What Is Damper (Flow)? Types Of Dampers?
What Is Damper (Flow)?
A damper is an essential component of any air-handling system, as it helps regulate and control the flow of air within a duct, chimney, VAV box, air handler or other air-handling equipment.
It functions like a valve, controlling the amount of airflow in each area by allowing or blocking airflow. Dampers can either be mechanical or motorized and come in various designs to meet specific needs.
The primary role of a damper is to limit how much ventilation an area gets, which makes them invaluable for temperature control and energy efficiency. They are also used to maintain safe operating temperatures in fireplaces or wood stoves and prevent backdrafts into the room.
What Are The Types Of Dampers?
Dampers are essential components of HVAC systems, as they control air flow to regulate an area’s temperature and ventilation. There are various types of dampers, such as butterfly flat dish dampers, blade dampers, guillotine dampers, louver dampers, and inlet vane dampers.
Butterfly flat dish dampers feature a wider open space than other damper types and offer superior airflow control; they are often used near exit points or supply registers because of this.
Blade dampers create precise airflow control with minimal pressure loss, while guillotine dampers can be manually operated with a lever or automated.
Louver dampers allow for adjustable angles that can be used to fine-tune the airflow rate, while inlet vane dampers are cascading designs that can help stabilize airflow and reduce turbulence.
What Is The Difference Between A Damper And A Valve?
Valves and dampers are components used to control the flow of liquids or gases; however, they function differently.
A valve is placed in a pipeline and can be used to regulate the pressure and rate of flow of liquids or gas, whereas a damper is placed inside an air-handling unit such as a duct, chimney, VAX box, or air handler and regulates the flow of air or gases.
Valves use manual or automated mechanisms for opening and closing mechanical openings to increase or decrease the amount of media passing through them. On the other hand, Dampers typically use hinges that open manually or with power to assist in enabling more or less airflow.
Where Are The Dampers Located?
Dampers are typically located in the main supply trunks of a home’s HVAC system. These ducts are responsible for distributing warm air during winter and cold air during summer, and the dampers regulate the flow of air into each room based on its specific needs.
The position of the damper can be adjusted manually or with a thermostat to control the temperature in each room precisely. This is especially useful for larger homes where some rooms may require more cooling or heating than others.
What Are The Two Types Of Damping?
There are two main types of damping: viscous and hysteretic. Viscous damping depends on frequency, meaning that it reduces with increasing frequency, while hysteretic damping assumes non-linear relations between stress – deformations.
Hysteretic damping can be further divided into linear and non-linear modelling based on the type of material being used.
Both forms of damping are important in engineering applications, as they affect the performance of machines such as motors and bearings in terms of increased lifetime and stability.
What Controls A Damper?
A damper is an automatic duct-regulating device that is controlled by a room thermostat. This temperature sensor opens or closes a metal baffle inside of a heating or cooling duct, resulting in the efficient control of multiple heating zones in an enclosed space.
The position of the damper will depend upon the set temperature, allowing for highly accurate and energy efficient regulation of indoor temperatures throughout the building.
