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Maximum velocity of diesel in pipe API 3

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Vijay93

Mechanical
Apr 28, 2020
8
Good evening,

I am currently working on a project where I have to dimension pipes based on the maximum velocity of diesel in the pipe as defined by API.

Can someone please tell me which API standard defines the velocity of fluids in a pipe?

Thank you.
 
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3-10 feet per second should do well to frame normal pipe selection. Be careful about surge pressures when above 10 ft/s. Further refined by The LAW OF ECONOMICS IN SELECTING PIPE DIAMETER.

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The thing you need to watch with diesel, especially when entering a tank, is static electricity caused by excessive velocity

see
Also API 2003 refers to static, and has suggested limits. This is an old version. Is this what you mean?


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API covers a lot of ground, and there is quite a bit of overlap between API, military, NFPA, local, state and federal rules. There is a huge variance in safe and proper velocity depending on what's going on. For instance, 25 feet per second is not that unusual when going into a half-full 60,000 barrel tank but 3 feet per second is the max going into an empty tank or while the floating roof is landed. A loading arm at a truck rack is much different than a loading arm at a ship or barge. Same for a cross country pipeline vs a process pipe at a distillation unit. You need to be a bit more specific in your setup and what regulatory agancies you are working with.
 
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