PDA

View Full Version : Mechanical Equipment wont propagate flow (piping) upstream



BigBadBIM
2009-04-08, 01:53 PM
Mechanical equipment (like a Fan powered box) calculates the flow from "terminal units" and can propagate that to duct upstream.

Is there a reason that mechanical equipment can't do the same for piping flow?

I created a "Piping break" family so that I can break DHW and DCW systems into subsystems based on floor or zone (since you can only assign one system to any particulat peice of equipment, like a boiler.) I configured the connectors the same as they are in our Fan Powered Boxes (VSF) and created a PIPING FLOW PARAMETER in the family (similar to the AIR FLOW parameter in our Air Side equipment.) However, the piping flow doesn't behave the same as the air flow.

Flow (as well as fixture units, which flow is derived from) proagates to the downstream side of the equipment, but stops there.

Any ideas?

I also investigated an OOTB water softener (intermediate equipment just like a FPB) and it doesn't seem to propagate that flow either.

Has anyone else been able to make flow propagate up stream using the piping flow parameter?

mjdanowski
2009-04-08, 05:39 PM
I have observed the same behavior. Piping is just too screwy right now to get any reasonable calculative benefit it seems.

BigBadBIM
2009-04-08, 07:30 PM
I have observed the same behavior. Piping is just too screwy right now to get any reasonable calculative benefit it seems.

These inconsistencies make it super hard to get my designers and engineers to WANT to use the product.