This website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. By visiting this website, certain cookies have already been set, which you may delete and block. By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of cookies. Visit our updated privacy and cookie policy to learn more.
This Website Uses Cookies
By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Learn More
This website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. By visiting this website, certain cookies have already been set, which you may delete and block. By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of cookies. Visit our updated privacy and cookie policy to learn more.
ES Magazine logo
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
ES Magazine logo
  • Home
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Digital Edition
    • Ad Index
  • Products
  • News
  • Sectors
    • Colleges/ Universities
    • Commercial
    • Government/ Institutional
    • Health Care
    • Hospitality
    • K-12
    • Mission Critical
  • Topics
    • Building Automation
    • Cooling & Chillers
    • Design/ Construction Process
    • Heating & Boilers
    • IAQ
    • Life Safety
    • Motors & Drives
    • Pumps & Flow Controls
    • Retrofits
    • Ventilation
  • Columns
    • Back2Basics
    • Building Automation Column
    • Case In Point
    • Commissioning
    • Editor's Note
    • Facility Files
    • IAQ: A Physician's View
    • Tomorrow's Environment
  • Multimedia
    • Videos
    • Podcasts
    • Webinars
    • Video Spotlights
    • Interactive Spotlights
    • Sneak Peek Spotlight
    • White Paper eBlast
    • Case Study eBlasts
  • Resources
    • eNewsletters
    • Continuing Education
    • White Papers
    • Industry Events
    • ES Store
    • Classifieds
    • Custom Content & Marketing Services
    • Market Research
  • Today's Boiler
    • Today’s Boiler Digital Edition
  • Directory
    • SourceBook
    • Take a Tour
  • Contact
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
Home » Pharmaceutical manufacturer buys building, becomes big fan of air movement performance
Case In Point

Pharmaceutical manufacturer buys building, becomes big fan of air movement performance

May 30, 2003
Reprints
No Comments
Five buildings on the Immunex campus house 22 supply units and five return units that use unique aerodynamic inlet and outlet configurations. The supply units range in capacity from 30,000 cfm to 51,000 cfm.
Last year when Amgen acquired Immunex Corporation, the pharmaceutical giant also acquired new labs and offices on an unfinished campus in Seattle. Among the buildings that were finished was a cluster of four connected buildings which house offices and labs and which are designated "A," "B," "C," and "D." Also completed was a standalone building designated "J."

Each of the building's air-handling systems use an aerodynamic and aeroacoustic fan system (Compact(tm) Space Fan Systems from M&I Air Systems Engineering, a division of M&I Heat Transfer Products Ltd.). In all, Buildings A, B, C, D, and J on the Immunex campus house 22 supply units and five return units that use unique aerodynamic inlet and outlet configurations. The supply units range in capacity from 30,000 cfm to 51,000 cfm.

The starting point: vaneaxial fans

On the systems supplied to Immunex, aerodynamically streamlined inlet concentrator/silencers prevent much of the potential noise from occurring. The fans are engineered and manufactured by American Fan Company/Woods, a FlaktWoods company.

These inlet units gradually accelerate the intake air to the fans' annular velocity without generating turbulence or flow separation. They deliver the air perpendicular to the fans' annulus areas and are designed to minimize impact losses at the fans' hubs.

The use of acoustical materials and the inclusion of resonators mechanically tuned to the fan blades' passage frequencies further decrease sound levels inside the mechanical rooms. On the outlet side of the fans are regain attenuators, which are computer-designed to optimize aerodynamics and aeroacoustics. In each system, the velocity of the air leaving the fan is gradually reduced to the duct and plenum velocity using multiple splitters and/or turning vanes, thereby maximizing the static regain of the fan's annular velocity pressure.

Meeting Immunex's specs

When Immunex and its engineering firm drafted the air-handling requirements for the Seattle site, high energy performance, low noise and vibration levels, and simplified maintenance were among the most important criteria. The fans were chosen because aerodynamically designed regain attenuators on the Compact systems are designed to achieve as high as 80 static regain of a fan's annular velocity pressure. As a result, energy consumption is 30% to 50% less than for conventional systems of equal capacity, according to the manufacturer.

Salman Akhtar, P.E., engineering manager with M&I, said the Compact air handlers also met Immunex's low noise requirements. "The use of acoustical materials and resonators on systems already made quiet by a combination of aerodynamic features, and the lack of lines-of-sight from the intakes and outlets to the fans achieves this objective."

With respect to vibration, because of the aerodynamic features of the inlets and outlets used in these Compact systems, the vaneaxial fans built into them generate displacements as low as 0.02 mil (peak). In addition, the fans are mounted on four 98% efficient vibration isolators to minimize the transmission of vibration to a building's floor or other mounting structure.

The case of Building C

In Building C on the Seattle campus, there are four 44,000-cfm-capacity supply units. According to Akhtar, there was intense competition to supply these four, as well as the remaining 23 air handlers. M&I subjected a conventional design to analysis using a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) flow-modeling program. "The modeling revealed areas of pressure drop at the fan inlet, its outlet, and at various fittings within the proposed air-handling unit. Besides pressure losses, the CFD modeling displayed other phenomena such as boundary layer separation, vena contracta, Venturi formations, and vortices," he said.

Four air handlers were delivered to Building C, and all met customer capacity requirements. However, instead of the 100-hp motors required for the conventional design, the air handlers were outfitted with 60-hp motors. Of course, the difference in energy consumption is significant. Also, since smaller motors in the airstream mean less heat in the airstream, lower hp motors in air-handing equipment mean a lower cooling load for the entire building. The results achieved using Compact air handlers in Building C help account for the widespread use of these kinds of systems in Buildings A, B, D, and J as well.ES

es-subscribe

Related Articles

High volume, low-speed fans become an essential part for automotive supplier

Dehumidification retrofit's speed and performance win big with swim team

VSDs bring air of reliability to London landmark's fans

Boston's Old North Church becomes a beacon of fire safety

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Subscribe For Free!
  • Print & Digital Edition Subscriptions
  • eNewsletters
  • Online Registration
  • Subscription Customer Service

More Videos

Popular Stories

Dynamic Data Center Workloads Require a Dynamic Cooling Solution

Dynamic Data Center Workloads Require a Dynamic Cooling Solution

Protecting Pharmacists

Protecting Pharmacists: New USP 800 Standards Focus on Safety in Handling Hazardous Drugs

The Dangers of Neglecting Regular Boiler Maintenance

The Dangers of Neglecting Regular Boiler Maintenance

Jeff Edwards

Jeffrey W. Edwards Presented with ASPE Award of Merit

A2L Nov 2019 Figure 1

A2L Refrigerants: Safely Addressing Flammability Concerns

ES-20toWatch-winners250


Todays boiler

Events

December 30, 2030

Webinar Sponsorship Information

For webinar sponsorship information, visit www.bnpevents.com/webinars or email webinars@bnpmedia.com.

View All Submit An Event

Poll

Favorite Engineered Systems columns

Which Engineered Systems column is your favorite:
View Results Poll Archive

Products

The Green Energy Management Book

The Green Energy Management Book

Learn from our experts how to evaluate job opportunities, market your services, sell a Walk-through Survey, target areas for an Energy Audit, calculate energy savings, do retrofit work, and win continuing contracts for retrofit work.

See More Products

ES Kohler webinar


ES_2018Top10States_360

Engineered Systems Magazine

Engineered Systems December 2019

2019 December

Check out the December 2019 edition of Engineered Systems: Discussion of the "next generation" of building controls, the health impact of indoor particulate matter, evidence-based decision-making in the built environment and much more!
View More Create Account
  • Resources
    • ES Glossary
    • HVAC glossary
    • New Products
    • Mechanical Group
    • Partners
    • List Rental
    • Privacy Policy
    • Survey And Sample
  • Want More
    • Connect
  • Contact

Copyright ©2019. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing