Program sizes pipe and flare manifolds for compressible flow Written for the TI-58 or TI-59, this program sizes pipe for isothermal flow. Conditions ee can be calculated at pipe inlets or outlets. ‘Pas Kendell, PEDCo, Inc LJ In sizing pipe for the flow of liquids, the Darcy, oF Fanning, equation is usually used, Such methods may also be used for the flow of gases within certain re Stricted ranges (for details on these ranges, see Ref. (7). However, in the design of process plants, compresible flow is usually encountered, with its characteristic rapid changes in density and velocity. Other equations are needed for compressible flow. oe ‘Lapple {2] lists these for isothermal and adiabatic flow. Others present simplified forms of these expres- sions that have restrictive assumptions, Some empirical ‘equations designed for limited use, such as the Wey- mouth and Panhandle formulae, appear in Ref. [J]. “Typical of the compresiible-flow design problems in chemical process plants and refineries is sizing pres- sure relief manifold systems, In such systems, its neces- sary to calculate the backpressure (the pressure in the header) developed at relief valve outlets when these are relieving concurrently. Ifthe backpressure gets too high, tome of the closed valves may not open at their proper pressures, For example, ordinary relief valves tolerate variable backpressures to 10% of the valve sct presoure. Balanced-bellows relief valves can be used for. back pressures to 30—50% of the set pressure, above which Conventional equations Many methods based on isothermal flow have been proposed for sizing relief headers (and, of course, proc fs piping), Most notable ate those methods given in ‘APURP-520, Part I [J], which has a kinetic-energy eor- Teetion factor, and in API RP-521 [4] which is based on the Lapple chart, An inherent dificulty in these meth- ods is that they are based on the header inlet or back- pressure, which is unknown. Backpresure is unknown Since, a any relief-valve outlet, it depends on the flows fof other valves discharging simultaneously into the tame relief manifold. ‘Therefore, all of these methods require @ tedious trial-and-error solution based on an assumed inlet pres- sure. Tn a refinery, for example, if cooling water or 3% power fails, there may be a large number of relief valves, perhaps as many as ten, concurrently discharg- ing into the same relief header. The problems posed by these manual trial-and-error solutions can be hopelessly. complicated. : ae Calculations can be simplified by using graphic solu: = tions (5,6,7]. These, however, are not convenient or lex~ ible enough for general use, say in sizing gas-transmis- sion pipelines, oF in situations that have lazge pressure {. dro} aoe Tiere, we ‘vill present a streamlined calculation method that can salve a formidable array of compressi- ble-flow problems. The caleulator program sec ‘The accompanying program, designed for the TLS ad ‘TIL59 caleslators, does solve a broad range of pipesizing problems for compressible flow. The pro- gram assumes that flow is isothermal, and that either the upstream pressure or the downstream pressure is known: The Mach number can be found at the inlet and, more importantly, at the outlet—where sonic. ve- locity may limit the flow. "The program has been deliberately economized to fit the storage capacity of the TI-58, since this model is tions are given in Table IL ‘The algorithm Teothermal conditions, based on the inlet pressure, can be expressed a [2]: FID = (L/L = (Pa/ PO) — Py PAP ewe leer equal the ratio of Py to Ps then: PMUGL/D + In?) +1 ora Also, if My is the Mach number at the outlet, then, since © = Hs moe P= MYL/D +n) 41) In this program, the Mach number isealculated from the ratio of the acta! velocity tothe sone velonty, which i a ear ealelated fom the equation [I : ary = ([% @ Ths equation retic : aamz]? ‘The actual velocity can be expressed as: wy ze [rag Combining Eq, (5) and (6), reducing to consistent units ' sor ing oc hse Mek noe swoon ZY" = Since Eq, (2) and (3) are implicit in r, 2 is calculated by asuming Fett ©8208 rane Speeding convergence c Tt has been found, however, that in calculations where the AP was comparatively high, convergence was slow, especialy in calculating Py. The calculation some- times took twenty minutes to complete. However, using = F and looping the’ program until2 ae el pip ee ‘the Newton-Raphson convergence to -+0,001 gave suf- ficient accuracy, without unduly delaying the ealeula- tion; it took approximately two minutes for the most extreme and unusual case. Therefore, the development ‘of 2 more rapidly converging algorithm, which adds steps to the program, was not justified be ‘The Darcy friction factor, f is calculated from the Colebrook equation [9] which is the origin of the Moody chart [J0]. The equation can be expresed as ast so -2he[ | @ S370 yw es Seeper ner cergrete Convergence t9 0.0000 [1 the ection factar canbe Catclated in four iteration to suffciont preston. inthe exccuton of th program, either Py ov Py Sere epee errr ee For crampls it Py skrowa and Py sought, Pyne tte and a pipe tein asuneds The proses wil then Calcclats fy Ghe Mach umber maocked with the chien pres) fellowed by the Reynolds urbe, the DargyIedon factor, Py and Bray the AP, the caletated iy & gener than 07, the out ee tho small Such deg wl esl in undue ib eee eumenne a eens ee ae ee eee eae peace tar excep hat theft alelaved Mach number willbe 2, Sine th ertevion tne ppe sizing le My the Pro grim is continued unl Py daplged. Peng the R/S bution wil play AP and prouing i gait wl retiove Py ino dhe dpley. Thi value’ may then be tere by prosing By andthe pipe damm D, cre tered iecly or by reeling avec 1 (ROL). will then be displayed at the first R/S. This, agai Should be less than 62, or 2 larger pipe sae cat be oe ee eee wil Ukstrate the ret User's instructions. Inlet and outlet conditions may be obtained oatly Table It Sample problems Example 1: What is the pressure drop and the outlet Mach number in a 12-inch, Sch. 30 pipeline, 800 ft Jong, with carbon dioxide flowing under the fellowing conditions 50,000 1b / “ = 80 sia 0187 cP x 2.42 = 0.040414 Ib/fe-h 200 ft‘Data and results for Example 3. Such complex cases are warked out relatively quicldy Table tI Bees om ete eee pee eae Oat s a ps : 2 ALAN 008/31 01011328 o.n1222 7 oon 1.1986 1 (ausasa Se seen! tar ann ‘ooigt4 = 001434, alan “0.0141: 6 3 A208 oS 96.6166. ow hb oe) pie ‘The program calculates the following resus 01933863318 ie 0.0131145068 6159846154 “The program makes the task of ring a flare ‘manifold much easier and less tedious 92 Then by retsieving Py, entering the displayed value of P, by pressing B, ecentering the diameter, D (or RCL 14) and reinitializing wth A, we obtain atthe first R/St 5 My = 0.2514622314 ‘which indicates subsonic flow, and that the solution is acceptable” ‘ Example 2: What is the pressure drop and the outlet Mach number for natural gas flowing through 3/4-in., Sch. 160 pipe under the following conditions: $80 Ib/h = 001 eP x 2.42 = 0.0242 Ib/f-h Loa My = 18.7 * 27309 D_ = 0614 in. + 12 = 0.05117 fe + ‘The program calculates the following!" 02512971315, 8,616,350.445, 10260122702 7 2 415.7010817 ‘Then, by retrieving F into the display by pressing R/S, the displayed value by pressing B reentering the diameter direetly (or by RCL 14) and reinitializing by pressing A, we obtain: 0.6798959169 = which is les than 1.0, and therefore the flow is subsonic. This problem illustrates the time to calculate P, under conditions of high pressure drop. In this case,iia abt dhe Sanath utara Ep ik toningite ion inion ated with a AP of about 709 psi and a Mach number at the putlet of nearly 0.7, the ealculation takes two minutes and twenty seconds on the TLS, which is about the maximum caleulation time encountered, Longer calla- tions should be manually terminated and rerun with a larger pipe size. This is aceomplished by pressing R/S. followed by INV FIX. Most problems encountered ‘compute Py in less than ten seconds Sizing flare manifolds Here are points to remember in sizing manifolds: 1. The design starts at the flare tip, where the outlet pressure is atmospheric. The calculation is worked backward toward the relief valves. 2, A.size is assumed for each pipe section of the same diameter, and an equivalent length established. 3, The maximum allowed velocity at each section ~ outlet is Mach 0.7. “4. Propertis in ‘the common header may be est inated from the following mixture relationships (indi cates the ith component): M, = EW IRWIM), © T=3W,T/SM, (10) = Se /ER (MES (HN) 5. The inlet pressure is calculated for exch section of the line 6. At each line size change, the inlet pressure for the downstream line (P,) is taken as the outit pressure of |. the upstream Line (P,) and a new upstream pressure (Py) calculated: 7. The operation is repeated, working backward to- ward the relief valve. 8. The calculated backpressure at the relicf valve is then checked ‘against the maxirmum allowable back- pressure (MABP). The calculated backpressure should be less than, but close to, the MABP. = ‘9. The MARP is taken as 40% of the set pressure for balanced-bellows relief valves, and 10% of the set pres- sure for conventional relief valves. 10. If there is a great difference between the caleu- lated backpressure and the MABP, the longest header should be decreased in size until the ealculated back: pressure is close to the MABE. ="Bsanple 3: Size the flare manifold with relief loads ‘and flow conditions shown in the figure. For simplicity, the knockout drum is not shown. ‘This is the same problem solved graphically by Mak [6], and is presented here to demonstrate the simplicity of the method. ‘Table III summarizes the calculations, Note that the backpressures are close to, but less than, the -MABPS, showing that the line sizing is acceptable. Although many combinations of sizes are possible, good judgment would dictate minimizing the capital cost. The main header AB, which is 1,000 fe long, should be as smail in diameter as possible. Validity of the method Finally, let us examine the validity of the use of the isothermal flow equation as opposed to the adiabatic flow equation. (Note that Mak [6] also deals with this problem.) Compared to adiabatic flow: 1. The isothermal equation yields @ higher backpres- sure for both subsonic and sonic flow. 2, In subsonic flow, the maximum backpressure dif ference is less than 8%, 3, In sonic flow, the difference is less than 20% when. (fL/D is greater than 0.1. | 4, Although the difference is greater than 20% for “JL/D Ness than O.1, this is academic, a8 such low values ‘are rarely encountered. 5. The difference in backpressure is less than 4% when fL/D is-greater than 10 for subsonic and sonic flows. ‘These deviations represent maximums of the calcu- lated backpressure difference between the isothermal and the adiabatic equations. Actual flow in pipelines ‘and relief systems normally takes place somewhere be- tween adiabatic and isothermal conditions, and the deviation from the true value is greatly reduced. 5 Conclusion : ‘Dhis method provides a simple and rapid solution to ‘an otherwise complex problem. Moreover, application | ‘of the program provides conservative values for back -) ° pressure, making it ideal for use in design of flare system ‘manifolds and piping, Richard Greene, ir References 1 sfpot hts Treps Vis Fags Pp! eal Papa Na reco aa he re ee 2 bare Gf le ard Adatate Foe e Compete Fu 0 BREE Uc 80, Val 9, pp. ne Semel et, Doge Ion of Pree Snel og earn Ame Far ISU Se, Baie 2 4 idl! ry Rll al Dein Sten RRS, Ane Fagan | ese ae Hee iy, ln Bp Ar 10 TY, No Mad Spek mre Reet Nail Doge Oe We tap Tt 2, Kar oy So png ed Cots Gn Rep ot Fle Scat 85, Sawa ee ates oA al “Choma Peer ila Pa I Teme Been 0 Athy ete to 9, Can Tun Rn ph Priel Rete th ee ges reel ad ernie Lawes EY Ey CM WR a pee ve Sn Pn Fast roe i Tne ASME, WL 65, Nar Delf oing Png Phy on ganna Fc : SSeS ba eB BT ASH 6 Ma eS : ‘The author ce a eet magage wth io ee Rae, (ig and comemson af chee Fermiene aed eoeenciong Ric epmpanics ay Aus Davy McKee, U Bu Bo of Camda, Le, nod a Rec, iewedfr ‘Randel tlds» BS ta hema ‘prceing om Ser York Unter Beiesiend ie Soe io go Can orks. a 2 . 2