BASICFLOWANALYSIS

FORGASCONTROLLERS
byCliffRaymond

cerVantagecommunications
www.cerVantage.com
cer@cerVantage.com

TableofContents
1.INTRODUCTION

2.ASSUMPTIONS

3.TYPESOFFLOWANALYSES

4.BASICGASFLOWCHARACTERISTICS

5.FLOWCALCULATION

6.PRESSURECALCULATION

7.EFFICIENCYCALCULATION

8.FLOWTHROUGHPARALLELPIPES

9.COMPRESSORSANDHORSEPOWER

11

10."HORSEPOWERPERMILLION"CURVES

12

11.PERFORMANCECURVES

13

12."GENERAL"HORSEPOWEREQUATIONS

14

13.FUEL

17

14.COMPRESSORCONFIGURATIONS

18

15.STATIONPIPINGCONFIGURATION

19

16.AFLOWSTUDY

20

20.FURTHERSTUDYREVEALS....

23

21.DECOMPRESSORBREAKEVENPOINT

24

22.MOREQUESTIONS

25

1.Introduction
ThegoalofthisbookletistointroducenewGasControllerstothebasicconceptsand
proceduresofnaturalgaspipelineflowanalysis.Itisassumedthatthestudentwillbefamiliar
withbasicgasterminology,suchasMcfd,BTU,specificgravity.(Ifyouneedarefresher,a
CommonLanguageStandarddocumentisavailablefromthePipelineSimulationInterest
Groupat http://psig.org/Standards/PSIG%200012000%20(B).pdf)
Theprocessofworkingthroughapipelineflowstudycan'tbeexplainedsimplybyshowing
someonehowtoplugnumbersintoacomputer.Calculationsofsuchthingsascompressor
requirements,fuelconsumption,gasvelocity,linepack,andpipeequivalencewhilenotdirectly
usedbytheflowequationareoftennecessarybeforeavalidflowstudycanbecompleted.
Andrecognizingsituationsthatrequiresuchcalculationsisjustasimportantasknowinghowto
usetheformulas.
Giventheadvancesincomputersandflowsimulationsoftware,theneedforadocumentthat
offersinstructioninflowanalysisproceduresmaynotbeapparent. However,Ibelievethat
beforeanytoolcanbeusedeffectivelyathoroughunderstandingofprocessisessential.
Thisbookletwillthereforeattempttoexploremanyofthedifferenttechniquesthatarefrequently
usedinflowanalysis.Therequiredequationswillbepresented,andexamplesofferedto
demonstratehowtousethem.Finally,afullstudywillbeperformedthatwilldemonstratehow
allthepiecesfittogether.
CliffRaymond
(originallypublished1986,revised2006)

2.Assumptions
Oneofthefirstthingsthatshouldbeunderstoodaboutflowstudiesisthattheydonotproduce
absoluteresults.Besidesthefactthatthereisalmostalwaysmorethanonewaytoaccomplish
aspecifictask,therearealsotoomanyunknownvariablesthatcanaffecttheresultsofastudy
foranyoneanswertobeabsolutely"correct".Inordertoreducetheproblemtosomethingthata
humanbeing(orcomputer)canhandle,manyassumptionshavetobemade.Andwhilesuch
assumptionsareunavoidable,bytheirverynaturetheymustintroduceacertainamountoferror
intothecalculations.Theidea,then,istoalwaysmake"reasonable"assumptions.
Forexample,whatspecificgravityshouldyouuseforthestudy?Whatgroundtemperature
shouldbeassumed?Andwhataboutpipelineefficiency?Allofthesefactorsandmanyothers
willaffecttheresultsofyourstudy.Abaddecisionherecaneasilycompounderrorslateron.
Onegoodstrategytousewhenchoosingyourassumptionsis(usually)toassumetheworst
case.Forexample,ifthespecificgravityofasystemhashistoricallyvariedbetween0.582and
0.591,itwouldnormallybebettertoassumethehigherfigureforstudypurposessinceflowing
pressuredropsfasterwithheaviergas.Byassumingtheworstcase,overlyoptimisticresultsare
avoided.
Ontheotherhand,youdon'twanttocarrythispracticesofarthatareasonableansweris
overlookedbecausetheassumptionsweretoopessimistic!
Estimatessuchasthesearenecessaryevenwiththepowerfulnewcomputersystemsand
programsthatarenowavailable,althoughtoalesserdegree(sincethemachinecantrackso
muchmoredatathancanbehandledmanually).Theflowofgasthroughapipelineisadynamic
processthereisnowayforallofthevariablesthataffectasystemtoevenbeknown,muchless
enteredintoacomputerprogram.

3.Typesofflowanalyses
Therearetwogeneralclassesofflowanalysis:steadystateandtransient.Whiletransient
analysisisbyfarthemorecomprehensive(duetoitstreatmentofgasbehaviorovertime),the
calculationsaresomanyandsocomplexthatasophisticatedcomputerprogramisnecessaryto
handlethem.Butevenatransientflowanalysishastostartsomewhere,andthatstartingpoint
isinvariablyasteadystatecondition.
Whichbringsustosteadystateflowanalysis,themainsubjectofthisdocument.Asthename
suggests,steadystateanalysispresumesthatflowconditions,onceestablished,canremain
constant.Actually,theassumptionthatasteadystateconditioncanevenexistinaflowing
pipelineisridiculoustobeginwith.Still,asmentionedabove,youhavetostartsomewhereand
thesacrificeofthissmallpieceofrealityyieldsaveryusefultoolthatdoesenableustopredict
withsomeconfidencetherealconsequencesofouroperatingdecisions.

4.Basicgasflowcharacteristics
Agoodanalogyfordescribinggasflowinapipelineisthewaterhose.Consider,forexample,
whathappensifyoupinchahosewhilethewaterisrunning.Firstofall,youfeelthepressure
increase"upstream"oftheclosure.Then,ifit'sonlypartiallyclosed,you'llseethevelocity
increaseasthewaterisforcedbythehigherupstreampressure throughtherestrictedarea.
Eventuallythough,whenthehoseispinchedshut,theflowstopscompletelyasthepressureat
theclosurebecomesequalizedwiththepressureatthewater'ssource. Thisillustratesoneof
themostimportantconceptsinhydraulics: noflow,nopressuredrop.
Naturalgasbehavessimilarlyinapipeline.Let'slookata100milelongsectionof30"line
flowing500,000Mcfdat60degreesanda.600gravity.Ifthepressuresoneithersideofa
closedvalveatmilepost50areequal,openingthevalvewillhavenoeffect:
689#

689#689#

NOFLOW

689#

689#689#

689#

NOFLOW

689#

Ifthepressuresaredifferent,however,gaswillflowuntilthepressuresequalizeatamedian
pressure:
800#

800#577#

NOFLOW

689#

NOFLOW

689#689#

577#

689#

NOFLOW(afterequallized)
Nowiftheunequalpressuresateachendofthelinecouldsomehowbeheldconstantafter
openingthevalveusingcompressors,forexampleaconstant(steadystate)flowof500,000
Mcfdwouldresult.
800#

697#

577#

FLOW
Inthislastexample,it'sinterestingtonotethatapartiallyclosedvalvewouldactlikeanorifice.
Sincethesamevolumeofgasmustflowthroughthesmalleropening,thegashastomove
faster.Uptoapoint,themorethevalveispinched,thefasterthegasmovesjustlikethewater
hose.
Alsonoticethattheflowingpressureattheopenvalve(697psig)isnotthesameasthestatic
pressurewhenthelineisequallizedwithnoflow(689psig).Thisdemonstratesthefactthat
pressuredropisnonlinear.Ifyouthinkaboutit,youcanalsoseethatataconstantflowrate
thelowerthepressurefalls,thefasteritdrops.Theimportanceofthiswillbecomeapparentlater
whenwelookattherelationshipbetweenlinepackandcompressorfuelusage.

5.FlowCalculation
Thepurposeofanyflowequationistoexplaintherelationshipbetweenpressuredrop,gas
velocity,gasflow,pipesize,piperoughness,distance,specificgravity,andgastemperature.
Severaldifferentflowequationshavebeendevelopedovertheyears,eachofwhichisdesigned
fordifferenttypesofflowconditions.AmongtheseareAGA,Panhandle"A",Panhandle"B",
Weymouth,Spitzglassandothers.Foracomparisonofseveraldifferent formulas,see
ATutorialonPipeFlowEquationsbyDonaldW.Schroeder,Jr.,ofStonerAssociates,Inc.,
athttp://www.psig.org/papers/2000/0112.pdf.
Becauseofitsrelativesimplicity,thePanhandle"A"equationwillbeusedinthisdocument:

Tb
Q= 0.43587
Pb

1.07881

P12 - P22

.8539
Tm L G

.5394

Eff D2.6182

where:Q=flowrateinMcfd
Tb=absolutebasetemperatureindegreesRankine,
(459.67+60F=519.67R).
Pb=absolutebasepressure(14.73PSIA).
P1=upstreampressure(PSIG).
P1a=P1+Pb=absoluteupstreampressure(PSIA).
P2=downstreampressure(PSIG).
P2a=P2+Pb=absolutedownstreampressure(PSIA).
G=specificgravityofgas.
Tma=absoluteflowing(average)gastemperature.
L=lengthofthepipe,inmiles.
D=insidediameterofthepipe,ininches.
E=%efficiencyofthepipeline

(Note:Tosimplifytheequationsthatfollow,apressurebaseof14.73willbeassumed.Thefirsttwoterms
oftheequationabovecannowbewrittenas20.363018.)

Example
Ifa75mile,30"(.375"wallthickness),94%efficientpipelinehasanupstreampressureof800psigand
adownstreampressureof727psig,specificgravityof.589,andagastemperatureof60degrees,how
muchgasinMCFDismovingthroughtheline?

814.732 - 741.732
Q =20.363018
.8539
519.67 75 .589
Q=299,990Mcfd

.5394

.94 29.252.6182

6.PressureCalculation
Whenflowequationsarewrittenout,theunknownquantityontheleftsideoftheequationis
almostalwaysflow(Q).Butinmanystudiesflowisassumedtobeknown,andit'seitherthe
upstreamordownstreampressurethatneedstobecalculated.Tosolveforthese,theequation
mustberearranged.
Tosolvefortheupstreampressure,use:
2

P1a = P2a + (Q /(20.363018 *E *D2.6182 ))1.8539 xTma *L*G.8539

Thedownstreampressurecanbecalculatedwith:
2

P2a = P1a - (Q /(20.363018 *E *D2.6182 ))1.8539 xTma *L*G.8539

Again,justplugintheknown(orassumed)valuesand,ifyourassumptionsarereasonable,a
goodapproximationofthepressurewillbecomputed.
Notethatthepressurescalculatedbytheseformulasareabsolute(PSIA),sorememberto
subtract14.73(orthepressurebaseyou'reusing)ifyouwantgaugepressure(PSIG).

7.EfficiencyCalculation
Thebiggestassumptioninalloftheseequationsispipelineefficiency.Aonepercentchangein
efficiencycaneasilyresultinadifferenceofseveralpoundsinthecalculatedpressure.Thisis
significantbecauseevenaonepounddropinthesuctionpressureofacompressorcanresultin
additionalfuelcostsofseveralthousanddollarsperyear.
Efficiencyisaffectedbysuchfactorsaspiperoughness,builduponthepipewalls,liquidsinthe
line,tees,bends,valves,etc.Withoutextensive(andexpensive)testing,thereisjustnowayto
besureexactlyhowefficientalineis.Aboutallyoucandoistrytobeconsistent. Yourresults
willatleastbecorrectrelativetoeachother.
Ifyoudohavethegoodfortunetoknowboththeupanddownstreampressuresandtheflow,
youcancalculatetheefficiencyofapipelineusingthesame(rearranged)formula:

P12 - P22
Eff = Q/(20.363018
.8539
Tma L G

.5394

D2.6182)

8.Flowthroughparallelpipes
Asoftenasnot,theflowproblemsthatyou'll
encounterwilldealwithmultipleparallel
lines.Ifthelinesarethesamesize,and
approximatelythesameefficiency,it's
perfectlyokaytojustdividetheflowequally
andcalculatepressuredropononeofthem.
Inmanycases,though,thelinesarenotthe
samesize,anditsnecessarytousepipe
factors.
Intheformulasabove,thediameterofthe
singlepipewastakentothepower2.6182
(wewillrefertothistermasthe'pipe
factor').Formultiplelines,justdothesame
thingforeachpipe,addthemtogether,and
substitutethistotalpipefactorintothe
formula.It'sassimpleasthat!
Example8A
Twopipelines(30"x.375"w.t.and36"x.388"w.t.)areflowingatotalof1,175,000Mcfdand
haveanupstreampressureof850PSIG,averageflowingtemperatureof75degrees,and.590
specificgravity.Ifthelinescanbeassumedtobe94%efficient,whatwillthepressurebe75
milesdownstream?
Firstcalculatethepipefactorsandsumthem:
2.6182

(30.375.375)

=6896.21

2.6182
(36.388.388)
=11218.50

pipefactorsum=18114.71

Nowsubstituteintotheproperformula:

P2a = 864 .732 - (1175000 /(20.363018 *0.94 *18114 .71))1.8539 *534.67 *75*0.59.8539
yields

P2a =708.68PSIA(or693.95PSIG)
Ashortcutoftenusedistoconvertallpipetoanequivalentlengthatastandarddiameterso
thatthedropisthesameasifallyouhadwasasingleline.Thisisdoneusingconversion
factorsthatarederivedinafashionsimilartothatintheexampleabove.
Ifthestandardyouselectisa30"x.375"pipe,then:
(30.375.375)2.6182 =6896.21
Nowdividethis30"pipefactorbythepipefactorsumofallthelines,exponentiatetothe1.8539
power,andyou'llgeta30"conversionfactorforparallel30"and36"lines:
(6896.21/18114.71)1.8539 =.16689

Thisallowsthepipefactor6896.21tobesubstitutedintotheformulapermanently,butsubseqent
mileages(oftheparallellines)mustnowalwaysbemultipliedbytheconversionfactorbefore
proceeding.Inthisexample,then,thepressuredropin75milesofparallel30"and36"linesis

P2a = 864 .732 - (1175000 /(20.363018 *0.94*6896.21))1.8539 *534.67 *12.517 *0.59.8539

thesameasthedropin12.517miles(75x.16689)ofasingle30"line.
=708.68PSIA
Usingthismethod,aspreadsheetcaneasilybebuiltthatcanconvertallthevarious
combinationsofparallellinesinyoursystem.

Example8B
Convertthefollowingthreeparallellines,all50mileslong,toasingle30"x.375"w.t.line:
30"x.375"w.t.
30"x.360"w.t.
36"x.388"w.t.
Thepipefactorofthesingle30"x.375"lineis:
(29.25)2.6182 =6896.21
Fortheotherthreelines,thefactorsare:
(29.25)2.6182 =6896.21
(29.28)2.6182 =6914.75
2.6182
(35.224)
=11218.50

25029.46
Theconverionfactortoasingle30"lineis:
1.8539

(6896.21/25029.46)

=.0916456

Thereforethepressuredropinthree50milepipesisequivalentto:
50x.0916456=4.58228milesof30"

It'sinterestingtonotethatanequivalentpipediametercanbecalculatedusingthepipefactor
sum.Forinstance:
(25029.46).3819418 =47.8578
Whatthismeansisthatasingle47.8578"insidediameterpipeshouldexperiencethesamedrop
inpressureastwo30"anda36"line,giventhesamelengthandflowrate.(.3819418isthe
reciprocalof2.6182.)
Stillanotheruseforpipeconversionfactorsisloadcalculation.Bydividingeachpipefactorby
thepipefactorsum,youcancalculatethepercentageofthetotalvolumecarriedbyeachlinein
aparallelconfiguration.Ifyouknowthetotalflowrate,youcanalsoestimateapproximatelyhow
muchisflowingthrougheachlinebymultiplyingthispercentagebythetotalflow.(The
assumptionhere,again,isthatalllinesareequallyefficient.)

Example8C
Giventhreeparallellineswithinsidediametersof19.438",23.312",and29.354"andatotalflowrateof
850,000Mcfd,abouthowmuchgaswillbeflowingthrougheachline?
(19.438)2.6182 =2365.63
(23.312)2.6182 =3807.12
(29.354)2.6182 =6960.60

13133.35

2365.63/13133.35=18.01%,850,000x.1801=153,085Mcfd
3807.12/13133.35=28.99%,850,000x.2899=246,415Mcfd
6960.60/13133.35=53.00%,850,000x.5300=450,500Mcfd

100.00%850,000Mcfd

Awordofcaution:doNOTattempttouseconvertedpipelengthsorequivalentpipediametersin
thetemperature,linepack,andvelocityequationsthatwillbecoveredlater.Thoseformulas
requireactualpipediameterand/orlengthdatatocalculatecorrectly.

10

9.Compressorsandhorsepower
Beforewegoanyfarther,itshouldbeunderstoodupfrontthatthediscussionthatfollowsisnota
rigoroustreatmentoftheverycomplexsubjectofcompressorhorsepower. Let'sfaceita
pipelineflowanalysisevenwhencomputerizedconsistslargelyofaseriesofestimatesbased
onassumptionsthatsomebodysomewhereisgoingtoobjecttoanyway.Whenanalyzinga
singlecompressor'sperformanceformaintenancepurposes,calculationsaremorecritical,and
moredetailedandaccuratedatashouldbeavailable.Forflowstudypurposes,however,it
usuallyissufficient(evennecessary,duetotimeconstraints)tousevery"general"methodsor
equationstoestimatehorsepowerrequirements,andthentomakeadjustmentsaccordingto
knownoperatingcharacteristicsandconditions.
OnecommonpointofconfusionamongnewGasControllersisthedifferencebetween"rated"
horsepowerandthepowerthatcanrealisticallybeexpectedfromanengine.Thisisespecially
truewithcentrifugalcompressors.Howisitthatanengineratedat3,500horsepowercan
routinelyproducewellinexcessof4,000horsepower?The"rated"horsepowerofacompressor
istheamountofworkperformedbyacompressorunderspecificoperatingandflowconditions,
asdesignedandtestedbythemanufacturer.Theactualhorsepowerthatwillbeproduced,
though,dependsonoperatingconditionsthatmaybeverydifferent.
Curve#121comparesanengine'sratedhorsepowerwithhowitcanbeexpectedtoperformin
therealworld.AfullyloadedGG3C1gasgeneratorisratedat10,500horsepoweronlyatan
elevationof1000feetandanambienttemperatureof80F.Changeeithertheelevationor
(especially)thetemperature,andyouwillaffecttheengine'sperformance.Atsealeveland50
degreesF,forexample,theenginecanbeexpectedtoproduceabout13,250horsepowerwhen
fullyloaded.
Frequently,aflowstudywillindicateahorsepowerrequirementatastationhigherthanthe
available"rated"power.Furtherinvestigationwilloftenrevealthattheengineswilloperatejust
fineovertheirhorsepowerratingunderthestatedconditions.
Forexample,ifyouranalysisindicatedaneedfor15,000HPatastationwithfourunitsratedat
3,500HPeachanda fuelinefficient16,000HP(rated)turbineavailable,a"worstcase"decision
woulddictatethatthegasturbinebeused.Ifconditionsweresuchthatthesmallerunitscould
producetherequiredpower,however,operatingtheturbinewouldclearlybethewrongdecision.
Howcanyoubesure?Well,youcan't,really,withoutjustgoingaheadandputtingthemachines
uptoseeifthey'llrun(notabadideainsomesituations).Thenextbestwayistousethecurves
andequationsthatwe'lltalkaboutinthenextfewsections.

11

10."Horsepowerpermillion"curves
Oneofthose"general"methodsforestimatinghorsepowerrequirementsinvolvestheuseofa
curvethatestimateshowmuchhorsepowerisrequiredpermillioncubicfeetofgas(HP/MM)
compressed.
Tousethecurves,youhavetoknowthetypeofunit,flow,suctiontemperature,suction
pressureanddischargepressure.Firstcalculatethecompressionratio(remembertouse
absolutepressures),thenfindthatratioatthebottomofthegraph.Nextmoveupthecurvetill
youreachthesuctiontemperature,andreadthe"horsepowerpermillioncubicfeet"ontheleft.
Nowmultiplythisnumberbytheflow(inMMcfd)andyou'llhavearoughestimateofthe
horsepowerrequired.
Example10A

Conversely,ifinyouranalysisyouknowhowmuchhorsepoweryouwanttouse,plustheflow,
Ifaflowstudyindicatesthatacentrifugalunitwithasuctiontemperatureof58degreesneedstocompress839
temperature,andoneofthepressures,youshouldbeabletoestimatetheotherpressureusing
MMcfdfrom714PSIGto934PSIG,approximatelyhowmuchhorsepowershouldberequired?
thecurves.JustdividethehorsepowerbytheflowtofindtheHP/MMfigure,thenmoveacross

tothetemperatureanddowntothecompressionratio.Noweithermultiplythesuction
pressure,ordividethedischargepressure,bythatratio,andyou'llwindupwiththepressure
Withacompressionratioof1.302,theindicatedHP/MMonthecentrifugalcurveisabout13.75,yieldingatotal
you'remissing.
requirementof11,536horsepower(839x13.75).

Example10B
Usingtheexampleabove(10A),11536dividedby839yields13.75HP/MM,anda1.30ratio.Ifyouranalysis
showsthatthesuctionpressurewillbe714PSIG,thenthedischargewouldcalculateas933PSIG:
(714+14.73)x1.3=947.35PSIA(or932.62PSIG)

Simple,right?Well,yes,butifyourantheseoutI'llbetyoucameupwithdifferentanswers.
That'sthetroublewithcurvesit'shardfortwopeopletocomeupwiththesameresults,even
whenusingidenticalinformation,andit'sawfullyeasytomakemistakes.
Okay,sowhatifthenextguyiscrosseyedandeyeballs40horsepowerlesswhenhegoesto
thecurve(actually,that'swhathappenedwhenIroundedthecompressionratiofrom1.302down
to1.3).OnanLSVunitthatconsumes0.172Mcfdforeachhorsepowerdeveloped,you're
talkingaboutadifferenceofonly6.9Mcfd,oraround$69aday(at$10/Mcf).Let'ssee,that's
about$25,000ayearforoneunit,or$100,000ayearforfourengines,andthatonjustasmall
inconsistency.
Still,ifyoudon'thaveacomputeraround,theHP/MMcurvesareabouttheonlygameintownif
youeverwanttofinishaflowstudy.Itsimplytakeswaytoolongtoworkoutcompressor
equationsonacalculator.

12

11.Performancecurves
Duringthecourseofaflowstudy,afterthedesiredflowratethroughanengineblockis
determined,itfrequentlyisnecessarytoconsultaperformancemaptomakesurethe
compressor(s)canhandletherequiredvolumeofgas.Eventhoughthereareknown
inaccuraciesinmanyperformancecurves,theyarestillagoodwaytodetermineifanengine
blockcanperformuptotherequirementsofyouranalysis.
Theirareseparatetypesofperformancecurvesforreciprocatingandcentrifugalcompressors.
Example11AistheoperationalcurveforaCooperBessemerGMWwith3pockets(or
unloaders)open. Example11BisthecapacitycurvefortheGMW,againwith3pocketsopen.
Thehardestthingaboutusingacentrifugalcurveisfindingtherightone!Youcan'tjustaskfora
GG3performancecurve,forexampleyoualsohavetoknowthecompressortypeandimpeller
diameter.Forinstance,AppendixBisaperformancecurveforatwostageCDP2302
centrifugalcompressorwitha31.75"impeller,drivenbyaGG3C1engine.Withallthepossible
combinations,it'seasytogetthewrongcurve,sochoosecarefully!
Ratherthanexplainhowtousethecurves,itprobablywillbeeasiertojustgothroughacouple
ofexamples.Also,mostofthecurvesincludeasampleprocedure.

Example11A
AGMWunitisrunningat250RPMwith3pocketsopen,asuctionpressureof680PSIG,and
dischargingat910PSIG.Whatistheapproximateflowandhorsepoweroftheunit?Wouldyou
changethepocketconditions?
Fromthecurves:Flow=115,000Mcfd
Horsepower=2,055
Theseenginesareratedat2,000horsepower,soitappearsthatthey'reoverloadedopeningapocket
wouldprobablyhelp.(Althoughthe'4pocket'curvesaren'tincludedhere,theyindicatethatopeninga
fourthpocketwouldreducetheflowtoabout110,000Mcfd,andthehorsepowertolessthan2,000.)

Example11B

AflowstudyindicatesthatatwostageCDP2302centrifugalcompressorwillhaveasuctionpressure
of730PSIG,suctiontemperatureof70F,andaflowof675,000Mcfd.UsethecurveinAppendixBto
estimatetherequiredRPMandbrakehorsepowertoattainadischargepressureof1008PSIG.
RPM=4780
Horsepower=12,250

13

12."General"horsepowerequations
Evenwithoutconsideringaccuracy,horsepowerequationshaveoneoverwhelmingadvantage
overthecurves:consistency.Nomatterhowmanytimesyouandthatcrosseyedguyplugthe
samedataintoanequation,youwillalwaysgetthesameanswer,andthat'ssomethingyoucan't
guaranteewithcurves.Thisisimportantbecauseiftheresultsofastudycanbemadetobe
consistentrelativetoeachother,thecumulativeerrorcausedbyerroneousassumptionswillbe
minimized.Thedownsideisthat,unlessacomputerisavailable,equationsaremuchmore
difficultandtimeconsumingtouse.
Whiletheequationsthatfollowwillapproximatepowerrequirementstowellwithintheaccuracies
neededforflowstudypurposes,theyshouldnotbeconsideredmathematicallypreciseor
complete.Someexpressionshavebeenreducedoromittedforthesakeofbrevity,orbecause
theyhaveonlyslighteffectonthecalculations.
Still,theyarefarmoredetailedthancouldeverberealisticallyusedina"manual"flowanalysis.
Theyareeasilyhandledbycomputer,however,anditmaybebeneficialtolookatthemand
comparetheirresultstotheHP/MMcurves.
Toestimatethetotalhorsepowerrequiredtocompressagivenvolumeofgas,wewillusethe
following"general"formulas:

11
Z=

=
2

Fpv

(1.785xG)

Psax344400x10

1+
3.825

Tsa

Rc=Pda/Psa

1545
R=
28.5xG

MEEF=.98(forjets)
=.96(forGMW'sandTLA's)
=.94(forLSV's)

/R \
^.231

Head=TsaxZx( )x(1+Rc
(12.5)
\.231/

^.231

Tsax(1+Rc

14

ADEF=

(ifdischargetemperatureis

TdaTsaunknown,assumeADEF=0.75)

GHP=AdiabaticHeadxQx.0009343

GHP
BHP=
ADEFxMEEF

KxBHP
BMEP=
RPM

where:BHP=brakehorsepower
GHP=gashorsepower
Q=flowinMMcfd
ADEF=adiabaticefficiency
MEEF=mechanicalefficiency
R=GasConstant
G=specificgravity
Psa=absolutesuctionpressure
Pda=absolutedischargepressure
Tsa=absolutesuctiontemperature
Tda=absolutedischargetemperature
Rc=compressionraio
BMEP=brakemeaneffectivepressure(reciprocatingenginesonly)
K=15.30(TLA),9.73(GMW),or11.93(LSV)
Z=compressibilityfactor

15

Example12A
Ifthecentrifugalcompressordescribedinexample12AispoweredbyCooperBessemerLSV's,
estimatethebrakehorsepowerrequirements,andaverageBMEP(at300RPM)oftheunits.

Thespecificgravityisn'tgiven,sowewillmakea"reasonableassumption"of.590asthat'sabout
averageforthissystem.Nowwecanstartcalculating:
11
Z= = =.8945
2

(1.785x.59)

Fpv

728.73x344400x10
1+
(3.825)
517.67

Rc=948.73/728.73=1.3019

1545
R= =91.882
28.5x.590

MEEF=.94
/91.882\
Head=517.67x.8945x( )x(1.06281)=11574.12
\ .231/

GHP =11574.12x839x.0009343=9072.69

9072.69
BHP= =12869(SinceeachLSVisratedat3,500HP,thiswill
.75x.94

probablyrequirefourunitsat3,217HPeach.)

11.93x3217
BMEP= =128
300

Inthiscase,thecalculationis1,333hp(11.5%)higherthanthecurveestimateof11,536HP!
Why?It'sthoseefficienciesagain!(Ifthedischargetemperaturehadbeenknownwhichit
rarelyisforflowstudypurposestheADEFcouldhavebeencalculated.)Ifwehadassumedan
82%ADEF(absolutemaximum)anda96%MEEF,thecurveandthecalculationwouldbe
almostinagreement.Bothofthesearepossible,buttousethemwouldviolatethe"worstcase"
rule,andprobablywouldleadtooverlyoptimisticfuelprojections.

16

Likethe"pipelineefficiency"factorinthePanhandleequation,theADEFandMEEFfactors
representareasonableperformanceexpectation.Onceagain,consistencyisthekeyingredient.
Ifyourmethodsareconsistent,manyoftheerrorscausedbysuchassumptionswillcancelout.

13.Fuel
Oneofthemainreasonswe'reinterestedinhorsepowerinthefirstplaceissofuelcostscanbe
estimatedandhopefullyminimized.Forthefirstfourmonthsof1987,thissystemusedan
average60,000Mcfdforfuel.Atapproximately$2.80perMcf,thatamountstoafuelbillof
$168,000everyday.Ifthatcouldbereducedbyjust5%,thecompanycouldsaveover$8,000a
day,ormorethan$3,000,000ayear!(Andthatdoesn'tevenconsidertheadditionalrevenues
thatwouldresultfromdeliveringmoregastomarket.)
Thereareseveralstrategiesthatyoucanusetosavefuel.Themostobvious,ofcourse,isnotto
runanyengines.Unfortunately,thatapproachdoesn'tusuallyworkouttoowell.Whatyoucan
do,however,isavoidrunningunnecessaryengines.That'swhereaflowstudycanhelp,by
lettingyoutrydifferentstrategiestoseewhichconfigurationshouldresultintheleastfuelusage.
Whencompressionisdeterminedtobenecessary,youcanoftensavefuelbyselectingthemost
fuelefficientunits.Ifit'snecessarytorunaturbineattheDelhistation,forexample,itmightbe
better(believeitornot)torunthe20,000HPunitthanthe10,500HPpackage,becausethe
largerunitismuchmorefuelefficient(theremightbeotherconsiderations,however).
Besidesengineselectionandpipelineconfiguration,GasControlcanhelpreducefuel
consumptionbyalertingthefieldsectionstodeterioratingengineperformanceorimpropervalve
positioning,eitherofwhichcanwastealotoftheworkbeingproducedbyacompressor.
Thereareafewfuelspecifictermsyouneedtobefamiliarwith:
SCF/BHPHRfuelconsumptioninstandardcubicfeetperbrakehorsepowerhour(multiplyby24
toconverttoMcfd/BHP).
Ratedfuel manufacturer'sfuelrating.
Observedfuelaverageactualfuelconsumption.

Sincethemanufacturers'"rated"fuelfiguresareusuallytoolow(itsometimeslookslikethey're
assumingidealrunningconditionsonanotherplanet),inmostcasesit'sbettertoestimatefuel
requirementsusing"observed"fuelfigures.
Normally,fuelisratedinunitsof"standardcubicfeetperbrakehorsepowerperhour",and
abbreviated"SCF/BHPHR".ThisiseasilyconvertedforGasCotrolpurposestoMCFD/BHP
(thousandcubicfeetperdayperbrakehorsepower)bymultiplyingby.024.Thefuelratings
plusaroughestimateofobservedfuelconsumption ofsometypicalenginesareasfollows:

EngineRatedRatedFuelObservedFuel
TypeHPSCF/BHPHRMCFD/BHPSCF/BHPHRMCFD/BHP

GMW20007.06.1698.71

.209

TLA20006.86.1658.06.193
LSV35006.28.1517.25.174
GG31050010.05.24112.29.295
GG416000

10.20.24513.00.312

LM2500200007.57.1827.95.191

17

AVON76G125009.81.23511.85.284
Allison42009.43.226N/AN/A
Solar270010.20.245N/AN/A
Solar300011.50.264N/AN/A

Example13A
AcompressorstationisrunningthreeLSV'sandaGG3.Assumingratedhorsepower,whatwouldyou
expectthetotaldailystationfueltobe?
Usingtheobservedfuelfigures:
3500x.174x3=1827Mcfd
10500x.295x1=3098Mcfd

4925Mcfd

Example13B
IfinonedayaGG4turbineunitconsumed4,509Mcfinfuelanddevelopedanaverage19,866
horsepower,calculatethatengine'sfuelrate.
4509/19866=0.227Mcfd/BHP
0.227/.024=9.457CF/BHPHR

Theobservedfuelaverageswerecalled"rough"because,tocalculateafuelrate,youmust
knowhowmuchhorsepowerisbeingdeveloped.Aswewillsee,areasonablyaccurate
determinationofhorsepowerispossibleonlyifallflow,pressure,andtemperature
measurementsarepreciseandconsistent.

14.Compressorconfigurations
Compressorsarereferredtoeitherindividuallyoras"stations"or"blocks". Forinstance,"unit
503"referstoaspecificengineandcompressor.TheLSV"station"or"block",ontheother
hand,meansthegroupoffourLSVunitsthatoperatetogether,asopposedtothe"jetstation".
Compressors(orcompressorblocks)canbedesignedtoruneitherinparallelorinserieswith
oneanother,dependingonpipingandvalvepositions.Inaparalleloperation,thetotalvolume
beingcompressedisdivided(notnecessarilyequally)amongthecompressors.Inseries,each
unit(orblock)compressesthetotalvolumesothatthedischargeofoneunit(block)becomesthe
suctionofthenext.AgainusingStation5asanexample,theindividualLSVunitsalwaysoperate
"inseries"witheachother.TheLSV"station",however,canberuneitherinseriesorinparallel
withthejetstation.

18

15.Stationpipingconfiguration
Stillanotherconfigurationallowsdifferentcompressorblockstobecompletelyisolatedfromeach
otherondifferentlines,orletsoneormorelines"float"throughthesectionwithoutbeing
compressed. Compressorstationsoftenpermitavarietyofwaystoarrangethesuctionand
dischargepipingonthedifferentlines.Thechoiceofpipingconfigurationatasinglestationwill
haveatremendousimpactontheentiresystem.
Example15A

SupposethatStation4isrunningits"recipstation"andajetwithasplitsuction(recipsonlines1
and2,jetonline3)andacommondischarge(allthreelines).Thedischargepressureonlines1
and2isatmaximum(935PSIG),sotherecipsandthejetareslowingdowntoprotectfrom
overpressuringthelines.Thisinturnhascausedstations5and6 toreachsetpointandstart
backingdown.Presumealsothattheflowthrough thestation5sgasturbineis750MMcfd,and
thatstation3srecipsarecompressing675MMcfd.

Withoutrunningaflowstudy,discusswhatcanbedonetorelievethesituation,andwhyyou
thinkitwillwork.

Eventhoughline300hasanMAOPof1008PSIG,itislimitedto935PSIGaslongasit's
commonwithline100.Bysplittingoffthe300linedischarge,thejetcanbespeededupandit's
dischargepressureallowedtoincrease.Thiswilldropthesuctionpressureandhelptorelieve
thepressureatCorinth.SplittingHampshire's300dischargewillalsoloosenupthe100and200
linesbypreventing300linegasfrombeingdumpedintothem(thedifferenceinflowratesonthe
HartsvilleandCorinthLSVsshowshowmuchwasbeingspilledover),allowingHampshire's
TLAstospeedupandpullsomeofthepressureawayfromBanner.

19

16.Aflowstudy
Usingdrawings191and192forreference,supposethatcorrosionhasbeendiscoveredinthe
12milesectionoflinebetweenvalves2112and2122(milepost51.4to63.8),whichwillrequire
thatthelineberemovedfromserviceuntilrepairsarecompleted.ManagementhasaskedGas
Controltodeterminethebestoperatingconfigurationandadditionalfuelrequirementwhilethe
sectionisunavailable.
Sincenootherguidelineswereoffered,GasControlhasdecidedtomakethefollowing
assumptions:
adeliveryrateof1,500,000Mcfdmustbemaintained,withallgasdeliveredatLeach
adeliverypressureof710PSIGatLeachshouldbemaintainedallcompressorunitsare
expectedtobeavailable
80%adiabaticefficiencyforallcompressors
dischargetemperatureof110Foncompressors
groundtemperatureof65F
pipelineefficiencyof94%onalllines
specificgravityofthegasis.590
estimatedgascostis$3/Mcf

Thefirststepinestimatingadditionalfuelconsumptionistoestablishabase,or"normal",fuel
requirementforthespecificdeliveryrateandpipeline/compressorconfigurationyou're
anticipating.Mostofthetime,ithelpsifyoustartbydrawingapictureofthenormalconfiguration
thatincludeseverythingthat'srelevanttothesytembeingstudied.Thedrawingbelowshowsthe
operatingconfigurationthatwillusedasabasecondition.Clementsvilleisrunningaturbinein
parallelwithGMW's,commononbothsuctionanddischarge.Stantoniscompressingline300
withLSV'sandfloatingtheothertwolines.
ClementsvilleStantonLeach
..
>====||==========================+=====+======================+==>
|GMW|

|710#

|||
>====||==========================+=====+======================+
|||
|JET|..|
>====||==========================|LSV|======================+==>
`'

`'

710#

WeknowthepressureatLeachis710PSIG,butwedon'tknowthepressuresatStantonor
Clementsville,ortheflowdistributiononeachline.Itlookslikeweneedtomakesomemore
assumptions.
Inthissituation,agoodguesswouldbethatClementsville'sdischargepressurewillbeat
maximum(935PSIG)sinceStantonisn'tcompressinglines100and200.Nowwecanusethe
Panhandleformulatocalculatethattheflowdownthosetwolinesmustbe723MMcfdandsince
thetotaldeliveryis1,500MMcfd,thedifference777MMcfdmustbeflowinginline300.

20

Nowthatweknowtheflowinline300betweenStantonandLeach,wecancalculateStanton's
dischargepressure(usingequation6.2)tobe911PSIG.
With935PSIGonClementsville'scommondischarge,and777MMcfdflowinginline300to
Stanton(actually,let'scallit779MMcfd,sinceStanton'sLSV'smustbeburningsomeforfuel),
equation6.3saysthatthesuctionpressureatStantonwillbe757PSIG.
IfStantoniscompressing777MMcfdfromasuctionpressureof757PSIGtoadischarge
pressureof911PSIG,wecancalculatethefollowingfromtheformulasinsection15:
Tsa=524.7Z=.894Rc=1.20
R=91.8822MEEF=.94Head=8026
ADEF=.80

GHP=5,826BHP=7,737

SinceeachLSVisratedat3,500horsepower,weneedtochecktheBMEPtoseeiftwounits
canproduce3,869horsepowerapieceundertheconditionsdescribed.Accordingtoequation
15.9,theunitsshouldruncomfortablyatanyspeedfrom300to340RPM:
BMEP=11.93x3869/300=154
and
BMEP=11.93x3869/340=136

Usingthe"observed"fuelfactorforLSV's(fromtable16.1),wenowcanestimatethatStanton's
totalfuelrequirementfortwoLSV'swillbe1,346Mcfd(7737x.174).
Let'saddthenewinformationtothedrawingbeforeweforget:
ClementsvilleStantonLeach
..
>====||==========================+=====+======================+==>
|GMW|935#

|710#

|||
>====||==========================+=====+======================+
||935#|
|JET|..|
>====||==========================|LSV|======================+==>
`'935#

757#`'911#

710#

Flow=777MMcfd
HP=7,737
Fuel=1,346Mcfd

ItmaynotbenecessarytocalculatethehorsepowerandfuelatClementsvilleifremovalofthe
211212sectionfromservicedoesn'tforceachangeinthedischargeconfiguration,solet'sgo
aheadandtakethelineoutofserviceandseewhathappens.
Firstweneedtodeterminehowwe'regoingtobypasstheworksection.Themostobviousway
istojustputlines100and200commonat211and212,andletline100carrytheloadfor12.4
miles.ButrememberthatwestillneedtogettoLeachwith710PSIG!Ifthedischargepressure
atClementsvilledoesn'tchange,andthetotalflowdownlines100and200remainsthesame,

21

whatwillhappentothepressureatLeachwhenthelinegoesoutofservice?Itwilldrop,of
course.
Obviously,line300mustcarrymoreoftheload.Howmuchmore?Well,ifyouusethepipe
factoringtechniquesfromsection7,you'llfindthat54.9milesofone30"pipewouldexperience
thesamepressuredropasthetwo30"linesfromClementsvilletoLeach,lessthe12.4mile
section.Byusingequation6.1again,weseethattheflowinthoselineswouldhavetobe656
Mcfd,adropof67MMcfd.Line300willhavetopickupthedifference.
With844MMcfdnowinline300,Stanton'ssuctionpressurewilldroptoabout724PSIG
(equation6.3),andthedischargewillincreaseto940PSIG(equation6.2,calculatingfromLeach
backtoStanton).Accordingtotheequationsinsection15,atotalof12,006HPwillbeneeded,
withfuelconsumptionofabout2,089Mcfd.TheBMEPequationindicatesthat,at4,002
horsepowereach,threeLSV'sshouldbeabletohandlethiseasily.
Nowthepicturelookslikethis:

ClementsvilleStantonLeach
..211212
>====||==========+======+========+=====+======================+==>
|GMW|935#||

|710#

|||||
>====||==========+=XX=+========+=====+======================+
||935#|
|JET|..|
>====||==========================|LSV|======================+==>
`'935#

724#`'940#

710#

Flow=844MMcfd
HP=12,006
Fuel=2,089Mcfd

Thecostofremovingthelinefromservicecanbecalculatedbytakingthedifferencebetween
2,089Mcfdandthenormalfuelestimateof1,346Mcfd.At$3/Mcf,theadditionalfuel
requirementof743Mcfdwillcostthecompany$2,229eachday.

22

20.Furtherstudyreveals....
Thestudyabovehasgivenusareasonableanswerthatshouldworkwithoutcomplications.But
Managementdidaskusforthebestanswer,however,andthereisatleastonepossibilitythat
wehaven'tcheckedyet.Whatwouldhappen,forinstance,ifallthreelineswereplacedin
commonat211and212insteadofjustthe100and200lines?Takealookatthefollowing
diagram.

ClementsvilleStanton

Leach

..211212
>====||==========+======+========+=====+======================+==>
|GMW|935#||
||

|710#

|||

>====||==========+=XX=+========+=====+======================+
||935#|||
|JET|||..

>====||==========+======+========|LSV|======================+==>
`'935#852#815#

768#`'959#

710#

Flow=889MMcfd
HP=10,629
Fuel=1,849Mcfd

Itappearsthatthisconfigurationwouldresultin503Mcfdinextrafuel,ascomparedto743Mcfd
whenonlythe100and200linesareplacedincommon.Thedrawbacktothismethodisthat
Stanton'sLSV'swillbeabitoverloaded(140BMEPat300RPM),buttheyshouldbeableto
handleit.(Thiswouldbeagoodtimetochecktheperformancecurve.Okay,Ilookeditwill
work.)

23

21.Decompressorbreakevenpoint
Justwhenyouthoughtyouwerefinished,thebosslookedatyourresultsanddecidedthathe
neededtoknowthebreakevenpointfordecompression,orhowlongthesectionshouldbede
gassedbeforeblowingitdown.Inotherwords,sinceit'scostingthecompany503Mcfdinextra
fuelwhilethelineisunavailable,doestherecomeatimeduringdecompressionwhenwe're
actuallyburningmoreextrafuelthanwe'reremovingfromtheworksection?
Toanswerthequestion,you'vegottoknowthecharacteristicsofthecompressoryou'reusing.
Figure211describesthehistoricaldegastimecurveon30"and36"linesforonesuch
compressor.Toreadthecurve,movedowntheleftsidetotheendingpressureforthesizeline
you'redecompressing,thenfindthehourspermilenumberdirectlybelowandmultiplyittimes
themilesinthesection.Onour12.4mile30"section,forexample,decompressionto75PSIG
wouldrequireabout93hours(7.5hourspermilex12.4miles).
Calculationofthebreakevenpointisabitmorecomplicated,butitreallyjustcomesdownto
comparinghowmuchgasisbeingremovedfromthesectiontotheamountofextrafuelbeing
used.Onegoodwaytodothisistoperiodicallycalculatethelinepackandcomparethe
differencefromthelastlinepackcalculationtotheamountofextrafuelusedduringthatperiod.
Forourproblem,thecalculationwouldlooklikethis:

LinepackRecoveredFuel
Hours======================================================
DegaspsigMcfvalueMcfvalueMcfcost

080018,157$67,3620$00

$0

12.450511,263$41,7846,894$20,682260$780
24.83758,340$30,9412,923$8,768260$780
37.22756,139$22,7772,200$6,601260$780
49.6205

4,624$17,1551,515$4,546260$780

62.01543,533$13,1071,091$3,274260$780
74.41182,769$10,273764$2,291260$780
86.8882,137$7,927632$1,897260$780
99.2621,592$5,906545$1,635260$780
111.6381,091$4,049501$1,502260$780

Inthiscase,itlookslikethereisnobreakevenpointbecausethevolumerecoveredisalways
morethanthe260Mcfofextrafuelrequiredineach12.4hourperiod.(Thiscalculationdoesn't
takeintoaccountothercosts,suchascontractorstandbytime.)
Iftheadditionalfuelcosthadbeen1,500Mcfdinsteadof503Mcfd,however,thebreakeven
pointwouldhavebeenat118PSIG(74hours),andover$10,000worthofgaswouldbelost
becauseit'stooexpensivetorecoverit.

24

LinepackRecoveredFuel
Hours=======================================================
DegaspsigMcfcostMcfvalueMcfcost

080018,157$67,3620$0

0$0

12.450511,263$41,7846,894$20,682775$2,325
24.83758,340$30,9412,923$8,768775$2,325
37.22756,139$22,7772,200$6,601775$2,325
49.62054,624$17,1551,515$4,546775$2,325
62.01543,533$13,1071,091$3,274775$2,325
74.41182,769$10,273764$2,291775$2,325
86.8882,137

$7,927632$1,897775$2,325

99.2621,592$5,906545$1,635775$2,325
111.6381,091$4,049501$1,502775$2,325

22.Morequestions
You'llbepleasedtoknowthatthebossissohappywithyourworkthathewantssimilarstudies
runat50MMcfdincrementsforeverydeliveryratebetween1,000and2,000MMcfd,each
comparingtwodifferentpipingconfigurations,andusingbothsummerandwintertemperatures.
Let'ssee....that'sabout84morestudies.Now,aren'tyougladthatyou'velearnedhowtorun
flowstudies?

25