Pressure Drop in Piping : Intrqduction Piping design in production facilitics involves selection of a pipe diam- eter and a wall thickness that is capable of transporting fluid from onc piece of process equipment to another, within the allowable pressure drop and pressure rating restraints imposed by the process. The first step in being able to make these changes is to understand how pressure drops in these lines are calculated. This is discussed in this chapter, while the next chapter discusses the concepts involved in choosing a line size and a pres- sure rating. . While this chapter emphasizes piping that exists within a facility, the concepts included on pressure drop are equally valid for determining the pressure drop in flowlines, pipelines, gas transmission lines, etc. This chapter first introduces the basic principles for determining pres- sure drops in piping and then discusses the flow equations for liquid flow, compressible flow, and two-phase flow. Finally, it shows how to calculate pressure drop in valves and fittings when using the various flow equations. The last part of this chapter includes some example calcula- tions for determining the pressure drop in various types of pipe 226Pressure Drop in Piping 227 GU Basic Principles Reynolds Number The Reynolds number is a dimensionless parameter that relates the ra- tio of inertial forces to viscous forces. It can be expressed by the follow- ing general equation: pDv Re = (8-1) # where Re = Reynolds number density, Ib/f? pipe ID, ft flow velocity, ft/sec viscosity, Ib/ft-sec The Reynolds number can be expressed in more convenient terms. For liquids, the equation becomes: Fup GO Re = 7738 SGdv (8-2) » Re = 92.1 SG) Q ce 83) du where. viscosity, cp pipe ID, in. velocity, ft/sec S.G. = specific gravity of liquid relative to water liquid flow rate, bpd Derivation of Equations 8-2 and 8-3 wis in cp, p in lb/ft}, d in inches Re = (62.4)(S.G.)d V(1,488) G (12)228 — Design of Oil-Handling Systems and Facilities Re = 28 S.G)d V # Qis in ft/sec., A in ft fe day hr = ue = 5 Q=Q x 5.61 5 * Sas * sepae 7 O49 X 10-5 Q aa 4 (144) _ 5 6.49 x 1073(4)(144) v-qa pe = 92:18.G.)01 dz _ For gases the equation becomes: Re = 20,100 28 (8-4) du where Q, = gas flow rate, MMscfd specific gravity of gas at standard conditions (air = 1) d = pipe ID, in. # = Viscosity, cp wu Derivation of Equation 8-4 Pg is in lb/ft, D in ft, » in cp, p’ in Ib/ft-sec = Pe D Vea # Re where V,q = actual gas velocity, ft/sec T is in °R, d in inches, P in psia