Pressure loss calculation in Pipeline

[TAGE]

Dear All
After reviewed several threads talking about pressure loss calculation in pipeline (all type of fluids; compressible, incompressible etc.), I would like you to share your partical and competent experiences in this matter.

My first question is whether or not there are any recommended technical documents,books or guildlines summarized formulae, equations or even techniques.

Another question is there is an effective software that you guys use for calculating the pressure drop in certain systems?. since it will take a lot time to calculate or revise some complex systems (lots of fittings, valves, equipment) Please do not feel this is a commercial issue, coz there are numerous softwares in the market now andI am not sure that which one has a correct outcomes or results regardless of human error input.

For both questions, I just want to know which one(s) you would recommend from your experience.

Thank a lot in advance for your recommendations or suggestions

Best Regards,

 

[MortenA]

I have been using a number of systems over the last 10 years:

Flowmaster: Good for both gas and liquid phases. Gas is very slow in long trancient pipeline especially with abrubt changes in flow (e.g. simulation of a leak). Very good for simulation plants with valves changing operating conditions etc.

Pipeline studio: Very fast and very good for pipelines. Not so suited for plants.

HYSYS (And other process simulation tools). Very strong in thermodynamics. Is ususally only suited for "one string" lines since they normally cant handle a "distributed" network (it will at least take a lot of manual "help").

Best regards

Morten

 

[krb]

As for technical documents I would suggest Crane Technical paper 410, Flow of Fluids through valves, fittings and pipe. It is an excellent reference that has been around for many years. It is available through

http://www.craneco.com/flow_fluids.cfm

for $36US. I know it has been referenced on this site many times. There are others out there but this is one of the best.
For water systems, Bell and Gossett has many good manuals as well. See there website

http://www.bellgossett.com/

I'm sure there are many others but these two sources have a great deal of information.

KRB

 

[TAGE]

Thank you MortenA. Actually i'm interested in typical process fluids such as steam, oil, gas, water and slurry in particular and i hope that your recommended software will fulfill my requirements so i need to visit their website for more information. How about PipeNET? Have you heard or experienced in this software?

Hi. krb
I have a technical document of Crane valve you mentioned in the hand rignt now but i don't feel comfortable to use it sometimes. Since, as i said, it will take a lot of time to find centain values of friction coefficient (K) for several fittings espectially. Perharps i have no enough patience to use this manual but thanks for your confirmation anyway. I'll make more try on this.

Any further? please let me know, thanks so much

Regards

 

[FredRosse]

My employer designs large steam, water, and various fluid systems, power plants, etc. We have standardized on "AFT Fathom" for incompressible fluids, and "AFT Arrow" for compressible fluid networks. The program arrangement quickly determines loss factors for fittings, etc.

 

[MortenA]

No i dont know pipenet. There are many different packages out there. Its a big difference if you want tracient or not.

Also the need for multiphase or not. If you are interested in multiphase then you must know something about the models etc. I havnt got any expeirence in modelling slurries. I dont think any of the programs that i just mentioned can handle slurries as anything else but a viscous fluid?


Best regards

Morten

 

[krb]

I have an older version of Crane (1969) and a new version and the new version has better information for calculating K values than the old one. I have only used a few software packages for piping design and have found that the way K values are calculated use similar tables and equations found in the Crane manual.

Has anyone else checked to see how the programs they are using calculates K values?

KB

 

[CHD01]

I use the basic compressible and in-compressible equations with K values for fittings and pipe from Crane Tech Manual. To simplify determination of K, I have written my own excel spreadsheets to first calculate K and equivalent length for the entire pipe system based on a specific diameter (using beta ratio to 4th power to adjust for other diameters). In using Crane or any other method be sure to use the correct friction factor since Fanning and Darcy (Crane uses Darcy)factors differ by a factor of 4; also remember to check whether roughness factor is in feet or inches. Also, be sure to use outlet diameter for discharges to atmosphere involving an expansion (like a discharge from a relief valve where upstream sonic velocity is exceeded). Trying to do calculations in series with a K calculated for each diameter instead of determining upstream pressure for K of the entire system including all diameters can result in very conservative results.

The more you learn, the less you are certain of.

 

[WebWizz]

Try this website

http://www.engineeringpage.com

Then select pressure drop. Provides some easy to use calculations and provides Re, fricion factors delta p etc.

 

[stanier]

AFT's Fathom allows users to select from Crane, Miler, Idelchik when selcting the loss through fittings and valves. If you also invest in Chempak you have a direct linked database of 800 chemicals and their physical properties. Fathom also allows heat trransfer. Modules are available for Costings, Goal seeking and transinet real time (simulation of tank fills etc). If you want surge analysis then AFT have their Impulse program. As others have said AFT Arrow is for gases.

I am a user of these programs and also assist with Beta testing. I have used other programs such as Haestad Watercad and SewerCad, Epanet etc. AFT's products are well proven and robust. The support is second to none as you deal with real piping engineers not computer scientists.

 

[Alph]

Software for pipeline pressure drops for single or multiphase fluids :

- Pipesim / Pipesim-Net Steady State [Schlumberger]
- Olga Transient multiphase [Scandpower]
- Flowmaster single phase transient
- Pipeflow steady state [neotech]
- Pipephase Steady State [Simsci]

 

[Ashereng]

We use Pipeflow(neotech).

You need a really steady hand on the mouse, or everytime you select a pipe segment, it goes a bit squiggly. I hate that. I don't have a super steady hand. Maybe it's my mouse...

Other than that, it works really well.