I couldn’t figure out…and a couple of items that should
work, that didn’t…at least from my understanding of how duct systems should be
defined. So here’s the notes from what I learned.
Regardless of whether the program can define a
system when adding a duct or not, I
found that systems normally aren’t “well connected” when you follow this
method. I’ve gotten repeated errors, that I believe came down to how I was
adding the duct. The safest method for
defining a system and getting the duct sizing results needed, is to create the
system first by selecting the targets, such as air terminals. Selecting the
source equipment (such as a VAV) once you’ve defined the duct system usually
creates the most stable system, and results in the fewest errors with the data
tables.
This includes upstream systems, such as the
primary air supply to the VAV boxes. One big issue we’re having with vendor
provided air handling units is the lack of good, clearly named connections. No
matter who the vendor is, open the family up and put in a connection name, such
as primary supply or return air intake. This way, when you are defining the
upstream systems, you can select the correct connection even if there are
multiple connections.
The biggest problem I ran into happened in regards
to the flow direction settings at the connectors. In order for a system to be
sized correctly, the source (such as the VAV box) should have the flow
direction set to OUT, and the Flow Configuration set to Calculated:
A loss method should also be specified – so if
you set this to specific loss, make sure you put a value in here – leave it at
0 and you’ll get an error.
The reciprocal is on the target, or air
terminal. Check the flow connection, and make sure it’s set to In for supply
air, and leave the flow configuration set to either preset or system. The default
air terminals are set to Preset, but you can change this. If it’s set to
Preset, flow factor is disabled, and you can set the loss method to coefficient
or specific loss. As with the VAV, if no value is set for specific loss for
pressure drop, you’ll get an error.
When using the Calculated/Preset combination, the airflow for the equipment is set to match the total airflow assigned to all components downstream. If you have 10 diffusers at 50 CFM, that means you’ll have 500CFM assigned to the VAV box as the calculated value in this configuration.
System flow configuration is a little different – instead of
using an aggregate airflow total from all diffusers, the system will calculate
the equipment airflow based on a percentage allocated to each air
terminal. If you set the flow
configuration to System, and have the loss method set to specific loss, you can
specify a flow factor (using a factor between 0 and 1 – with the total of all
air terminals equal to 1):
If the loss method for a system flow configuration is set to
Coefficient, then you can also set the loss coefficient value for the connector
itself(and pressure drop will be disabled):
As with the specific loss method, if you leave these values
set to 0, you’ll get an error.
Be aware that Revit already has a loss coefficient tables
defined for fittings, based on ASHRAE
Duct Fitting Database, which assigns a loss to specific fittings and
accessories. By assigning a coefficient directly to the air terminal, the Equal
Friction/Static Regain methods for duct sizing will return better results.
If you are using specific loss, I’d recommend using a shared
parameter for that value, so it can be changed without having to directly edit
the connector in the family. Use the Associate Parameter tool to add the
parameter. By using a shared parameter, you can also include this as part of a
schedule or tag.
Here's the help file's description of what each of these
settings is for:
This should help you a few of those nagging duct sizing issues - have a great day!
David B.
