Flowchart · D2

Design a dust-collection run

The duct designer's workflow, from the collector outlet to a saved layout with cited losses.

Start Engineer action Decision Result Refuses to guess 
flowchart TD
  S([Start at the filter or cyclone outlet]):::start --> A[Append straights, elbows, reducers]:::act
  A --> W{Need a branch?}:::dec
  W -->|yes| WY[Drop in a wye and pick its side and angle]:::act
  WY --> SZ[Size the branch for transport velocity]:::act
  SZ --> P[Attach pickups at each hood]:::act
  W -->|no| P
  P --> Q{Is each pickup's airflow known?}:::dec
  Q -->|yes| FAM[Family tree totals CFM, FPM and velocity pressure per duct]:::res
  Q -->|no| HELP[Airflow worksheet: displacement, entrainment, hood capture]:::act
  HELP --> Q
  FAM --> L{Is the fitting in a cited loss table?}:::dec
  L -->|yes| LOSS[System loss with table reference]:::res
  L -->|no| NC[Loss left unresolved and flagged]:::warn
  LOSS --> SAVE[Save the layout or export geometry for CFD]:::res
  classDef start fill:#ede9fe,stroke:#7c3aed,stroke-width:2px,color:#1e1b4b
  classDef act fill:#dbeafe,stroke:#2563eb,stroke-width:2px,color:#0f172a
  classDef dec fill:#fef3c7,stroke:#d97706,stroke-width:2px,color:#422006
  classDef res fill:#dcfce7,stroke:#16a34a,stroke-width:2px,color:#052e16
  classDef warn fill:#fee2e2,stroke:#dc2626,stroke-width:2px,color:#450a0a

Step by step

  1. Start at the outlet of the filter or cyclone and append straights, elbows and reducers.
  2. Add branches with wyes. Pick the side and angle, and the branch is sized for transport velocity.
  3. Attach pickups at each hood. If a pickup's airflow is unknown, the worksheet works it out from displacement, entrainment and hood capture.
  4. Family tree: airflow, velocity and velocity pressure roll up for every duct.
  5. Losses: fittings covered by a cited loss table get a loss with its reference. Fittings that aren't are flagged unresolved.
  6. Save or export the layout, or export the geometry for CFD.