Steam Flow Rate

[Peru]

I am looking for a quick and dirty way to determine the steam flow rate using a pressure transducer. Steam Tank pressure = 18psig, Steam Tank Temp = 225°F. Steam Flow is through a 3/32 orifice in a solenoid (approx 2psi drop), into 3/16 ID tube 8" Long.

 

[way]

I could work out the problem for you, but the best thing for you to do is break out your Crane Technical Paper 410 and go through the process. If you don't have one, you should get one.

The easier thing to do is to download software off the web. I would recommend FE-Sizer. It is a great flow element sizing program that works great for sizing orifices or in your case determining the flow across an orifice.

Good Luck

 

[edfeel]

We use exhaust steam from our powerhouse turbines in our sugar processing equipment (evaporators and vacuum pans; these are actually heat exchange equipment which makes use of the exhaust steam's heat to process our sugar and the condensed steam is sent back to our boilers). A large steam pressure drop exists from the powerhouse exhaust steam line to our sugar processing station steam line due to an undersize steam pipe line. We sometimes blow-off the steam at the exit point of the point of the turbines to prevent large back pressures on our turbines. How should I determine the optimum pipe diameter to reduce this pressure drop without affecting the steam supplied to my sugar process, i.e., my rate of sugar production will not be affected negativey?

 

[engware]

Hi Edfeel:

I would suggest that you do pressure drop calculations for a few different pipe dimeters and maybe some other significant operation values and see what comes out as the best option for you.

Gordan Visit the Engineering Software web site --

http://members.aol.com/engware

-- where you can find free on-line calculators, demos and other material/information related to energy conversion systems (power and propulsion) ...

 

[TBP]

What is the diameter & schedule of the pipe? How long is the line in feet? Are there a lot of 90* els, or just a few for an expansion loop? What is the normal inlet pressure to the line (turbine exhaust pressure), and what pressure do you need at the end of the run to have your process operate properly?

 

[PAN]

For saturated steam at 18 psig, the temperature would be 256 F. It seems that 225 F indicates no steam...only condensate. Please comment about my opinion.