The inability to accurately measure airflow at the end of a large project can be an expensive showstopper. All too often, this occurs because airflow measuring stations were installed in the wrong location because the manufacturer’s guidelines for duct and piping diameters were not properly taken into account. These issues are entirely preventable, yet troublingly common.
MSC was called in to resolve problems at a large laboratory and R&D facility. The first issue tackled was erratic measurements from airflow measuring stations in the discharge ducts of over a dozen air handling units. All of the flow stations had been improperly located after elbows in the ductwork, so we had to devise a workaround. The solution: removing the flow stations and installing new higher-quality devices on the inlet of the centrifugal fans, resulting in accurate airflow measurements.
Next, we addressed multiple vortex shedding flow meters in the heat recovery loop. Not only were they installed in the wrong locations, the flow ranges were insufficient, as well. MSC removed them and installed new flow meters in a different part of the system.
The third problem solved involved laboratory air valves that had to be recalibrated in the field with new K factors. Because they were installed in areas where there was excessive turbulence, new flow straighteners were installed to reduce some of the turbulence. Then MSC worked with the manufacturer to install new software with multiple K factors to provide accurate measurement.
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