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11-7895 Aspen HYSYS Upstream June 2015 Webinar With Process Ecology FAQ - FINAL
11-7895 Aspen HYSYS Upstream June 2015 Webinar With Process Ecology FAQ - FINAL
Systems
Webinar Q&A
This document summarizes the responses to questions posed before and during the webinar. Additional
questions should be directed to AspenTech Support. The webinar recording can be found here.
Q: For deposit formation, can Aspen HYSYS Upstream predict the sand deposit and corrosion caused by
the sand when the liquid is traveling at low velocity?
A: Currently, we cannot model the effects of sand deposition and its behavior within Aspen HYSYS.
Q: Have the results from Aspen HYSYS for heavy oil applications been validated with real data?
A: Aspen HYSYS Upstream offers a number of pressure drop correlations, including the Tulsa Unified Fluid
Flow (TUFF) correlation. Some work has been completed on the analysis of flow behavior of high
viscosity fluids.
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Q: How do you calculate the corrosion rate? Is it accurate?
A: There are three methods available to calculate the corrosion rate: NORSOK M-506 standard, de Waard
Model (1991), and de Waard Model (1995). To learn more about the calculation methods, please read
the F1 help documentation.
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Q: When you say Aspen HYSYS Dynamics, do you mean a regular pipe segment in dynamic mode?
A: Yes, when you run the pipe segment in Aspen HYSYS in dynamics mode, you’re using Aspen HYSYS
Dynamics.
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Q: Can Aspen HYSYS Upstream or Aspen HYSYS Dynamics be used for liquid filled pipelines, specifically
transient surge analysis?
A: Aspen HYSYS Upstream can be used for liquid filled pipelines, but there aren’t any specific modules for
transient surge analysis.
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Q: Does Aspen HYSYS give line pack calculations for pipelines?
A: While there are no specific line pack calculations that are given, the parameters required for line pack
calculations are provided by Aspen HYSYS, so they can be determined.
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Aspen Hydraulics
Q: Are additional licenses needed in order to run Aspen HYSYS Hydraulics?
A: Yes, running the Aspen Hydraulics subflowsheet would require an Aspen HYSYS Upstream license on top
of the base Aspen HYSYS license. Aspen HYSYS Upstream also includes links to 3rd party software.
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Q: What are the considered correlations for pressure drops? Is Aspen Hydraulics using a numerical
equation-oriented approach?
A: The available pressure drop correlations are in the F1 help documentation. Aspen Hydraulics does not
use an equation-oriented approach. It solves the nonlinear system of equations using the
Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm.
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Q: Is it possible to simulate pigging operations?
A: Aspen Hydraulics has an option to simulate pigging that allows you to create and launch pigs in the
Aspen Hydraulics subflowsheet.
Q: What is the difference between Aspen HYSYS Upstream and the old PIPESYS? Is Aspen Hydraulics (in
Aspen HYSYS Upstream) a replacement of PIPESYS?
A: PIPESYS is a steady-state, single line flow modeler. Aspen Hydraulics, available in Aspen HYSYS
Upstream, gives additional options to model pipeline networks, as well as the ability to switch to a
transient model.
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Q: Can we model gravity lines using Aspen Hydraulics?
A: Aspen Hydraulics does take into account pressure drops due to elevation changes, so yes, you should be
able to model gravity lines.
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Q: Can Aspen Hydraulics be used for LPG pipeline sizing and to calculate the surge pressure?
A: Preliminary pipeline sizing can be done within Aspen Hydraulics. While there is no direct parameter for
showing maximum pressure in a pressure surge situation, the behavior can be simulated in dynamics
mode with Aspen Hydraulics.
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Q: Has erosional velocity API14E been implemented in Aspen HYSYS Upstream (Aspen Hydraulics)?
A: Yes, the erosion velocity currently takes into account the API14E standards for the equation and for
determining the empirical constant.
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Third-Party Tools
Q: Do you have the OLGA-S correlation?
A: The OLGA-S correlation is available in the pipe segment unit operation and will require a separate
license provided by Schlumberger in order to use it within Aspen HYSYS.
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Q: Is there an option to use OLGA flow correlations in Aspen Hydraulics?
A: OLGA flow correlations are not available within the Aspen Hydraulics subflowsheet.
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Q: Are there any advantages for using Aspen Hydraulic vs. well-known commercial software?
A: The main advantage of using Aspen HYSYS vs. other well-known flow assurance software is the easy
integration of the processing facility with the gathering networks, which helps take a holistic look at the
process and makes better design and operational decisions. In some instances, Aspen HYSYS may be
sufficient for modeling simulating gas networks. For example, with a low condensate percentage, Aspen
Hydraulics will provide accurate results and you most likely won’t need additional software such as
OLGA and LedaFlow.
Heat Transfer
Q: In general, for simulating the refrigeration systems including solar panels, which part of Aspen HYSYS
do you think is better?
A: For steady-state simulations, the main difference between the Aspen HYSYS pipe segment and an Aspen
Hydraulics subflowsheet is the support of the topology and boundary conditions. If the system is a flow-
network, then the Aspen Hydraulics subflowsheet must be used. For a single pipeline system, the Aspen
HYSYS pipe segment is acceptable. The exception is that the Aspen HYSYS pipe segment should not be
used for high-speed, compressible gas flows, which should not be applicable to this system. In this case,
the compressible pipe on the main Aspen HYSYS flowsheet or Aspen Hydraulics flowsheet should be
used.
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Q: For heat transfers when the pipe is buried, should the temperature of the soil at the required depth or
the ambient temperature be specified? Or is the required field declared as the medium temperature?
A: In the heat transfer options for the pipe segment and the Aspen Hydraulics subflowsheet within Aspen
HYSYS, there is an option to select “Ground” as the external medium, which allows you to specify the
temperature of the soil at the required depth.
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Q: Can heat tracing data and solar radiation be given as an input? Can we input how ambient
temperature varies throughout the day?
A: The heat transfer options are limited to the external medium, pipe wall and insulation parameters. You
can manually adjust ambient temperature within the pipe.
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Q: Does Google Earth limit you to onshore assets? How did you transfer the elevation profile from
Google Earth to your model?
A: We do not have experience using Google Earth for extracting the elevation profile of offshore assets.
The elevation profile was initially exported to Excel. Further analysis of the elevation profile was
performed to reduce the number of segments and increase the model speed.
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Q: We used complex pipes to simulate a simple gas production flowline and found that the results are
very sensitive for the type of model being used. Did you use this feature or only a pipe segment to
simulate?
A: In this model, the Tulsa method was used. Results can be very sensitive to the selected pressure drop
model, therefore it is important to carefully consider the selection of this model and match to field data,
if possible.
Q: Can you have a multiphasic pump in the gathering network? Can you predict their behavior, i.e.,
temperature?
A: The Aspen Upstream Hydraulic flowsheet allows limited unit operations inside the flowsheet:
Pipe/Valve/Swage/Tee. If a pump is required, it would be necessary to transition the stream out of the
Aspen HYSYS Upstream/Hydraulic subflowsheet and model it in the main flowsheet.
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Q: What represents the bottom-hole separator that’s modeled in the system?
A: In this case, the bottom-hole separator was not modeled. The inlet boundary of the system was after
the choke valve.
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Q: Was Aspen Hydraulics run in dynamics mode during the gas gathering network modeling project
you’re describing?
A: No, Aspen Hydraulics was only run in steady-state mode for this project. We have successfully used
Aspen Hydraulics in dynamic mode for other applications.
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Q: How does the model and the "drilling program" take into account the changes in production well
pressures and rates over time for new wells coming online and previous wells that are starting to
decline? What about mid-point compression stations?
A: In this case, the client provided the data for the drilling schedule and forecast of expected production
from the wells in each quarter. There wasn’t a booster compressor in the network.