UNIT-5 GAS FLOW FUNDAMENTALS

FLOW EQUATION

Flow of natural gas and accompanying liquids through gathering systems, process equipment and transmission pipelines requires pressure drop as the driving force. All fluid flow equations are derived from a basic energy balance which for a steady state system can be given as: Change in internal energy + change in kinetic energy change in potential energy+workdone on the fluid + heat energy added to the fluid shaft work done by fluid on surroundings = 0. ----------- (1)
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dU + dv2/2gc+ g/gc dz + d(pv)+ dQ-dws=0 --- (2) U= internal energy ft-lb f/lbm v= fluid velocity, ft/sec z= elevation above a given datum plane , ft p= pressure , lbf/ft2 V= volume of a unit mass of the fluid,ft3/lbm Q= heat energy added to the fluid ft-lbf/lbm ws= shaft work done by the fluid on the surroundings.

Equation (2) can be converted to a mechanical energy balance using the following thermodynamic relations: du + d(pv) = dh = Tds + Vdp ---------(3) h= specific fluid enthalpy, ft-lbf/lbm T= temperature ,oR s= specific fluid entropy, ft-lbf/lbm now equation (2) becomes Tds + Vdp + dv2/2gc+ g/gc dz + dQ -dws=0 ---------(4) For an ideal process ds=-dQ/T ----------(5) Since no process is ideal ds -dQ/T -----------(6) Tds = -dQ + dlw ------ --------(7) lw= lost work due to irreversibilities due to friction.
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On further substitution to equation (4) -dQ + dlw + Vdp + dv2/2gc+ g/gc dz + dQ -dws=0(8) Neglecting the shaft work ws and multiplying throughout by density dp + dv2/2gc+ g/gc dz + dlw =0 ---------- (9 ) And it can also be written as p + v2/2gc+ g/gc z + pf=0 --------(10) pf pressure drop due to friction= fv2l /2gcd

FRICTION IN PIPE

The term lw represents all energy losses resulting from Irreversibilities of the flowing stream. Friction losses Internal losses due to viscosity effects Losses due to roughness of the wall of the pipe
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FRICTION FACTOR
Friction

factor f, defined as the ratio of the wall shear stress and the kinetic energy per unit volume and is used in computing the magnitude of the pressure drop due to friction. f=w/(v2/2gc) For steady state flow in a uniform circular conduit such as pipe this results in well known Fanning equation: pf= 2fL v2/gc d d is the inside pipe diameter. Friction factor f is called the Fanning friction factor.
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Usually , the moody friction factor equal to 4f is used. In terms of the Moody friction factor f, the Fanning equation becomes: pf= fL v2/2gc d Moody friction factor is therefore a function of Reynolds number and relative roughness. f=f(NRe,//d) hfs=4fLv2/2gcd Head loss in terms of height of liquid flowing

REYNOLDS NUMBER
It is named after Osborne Reynolds (1842-1912), who proposed it in 1883. NRe= dv/ = Inertia forces /viscous forces d= inside diameter of the conduit through which the fluid is moving v= velocity of the fluid =density of the fluid =viscosity of the fluid

Thus, it is used to identify different flow regimes, such as laminar or turbulent flow.

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Laminar flow Re < 2000 'low' velocity Dye does not mix with water Fluid particles move in straight lines Simple mathematical analysis possible Rare in practice in water systems. Transitional flow 2000 > Re < 4000 'medium' velocity Dye stream wavers in water - mixes slightly. Turbulent flow Re > 4000 'high' velocity Dye mixes rapidly and completely Particle paths completely irregular Average motion is in the direction of the flow Cannot be seen by the naked eye Changes/fluctuations are very difficult to detect. Must use laser. Mathematical analysis very difficult - so experimental measures are used Most common type of flow.
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For cross sections other than circular, an equivalent diameter ,de, defined as four times the hydraulic radius Rh is used instead of d. de= 4 Rh = 4( area of flow /wetted perimeter)
E.g. 1

de of annulus of inside dia di and outside dia do= E.g. 2

de Pipe of circular cross-section of dia d=

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The units for parameters in the Reynolds number should be consistent, so that a dimensionless number is obtained. d - ft v - ft/sec - lb m/ft3 - lb m /sec For all practical purposes the Reynolds number for natural gas flow problems may be expressed as NRe=20q g/ d q = MMscfd = cp g = gas gravity d = inches
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PIPE ROUGHNESS
Absolute

roughness: the absolute roughness e of a pipe wall is defined as the mean protruding height of relatively uniformly distributed and sized, tightly packed sand grains that would give the same pressure gradient behavior as the actual pipe wall. Relative roughness: it is the ratio of the absolute roughness to the diameter of the pipe. Relative roughness= /d

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LAMINAR SINGLE PHASE FLOW

The pressure drop for laminar flow is given by Hagen Poiseuille relationship as follows: p=32vl/gcd2 fv2 l /2gcd = 32 v l /gcd2 f= 32 *2/d v = 64 /d v f =64/NRe Thus the friction factor is independent of pipe roughness in the laminar flow regime.

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PARTIALLY TURBULENT & FULLY TURBULENT

SINGLE PHASE FLOW
For

partially turbulent flow, friction factor is a function of both Reynolds number and pipe roughness. For fully turbulent flow , however the friction factor is only very slightly dependent upon Reynolds number. Several correlations have been reported for the dependence of friction factors on Reynolds number and pipe wall roughness.
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 For

smooth pipes: f=0.5676NRe-0.3192 for intermediate flow f=16 log (NRef0.5/0.7063) for partially turbulent flow f-0.5=2 log (NRef0.5/0.628) for fully turbulent flow f=0.3614NRe-0.25 for NRe up to 105 For rough pipes: f-0.5=-2log [/(3.7d)+0.628/(NRef0.5)] For very rough pipes: f-0.5=-2log /(3.7d)
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ALLOWABLE WORKING PRESSURE FOR PIPES

To achieve higher throughputs a pipe can operate at high pressure. It is limited by the maximum stress the pipe can handle. The maximum allowable internal working pressure can be determined using ANSI specification: p max=2(t-c)SE/do-2(t-c)Y

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Where pmax=maximum allowable internal pressure, psig t= pipe thickness c=sum of mechanical allowances (thread and groove depth), corrosion , erosion etc.,in. S= allowable stress for the pipe material, psi E=longitudinal weld joint factor do= outside diameter of the pipe, in. Y= temperature derating factor

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ALLOWABLE FLOW VELOCITY IN PIPES

High flow velocities in pipes can cause pipe erosion problems, especially for gases that may have a flow velocity exceeding 70 ft/sec. The velocity at which erosion begins to occur is dependent upon the presence of solid particles , their shape etc. ve=C/ 0.5 In most cases C is taken to be 100.

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If c and are substituted then ve= -------------. ve= 100(ZRT)0.5/(28.97pg)0.5 The gas flow rate at standard conditions for erosion to occur ,(qe)sc ,can be obtained as follows: (qe)sc = 1,012.435 d2(p/gZT)0.5

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