Frictional losses for liquid flowing out of a vessel into the discharge pipe - Conceptual question

[jari001]

Hi everyone,

Just curious if there are any credible scenarios where frictional losses would have to be accounted as a fluid drained out of a vessel. If I imagine an exaggerated case, I am thinking of a highly viscous fluid being gravity drained out of a vertically erected cylindrical storage tank; if a pump were involved I imagine the safety margins would cover such frictional contributions. I would think this scenario could be treated as flow through a pipe. Let me know if you have had some experiences with non-traditional flow situations.

Thanks!
-J

 

[jari001]

Sorry for the late response, it's been a hectic couple weeks due to these consistency batches. At this time, this setup has been in use and the waste level has been managed successfully.

This strategy was sold by knowledge that the amounts of waste produced at any one given time are small relative to the size of the frac tank. The maximum waste output at anytime is 3000 US gallons and it takes a whole work day to do that, so scheduling removals and managing the level is a simple task. Which is not to say it isn't a critical task since there are risks present, but the currently is not seen as large.

My desire to find spill scenarios is to inform my decision on the minimum frequency that the frac tank is emptied; with bimr's explanation I can say that since the liquid is the same at both locations and the entire system is at atmospheric conditions, then the depth (related to liquid level height) is the only remaining consideration for the equilibrium levels of the waste.

@LittleInch
The site isn't setup to support that kind of electrical work because there are no electricians who can come do the work fast enough. Since the risk was assessed as low, the money to put more things in place now is hard to come by. Given future opportunities to influence the risk evaluation process, I will suggest similar precautions much earlier due to the need to hire some contractors to facilitate installation.

I appreciate the advice that has been given, I only wish I had the opportunity to put more of it in action.

Thanks,
~J

 

[LittleInch]

Try searching "battery powered level transmitter. Loads of cheap radar type units come up mainly designed for oil tanks with readouts via wireless readouts. E.g.

https://www.sensorsone.com/portable-battery-powered-tank-level/

or

https://www.plumbnation.co.uk/site/titan-oil-watchman-sonic/?gclid=Cj0KEQiA1b7CBRDjmIPL4u-

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