Flow characteristics and resistance coefficients of local components of building heat-moisture-oxygen transport pipelines in the Tibetan Plateau

Abstract

The Tibetan Plateau is characterized by low-pressure, cold, hypoxic, and dry ambient conditions. Thus, in addition to heating, buildings in the region need humidification and oxygenation. It is noted here that the existing specifications of the resistance coefficients of the gas flow in the HVAC pipeline do not consider the effect of the variation in air components on the local resistance of the pipeline due to the low air pressure conditions as well as the humidification and oxygenation. In this paper, the effects of various parameters on the local resistance loss are investigated and reported, including the atmospheric pressure, inlet velocity, humidity, oxygen concentration, pipe diameter, wall roughness, velocity ratio, and area ratio between the branch and the main pipes. The results showed that the decrease in atmospheric pressure leads to a shorter longitudinal distance of effective dissipation of the secondary flow, primarily concentrated in 25D-27D. Additionally, the resistance losses generated in the elbow, the tee straight branch pipe, and the side branch pipe are reduced, with a maximum reduction of 42 %, 33 %, and 46 %, respectively, under low pressure conditions. Also, with the increase in the inlet velocity and the decrease in the pipe diameter, the local resistance of the elbow pipe is increased by a maximum of 14 times and 22 %. Moreover, when the velocity ratio increases and the area ratio between the branch pipe and the main pipe decreases, the local resistance loss of the straight branch pipe and the side branch pipe increases. Based on this study, the recommended value of the local resistance coefficient of the elbow and tee under low pressure is identified. This can provide a reference for the proper design of heat-moisture-oxygen transport pipelines in the plateau area.