Project Readiness Package
Rev 7/22/11
ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION:

Project Name (tentative):

Project Number, if known:

Preferred Start/End Quarter in Senior Design:
Fall/Winter
Fall/Spring
Winter/Spring

Faculty Champion: (technical mentor: supports proposal development, anticipated technical mentor during project
Ritter Arena: Heat Exchanger Between Cold and Warm Coolant
Loops
P13425
execution; may also be Sponsor)
Name
Dr. Mario Gomes
Dept.
ME
Email
mwgeme@rit.edu
Phone
585-475-2148
For assistance identifying a Champion: B. Debartolo (ME), G. Slack (EE), J. Kaemmerlen (ISE), R. Melton (CE)

Other Support, if known: (faculty or others willing to provide expertise in areas outside the domain of the Faculty
Champion)
Name

Dept.
Email
Phone
Project “Guide” if known:
Dr. Mario Gomes (ME) mwgeme@rit.edu

Primary Customer, if known (name, phone, email): (actual or representative user of project output; articulates
needs/requirements)
Richard Stein, HVAC System Engineering Support Manager, 585.475.4351, rdsfms@rit.edu

Sponsor(s): (provider(s) of financial support)
Name/Organization
Contact Info.
Page 1 of 8
Type & Amount of Support Committed
Project Readiness Package
Rev 7/22/11
PROJECT OVERVIEW:
Tasked with reducing the carbon footprint and energy usage of RIT, we have focused on improving the
Ritter Ice Arena, one of the largest energy consuming building on campus. Given the two resources of the
cold water loop (enters at 36°F and leaves 32°F, needing to be heated back up to 36°F) and the warm
water loop (enters at 65-90°F and leaves at 70-95°F, needing to be cooled back down), the goal is to
reduce the energy usage of both systems. Using the waste cooling from one system and the waste heat
from the other, install a heat exchanger to accomplish goal.
As a commercial heat exchanger of 40 gpm provides too much temperature change, divert a portion of the
water to go through the heat exchanger and back to mix with the other water. This small portion (the
calculations on Edge use ~6.2 gpm) will be heated from 32°F to ~50-60°F and then reintroduced back into
the pipe carrying 40 gpm where an average of 36°F will be obtained. Modify amount of heating by
varying flow of both the warm and cold coolant inputs/outputs.
DETAILED PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

Customer Needs and Objectives:
Customer
Need #
Importance
Description
CN1
5
Lower cost of heating/cooling
CN2
5
Cost of modifications less than money saved
CN3
5
Modifications must be sustainable (green)
CN4
3
Aesthetically pleasing
CN5
5
Safe for human operation
CN6
5
Can be integrated into current system
CN7
5
Maintain effective running conditions
CN8
5
Low maintenance
Page 2 of 8
Project Readiness Package
Rev 7/22/11
PROPOSED CHANGE
Page 3 of 8
Project Readiness Package
Rev 7/22/11
Functional Decomposition:
Page 4 of 8
Project Readiness Package
Rev 7/22/11
RIT Campus
Improvements
Functional
Interfaces
Warm/Cold Water Heat Exchanger
Dan Crossen
Cold Water
Input
Warm
water Input
thermometer
Cold Water
Output
thermometer
pipe connection
Sense
Temperature
(cold water)
thermometer
pipe connection
data
Sense
Temperature
(warm water)
data
data
data
Vary Pump
Speed
pipe connection
Exchange
Heat
pipe connection
thermometer
data
pipe connection
Pump Water to
Exchanger
size
Page 5 of 8
size
Fit Into
Space
Warm Water
Output
Project Readiness Package
Rev 7/22/11
Specifications (or Engineering/Functional Requirements):
S1
S2
S3
S4
S5
S6
S7
S8
S9
Specification (metric)
Unit of
Measure
Source
Function
CN6,7
CN6,7
CN6,7
CN6,7
CN1,3
CN6
CN1,3
CN7
CN1,3
CN5,6
System
System
System
System
System
System
System
System
System
System
Warm Water Temp Input
Warm Water Temp Output
Cold Water Temp Input
Cold Water Temp Output
Pump energy usage
Pump flow Rate max
Heat loss from pipes
Pump time constant
Pump efficiency
Size of Equipment
CN2
System
System cost
$$
CN5,6
System
Weight
lbs
CN7,8
CN7,8
System
System
Operating conditions: temperature
Operating conditions: relative humidity
°F
%
°F
°F
°F
°F
KW
gpm
KW
sec
%
inches
S10
Marginal
Value
24x24
x12
S11
S12
S13
S14
Page 6 of 8
60
Ideal
Value
Comments/Status
70-95
65-90
32
36
1-5
6.2
0-2
<1
60-100
12x12
x12
<=
$1000
40
32-95
0-100
Ambient indoor ice rink
Ambient indoor ice rink
Project Readiness Package
Constraints:
o
o
o
o

Rev 7/22/11
Labview or equivalent program used in monitoring/running of system
5 year maximum payback
Must not interfere with the running of the current system
Must be integrate-able into the current system
Project Deliverables: Working system (not installed in Ice Arena) complete with heat exchanger, pump(s), piping,
temperature sensors, and LabView program

Budget Estimate:
$1000

Intellectual Property (IP) considerations:

Other Information: Potential to save upwards of $15,000 per year, less pumping costs based on length of piping.
If project is a success, installation will be required during the 2 months the ice is melted.

Continuation Project Information, if appropriate: No prior projects. This project will be built using the
knowledge, customers, and information obtained Spring, 2012.
STUDENT STAFFING:

Anticipated Staffing Levels by Discipline:
Discipline
EE
How
Many?
0
ME
3
CE
0
ISE
Anticipated Skills Needed
0-1
ME1: Take care of the design of the flow of fluids. Model the flow of the
fluid based off of given temperatures and properties. Choose applicable
pump(s).
ME2: Thermal modeling of the fluid flow. Analytically obtain flow
needed to sustain desired output of 36°F based on input temperatures.
ME3: Labview: Construct program to take in the input of the temperatures
and output desired flow rates for both warm and cold water. Output the
<input temps>, <output temps>, <warm flow rate>, and <cold flow rate>
for data analysis.
ISE1: Make sure that it will fit in the designed space. Construct a general
design that will meet the size requirements obtained from observing
usable space in the ice rink.
Page 7 of 8
Project Readiness Package
Rev 7/22/11
OTHER RESOURCES ANTICIPATED:
Category
Resource
Available?
Description
Faculty
ME consult (to help with hooking inputs and outputs into Labview)
Environment
MSD Design Center
Machine Shop & Brinkman lab
Senior Design Lab
Equipment
Materials
Other
Prepared by:
Daniel Crossen
Date:
Page 8 of 8
5/22/12