The Pressure Drops Revit® plugin was released earlier this month. This innovative add-in, developed by ARKANCE CZ, allows for the calculation of pressure drop of Autodesk Revit ductwork systems without relying on ASHRAE tables. Consequently, users gain complete control over pressure drop calculations by assigning specific loss coefficients to each element of the ductwork system.
The development of the Pressure Drops plugin was necessitated by the undesirability of ASHRAE table calculations in some countries. ASHRAE, being a US-based organization, provides tables that do not align with local codes in certain countries. Additionally, HVAC elements with more than two connectors lack support for using specific coefficients in calculations with the default Revit tools - only ASHRAE table calculations can be utilized. The Pressure Drops plugin addresses this limitation by enabling the assignment of specific loss coefficients to all HVAC elements, a crucial capability for elements like tees that are common in MEP systems.
Pressure Drops plugin features a user-friendly interface with the possibility to assign specific loss coefficient to every ductwork element. These coefficients are saved in element parameter, so the calculation is repeatable. Based on the duct area, air flow and velocity, the pressure drop of each element is calculated by the plugin. The application outputs the total pressure drop of selected path. MEP engineers can thus easily find and calculate the critical path.
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| Pressure Drops plugin user interface |
The Pressure Drops dialog also provides the option to quickly analyze the selected path. Velocity or flow, which would exceed specific limits, is readily visible in the ordered list of elements. The plugin has another useful feature: if two selected adjacent elements are disconnected, Pressure Drops plugin will automatically connect them. This is very comfortable, especially when adjusting existing systems.
During internal testing of the Pressure Drops plugin, a 50% time savings have been observed when calculating critical path pressure drop of a small project.
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| Time savings using the Pressure Drops plugin compared to Excel calculation |
Pressure Drops plugin is available for download from the product page of the application. The trial version offers full functionality for 15 days. The plugin can be purchased from the ARKANCE CZ eshop. The new Pressure Drops plugin will undoubtedly assist MEP engineers in designing HVAC systems more effectively in Autodesk® Revit®.
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