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Upfeed System

1. This document provides steps for sizing the riser and main pipe for an upfeed plumbing system in a 4-floor apartment building. 2. Key considerations include the total demand load, street pressure, static head losses, pressure required at fixtures, and friction losses in pipes and fittings. 3. Applying these factors, the document outlines sizing the pipes for each floor based on accumulated demand loads, with pipe diameters of 1-1/2 inches for the first two floors and 1-1/4 inches for the third and fourth floors.

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1K views7 pages

Upfeed System

1. This document provides steps for sizing the riser and main pipe for an upfeed plumbing system in a 4-floor apartment building. 2. Key considerations include the total demand load, street pressure, static head losses, pressure required at fixtures, and friction losses in pipes and fittings. 3. Applying these factors, the document outlines sizing the pipes for each floor based on accumulated demand loads, with pipe diameters of 1-1/2 inches for the first two floors and 1-1/4 inches for the third and fourth floors.

Uploaded by

charbel
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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MEN516 Upfeed system Dr. N.

Zakhia
Sizing the riser and main pipe
The idea:
1. Obtain the total demand load (TFU) for the whole building.
2. Convert the TFU to GPM using charts or table.
3. Obtain the pressure required for the highest Fixture on the top flat.
Important information
For upfeed system, the street pressure (the city main) should be between 50 to 60 psi (3 to 4 bar). This
puts limit on how high water can flow vertically in pipes. Part of this pressure will be used up in friction
losses as the water passes through the building main, Meter, Various fittings, and Static head.
Furthermore, there must be sufficient pressure left at the top floor to provide proper operation to all
fixtures (a shower requires 12 psi, a bathtub 5 psi, etc…). Keep in mind that 0.434 psi is needed to push
water up 1 ft. Practice shows that the pressure of the city main (50 psi) cannot supply water more than
40 ft high (12 m, about 3 to 4 floors) including all friction losses (Static head + Friction in pipe + meter +
fixture flow pressure).
Step-by-step approach with practical assumptions:
Example: consider the building shown below where the street pressure, 50 psi.

4th floor

6
10
3rd floor

10
Water meter 2nd floor

10
1st floor

4
60

4-floor apartment. Each floor consists of 2 apartments (Predominately flush tank)


• 16 FU per apartment  128 FU total  Water demand is 50 gpm (chart-1 or table-2).
• Size of service main: d = 3 inch
• Street main pressure is 50 psi
1st step: determine the static head loss
The static head loss = 0.434 psi x vertical rise of water = 0.434 psi x 40’ = 17.36 psi
2nd step: Find the fixture pressure at the top floor requiring the most pressure.
The building uses flush tank-WC which is the highest pressure in the flat  from table 604.3, PWC = 15 psi.
Important note: we sometimes add excess pressure (usually 5 psi) to ensure proper operation if another
fixture is in use instantaneously.

3rd step: compute pressure loss due to friction, fittings and meter
This is done by adding the static head with the pressure required for the top fixture, then subtract the
sum from the available street main pressure.
Street main pressure: 50.00 psi
Static head + fixture pressure [17.36 + (15+5)]: - 37.36 psi
Pressure left to overcome friction and meter loss: 12.64 psi
The pressure drop in the meter:
The code states that “the meter device must be one size less than that of the service main”. Thus, the
size of the service main is given (d = 3”)  meter size would be: d = 2”. Therefore,
For GPM = 50 and meter d = 2”  read from below figure, Pmeter  1.7 psi
Thus, the pressure left to overcome friction in the riser is: 12.64 – 1.7 = 10.94 psi  11.0 psi
Pressure loss, psi

P = 1.7 psi

Flow, GPM
4th step: Compute the friction loss in terms of per 100 ft of pipe length:
Pressure left to overcome friction
x 100
TEL

Where TEL  Total Effective Length = Lpipe + Le


Lpipe  the actual pipe length, from the water street main to the highest fixture.
Le  equivalent length, estimated using tables 3, 4, and 5, for all fittings from the water
street main to the highest fixture. Or, a practical method can be used for Le as:
Le  30 to 50% of the actual pipe length.  this problem assumes: Le = 0.35 Lpipe
TEL = 100 + 35 = 135 ft
Thus, the friction loss per 100 ft becomes:
Pressure left to overcome friction 11.0 𝑝𝑠𝑖
x 100 = x100 = 8.15 psi⁄100𝑓𝑡
TEL 135 𝑓𝑡
5th step: find Dpipe and Vpipe from the flow chart
Knowing the Pressure drop due to friction: 8.15 psi/100ft and total gpm: 50. Choosing Galvanized steel
pipe  read from the chart  D1 = 1 ½ inch, V1 = 8 ft/s (acceptable). This is the diameter from the main
to the 1st floor servicing 50 gpm.
Next, redo the same calculation for the 2nd floor by subtracting the FU of one floor from the TFU.  128
FU – 32 FU = 96 FU total for the second floor  42 gpm
Then, for GPM = 42 and Pf/100ft = 8.15, read then D2 = 1 ½’’ and V2  7.6 ft/s (acceptable).
Similarly, for the 3rd floor: 96 FU – 32 FU = 64 FU  35 gpm.  read D3 = 1 ¼ ‘’ and V3 = 7.1 For the 4th
floor: 64 FU – 32 FU = 32 FU  21 gpm  read D4 = 1 ¼ ‘’ and V4 = 7.0 ft/sec
Note: one should compute the exact friction losses and compared them against the assumed friction loss
(35% of the total pipe length)

Summary of the Upfeed system


Water supply
Upfeed Zone, Appt. Building – Proj. # ….
Floor Accumulated Demand Load Pipe size Pipe velocity
FU gpm Ft/sec
1 128 50 1 ½’’ 8
2 96 42 1 ½’’ 7.6
3 64 35 1 ¼’’ 7.1
4 32 21 1 ¼’’ 7.0
Flow rate, GPM

Pf/100 ft of pipe

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