Calculating pressure losses and mass flowrates in unbranched process pipelines withsingle-phase and two-phase flows.

OverviewPIPE™ is a versatile tool aiding the design and performance checking of unbranched pipeline systemscarrying single-phase or two-phase (single or multi-component) fluids. It allows the user to optimizepipeline size for available pumping power/pressure drop. PIPE can handle large pressure changes where fluid properties vary, including choking flow with single and multiple chokes.

FeaturesTechnical Summary

• Compute flowrate for specified pressure drop and pipe diameter, including critical mass flowrate for high velocity flow

– Methods for estimating critical flow parameters are sophisticated and allow for non-equilibrium effects

– Multiple choke calculation applicable to safety valves and relief systems determining the number of choke locations which will occurand the resulting mass flow

• Pipe Fittings – Any fitting performance may be modeled by a velocity head coefficient. A fixed pressure drop (or rise) can be specified.The following standard fittings can be modeled by PIPE with built-in specific two-phase correlations:

– Straight lengths

– Circular or mitre bends

– Contractions and inlets

– Enlargements and outlets

– Globe and gate valves

– Ball and butterfly valves

– Thin orifice plates and nozzles

– Thick orifice plate

• A pipeline build interface simplifies the entry ofpipeline information. The order and number offittings in the pipeline can be easily selected,assembled and changed as required

• Graphical Output – Display the variation ofpressure with length along the pipeline as well asa two-phase flow pattern map. Process conditionsat any point along the pipeline may also beviewed. The following are available:

– Velocity

– Temperature

– Pressure

– Quality (vapor mass fraction)

PIPE™

• Incorporate environmental heating and cooling by specifying an overall heat transfer coefficient and the outside temperature or heat flux

• Calculate pipe diameter for specified flowrate and allowable pressure drop

• Determine overall pressure drop for given mass flowrate and pipeline geometry

– Calculates pressure drop across each fitting and along the length of the pipe resulting in thesum pressure drop

– For two phase flow, at each calculation step the flow regime (e.g. bubbly, slug or annular) isestimated from widely accepted HTFS® methods

– Vapor and liquid density or velocity

– Summary output showing an isometric sketch of the pipeline

• Tabular Output – The following are available:

– Process data

– Pressure drops

– Velocities

– Liquid/vapor properties

Benefits• Improved design – PIPE enables the rapid sizing of single-phase and two-phase process pipework taking full account of

thermodynamic effects. It brings standardization of these design procedures replacing ad-hoc methods.

• Increased engineering efficiency – The two-phase flow mapping of PIPE offers engineers in process operating companies andengineering contractors a means to quantify flow pattern and local conditions throughout a process pipeline taking account ofoverall configuration. This allows the engineer to verify the stability of flows regardless of pipe system topography.

Aspen Technology, Inc. Ten Canal ParkCambridge, MA 02141-2201 USA

[phone] + 1 617 949 1000[fax] + 1 617 949 1030

[world wide web] www.aspentech.com[e-mail] info@aspentech.com

w o r l d w i d e h e a d q u a r t e r s

Copyright © 2004. AspenTech, PIPE, HTFS and the aspen leaf logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Aspen Technology, Inc.,Cambridge, Massachusetts USA. All rights reserved. All other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of theirrespective companies. PB 160 02/08/04