period two

Suction Line

notes
suction line
Determine Refrigerant Velocity
pipe diameter, in. (mm)
2) 5) 2)
(1 (1 (2

8)
0)

15 )
2)

4)

3 5 (79)

(1 5)
8)

31 )
5

7
5,000

(1

(1
1/2 5/8 7/8

0
(2

(3

(4

(5

(6

4 1 /8 ( 1

)
3/4
3/8

30
/8
/8

/8

/8

/8

/8
(25.4)

13

21
11

25

/8
velocity, fpm (m/s)

2,000
(10.2)

1,000
(5.1)

500
(2.5)
R-22
1 2 5 10 20 50 100 200
(3.5) (7.0) (17.6) (35) (70) (176) (352) (703)

evaporator capacity, tons (kW) Figure 19

The refrigerant velocity inside a pipe depends on the mass flow rate and
density of the refrigerant, and on the inside diameter of the pipe. The chart in
Figure 19 shows the velocity of R-22 inside pipes of various diameters at one
particular operating condition—40°F (4.4°C) saturated suction temperature,
125°F (51.7°C) saturated condensing temperature, 12°F (6.7°C) of superheat,
15°F (8.3°C) of subcooling, and 70°F (38.9°C) of compressor superheat. For an
example system with an evaporator capacity of 20 tons (70.3 kW), the
refrigerant velocity inside a 2 1/8 in. (54 mm)-diameter pipe at this condition is
about 1,850 fpm (9.4 m/s).
The easiest and most accurate method for determining refrigerant velocity is to
use a computer program that can calculate the velocity for various pipe sizes
based on actual conditions. However, if you do not have access to such a
program, a chart like this may be useful.

suction line
Determine Refrigerant Velocity

pipe velocity, fpm (m/s)

diameter, 20 tons 10 tons
in. (mm) (70.3 kW) (35.2 kW)
1 1/8 (28) 7,000 (35.6) 3,500 (17.8)
1 3/8 (35) 4,600 (23.4) 2,300 (11.7)
1 5/8 (42) 3,250 (16.5) 1,625 (8.3)
2 1/8 (54) 1,850 (9.4) 925 (4.7)
2 5/8 (67) 1,200 (6.1) 600 (3.1)
3 1/8 (79) 850 (4.3) 425 (2.2)

Figure 20

Assume that this example 20-ton (70.3-kW) system contains one refrigeration

14 TRG-TRC006-EN