×
INTELLIGENT WORK FORUMS
FOR ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS

Log In

Come Join Us!

Are you an
Engineering professional?
Join Eng-Tips Forums!
  • Talk With Other Members
  • Be Notified Of Responses
    To Your Posts
  • Keyword Search
  • One-Click Access To Your
    Favorite Forums
  • Automated Signatures
    On Your Posts
  • Best Of All, It's Free!
  • Students Click Here

*Eng-Tips's functionality depends on members receiving e-mail. By joining you are opting in to receive e-mail.

Posting Guidelines

Promoting, selling, recruiting, coursework and thesis posting is forbidden.

Students Click Here

Jobs

Estimating loss due to leakage

Estimating loss due to leakage

Estimating loss due to leakage

(OP)
I am currently doing an ultrasonic leak detection survey of the building that I work in. Air and N2 leaks are the prime targets in this survey. Has any one done a "dollars lost"/year type survey like this before. What should I take into account to estimate losses ie pressure, line size, cost/m scfh, etc. and is there some kind of generic formula to estimate leakage amts. I know how to figure $$$$$ but with different size leaks how would you know amts.
Hope this makes sense.

Roy Gariepy
Maintenance and Reliability Dept.
Bayer Corporation  Dorlastan Fibers Div.
Goose Creek, South Carolina  USA

RE: Estimating loss due to leakage

http://www.cleandryair.com/system_leaks.htm

Believe it or not : A cobweb with it's strands a pencil width, can catch hold of a concord. All questions directed to Discovery Channel.

RE: Estimating loss due to leakage

(OP)
Thanks quark,
Excellent link, just what I was looking for.

Roy Gariepy
Maintenance and Reliability Dept.
Bayer Corporation  Dorlastan Fibers Div.
Goose Creek, South Carolina  USA

RE: Estimating loss due to leakage

(OP)
Quark,
The link you pointed me to had a nice chart for scfm for compressed air. do you or any one else for that matter know of one for nitrogen, steam, or natural gas. If not I'll do the calcs. Sorry for seeming lazy, it's been a long day (and of course doesn't hurt to ask).

Roy Gariepy
Maintenance and Reliability Dept.
Bayer Corporation  Dorlastan Fibers Div.
Goose Creek, South Carolina  USA

RE: Estimating loss due to leakage

Nitrogen will essentially be the same as air, considering air is 79% N2.

For the others, flow rate of the gas in question would be proportional to the square root of the molecular weight of the gas to that of air times the flow rate for air.  

That's a rough estimate for the same pressure.  If the temperature is significantly different, you'll need to adjust for that also.

RE: Estimating loss due to leakage

(OP)
Thanks td2k

Roy Gariepy
Maintenance and Reliability Dept.
Bayer Corporation  Dorlastan Fibers Div.
Goose Creek, South Carolina  USA

RE: Estimating loss due to leakage

This link gives you approximate idea about steam leakage. There is a chart which directly shows energy losses (vis-a-vis hole size and pressure).

http://www.pnl.gov/fta/15_steamtrap/15_steamtrap.htm

It seems you are more into calculation of savings

The trick always lies in considering all the inherent inputs and advantages.

For example, as yours is a big company, man power cost will be high. You should add operators wages, cost of consumables and cost of attached utility viz., cooling towers and pumps etc.

There may be some parts of equipment whose life is given in no. of operating cycles. Arresting leakage will reduce the no. of working hours of the equipment and this may become substantial over a period of one year.

etc....etc....

Good Luck,

Believe it or not : Though human body is made up of intricate and subtle mechanism, it is very poor in energy conversion. The maximum efficiency is 20% during cycling. During under water swimming it is just 4%.

Red Flag This Post

Please let us know here why this post is inappropriate. Reasons such as off-topic, duplicates, flames, illegal, vulgar, or students posting their homework.

Red Flag Submitted

Thank you for helping keep Eng-Tips Forums free from inappropriate posts.
The Eng-Tips staff will check this out and take appropriate action.

Reply To This Thread

Posting in the Eng-Tips forums is a member-only feature.

Click Here to join Eng-Tips and talk with other members!


Resources