Mass Flow Rate

[homerphish]

When calculating the mass flow rate through a series of pipes, is the flow in the main line the sum of all the mass flow rates going into that line, or does it assume the value of the largest flow rate of all the pipes?

 

[martindup]

homerphish
Are you talking about a number of pipes running into a single pipe and a single pipe splitting into a number of pipes? Then unless you found some cheap way of transforming matter to energy and back you should take the sum of the mass flows of all the pipes that run into a single pipe to calculate the main pipe's mass flow. The individual mass flows of the parallel pipes might differ because of possible different diameters, lengths or materials that would influence the resistance to flow in each pipe.
Martindup

 

[mgp]

Consider it this way:

What goes in - must come out.


regards
Mogens

 

[Vidaman]

This reminds me of my fluids prof in college that stated the Civil Engineering Continuity Equation as...

Mass Out = Mass In - Mass Stuck in Pipe

Regards,

Vidaman

 

[EGT01]

That CE prof must have been referring to a sewer line.

Sorry, couldn't pass-up that one! ;-)

 

[homerphish]

That much I figured, but does anyone konw what a reasonable mass flow rate is for a Hot Gas Defrost line running on a 500 ton system.