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How we check our tools
Every PlantCalcKit tool must reproduce a published worked example or an independent check before it is released. Here is what each one is checked against.
What “checked” means here
- Reference-example check: the tool reproduces a worked example published in a standard reference (named in the table).
- Independent calculation: the results are compared with a separately written calculation, or a hand calculation of the published formula.
- Formal certification: none of these tools carries a third-party or formal certification. Methods are “aligned with” published procedures; they are not licensed reproductions.
Each record shows its method and what it was checked against. A version or review date is shown only where one has been recorded; none is recorded for the records below, so none is shown.
No verification records match those filters.
Try fewer words or clear the filters. Newer tools state what they were checked against in the “Specification and checks” section of their own Excel product page.
| Tool | Method and references | Checked against |
|---|---|---|
| Cooling Tower Water Balance Excel + free calculator · Excel product page # link | Perry §12, GPSA Sec. 11, Marley/SPX, Branan | GPSA Example 11-7 (2,000 m³/h, 40/30/25 °C, 4 cycles → makeup 48 m³/h) |
| Cooling Tower Performance Test Excel + free calculator · Excel product page # link | Performance-curve method aligned with CTI ATC-105 | Published CTI-style test form: capability 101.1 % |
| Cooling Water Chemistry and Cycles Excel + free calculator · Excel product page # link | Marley pHs correlation, Betz Handbook, GPSA Sec. 18, Puckorius & Brooke, Larson & Skold | Betz Handbook Table 31-2 and GPSA Fig. 18-22 examples; LSI 2.31 at 60 °C |
| Cooling Tower Thermal Rating Excel + free calculator · Excel product page # link | Merkel method (Perry §12), 4-point Chebyshev integration | Perry's worked example for the Merkel integral; example tower 33.33 °C at 29 °C wet-bulb |
| Heat duty, LMTD and fouling Free calculators # link | Kern, Perry §11, Bowman–Mueller–Nagle F factor, effectiveness-NTU | F = 0.80 at R = 1, P = 0.5 (standard chart); F·LMTD and ε-NTU routes agree exactly |
| Pump efficiency, NPSH, affinity laws Free calculators # link | Hydraulic Institute definitions, Perry §10, IAPWS-IF97 water properties | Vapour pressure 101.42 kPa at 100 °C (steam tables); hand calculations |
| Pipe pressure drop Free calculator # link | Darcy-Weisbach, Colebrook friction factor | Moody chart: f = 0.0185 at Re 10⁵, ε/D 10⁻⁴ |
| Control valve Cv Free calculator # link | IEC 60534-2-1 liquid equations (aligned) | Kv 100 at 100 m³/h and 1 bar (definition) |
| Orifice plate flow Free calculator # link | ISO 5167-2 Reader-Harris/Gallagher equation (aligned) | C ≈ 0.603 at β 0.5, high Reynolds number |
| Boiler efficiency Free calculator # link | Siegert flue-gas loss formula (net CV) | Hand calculation of the published formula |
| Pipe insulation heat loss Free calculator # link | Churchill-Chu / Churchill-Bernstein convection plus radiation | Heat balance closes at the surface; bare-pipe losses match published tables |
| Compressed air leaks Free calculator # link | Choked orifice flow | 1/8" hole at 100 psig: 26 cfm vs 25 cfm in the US DOE tables |
| Tank volume Free calculator # link | Exact geometry of shell and heads | Half-full and full volumes match the exact formulas |
| Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger Performance and Fouling Excel · Excel product page # link | Shah & Sekulić, Bowman–Mueller–Nagle F factor, effectiveness-NTU, PlantCalcKit fluid library | Shah & Sekulić Examples 3.6, 3.8 and 13.2; steam and propane condensing duties vs reference data |
| Condenser and Reboiler Performance Excel · Excel product page # link | Zone-by-zone weighted MTD, Wagner vapour pressure | Steam condenser and toluene reboiler within 0.1 % of reference equation-of-state results |
| Gas Cooler and Compressor Intercooler Excel · Excel product page # link | Raoult dew point, weighted MTD over the condensing curve, ideal-gas compression | Humid-air intercooler: dew point within 0.2 °C, duty within 0.3 % |
| Heat Duty and Utility Consumption Excel · Excel product page # link | Enthalpy balance with the PlantCalcKit fluid library | Stream duties within 0.1 % of reference data |
| Waste Heat Recovery Excel · Excel product page # link | Pinch and approach method for heat recovery steam generators | Within 0.1 % of an independent reference calculation |
| Plate Heat Exchanger Performance Excel · Excel product page # link | Martin chevron-plate correlation (Shah & Sekulić), effectiveness-NTU | Shah & Sekulić Example 9.3: duty 713 kW vs 712 kW |
| Fluid Properties Calculator Excel · Excel product page # link | Reference equations of state (fitted), Peng–Robinson, Lee–Kesler, ASTM D341 | Enthalpy differences: liquids ±0.1 %, vapours ±1 % |
| Gas Properties Calculator Excel · Excel product page # link | Peng–Robinson, Chung, Wilke, Wagner, CODATA heating values, Le Chatelier | 36 states vs reference equations of state; HHV within 0.1 % of NIST |
| Liquid Properties Calculator Excel · Excel product page # link | Aalto, Lucas, Missenard, Grunberg–Nissan, Raoult, Liaw | 20 pure states and 4 mixtures vs reference data; median density error 0.02 % |
Release checklist for every Excel tool
- Zero formula errors; the standard example matches the hand calculation and the reference worked example.
- Every selector option and every unit system (SI, US, British) gives the same answer.
- Impossible and out-of-range inputs trigger clear warnings.
- Guide tab with method, assumptions, references and verification; print-ready report.
- Opens cleanly in Excel for Windows and Mac and in LibreOffice; no macros.
Book methods and equations are cited in our own words; no text, tables or figures are copied. Standards are referred to as "aligned with" the published method. Found something that does not look right? Email [email protected] — engineering errors are fixed first.