Sizing pipe and valves and calculating system pressure requirements(2)
Source:rember chen
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Author:cynthia
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Published time: 2017-10-10
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Now
that we have sized these laterals, let’s have a look at the piping plan for
this entire sample system.
The
main line has not yet been sized, nor has a component on the line just after
the water meter — the backflow preventer. Backflow is the unwanted reverse flow
of water in a piping system. A backflow preventer, of which there are several
types, is a valve or valve assembly that physically blocks the potentially
contaminated water in the irrigation system from flowing back into the domestic
water supply.
This backflow prevention device, along with all the pipe and electric valves on
the system, will need to be sized.
A
few guidelines to assist you in sizing valves are listed below.
•The
flow through the valve should not produce a loss greater than 10% of the static
pressure available in the main line.
•The
valve should either be the same size as the largest pipe in the lateral it
serves, or no more than one nominal size smaller than that pipe.
•The
valve should not be larger than the pipes in the lateral, unless a high flow
(equivalent to a larger size pipe) results from a split lateral.
One
caution about over-sizing automatic valves:
Occasionally,
dealing with low pressures to begin with, will look for ways to reduce pressure
loss. If the designer selects a large size valve because the flow loss is so
low as to be unlisted on the performance chart, he or she may find the valve
won't
operate once the system is installed. There must be a minimum pressure loss
through most types of automatic valves! The valves use this pressure
differential to open and close. Lack of data in the manufacturer's
performance chart is an indicator that the valve should not be used at the high
or low flows in question.