管道系统的设计与其说是一门科学，不如说是一门艺术。在设计风管分配系统时，工程师必须解决许多问题，其中大多数是风管系统所特有的。传统上，工程风管系统意味着要花费大量时间在建筑物中布置风管系统，避免横梁、结构钢、灯具、管道、其他风管，以及几乎任何可能会妨碍其运行的其他物体。可用于实际工程计算的时间非常少，当然也没有时间重复上述所有内容，以优化各种因素，从而实现最低的拥有和运营成本。 良好的判断、良好的猜测和良好的运气往往是大多数管道安装的关键。电脑改变了这一切。近年来，它已成为工程师可用的最佳工具之一。计算机程序并没有免除工程师设计管道系统的责任，而是让他能够以更适合自己任务的方式管理变量:为工程留出更多时间。引文:研讨会论文，佐治亚州亚特兰大，1978年

The design of duct systems is more of an art than a science. There are a host of problems the engineer must resolve when designing an air duct distribution system, most of which are unique to the subject of ductwork.Traditionally, engineering duct systems means spending a lot of time routing ductwork through buildings, avoiding beams, structural steel, lights, piping, other ducts, and just about any other conceivable object that could get in the way. Very little time is available for the actual engineering calculations, and certainly no time is spent redoing all the above to optimize the various factors to achieve the lowest owning and operating cost. Good judgement, good guesswork, and good luck are often the keys to most duct installations.The computer has changed all this. It has become one of the best tools available in recent years to the engineer. Computer programs do not take away the responsibility of designing duct systems from the engineer, but instead allow him to manage the variables in a way better suited to his task: more time for engineering.