Fluid Flow Design Calculation

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Table of Contents

Table of Tables ................................................................................................................... 7

1. Scope ............................................................................................................................ 8

2. References ................................................................................................................... 9

2.1. ASME–American Society of Mechanical Engineers ........................................... 9

2.2. ASTM–American Society for Testing & Materials ............................................... 9

2.3. AWS–American Welding Society ....................................................................... 9

2.4. CFR–U.S. Code of Federal Regulations ............................................................. 9

3. Basic Flow Equations and Factors .......................................................................... 10

3.1. Density .............................................................................................................. 10

3.2. Fluid Viscosity ................................................................................................... 13

3.3. Fluid Head and Bernoulli's Law ........................................................................ 19

3.4. Flow Regimes ................................................................................................... 22

3.5. Darcy-Weisbach Equation for Pressure Drop ................................................... 25

3.6. Moody Friction Factor ....................................................................................... 27

3.7. Effect of Elevation Changes ............................................................................. 31

4. Pressure Drop in Piping............................................................................................ 36

4.1. Liquid Flow (General Equation) ........................................................................ 36

4.2. Gas Flow........................................................................................................... 37

4.3. Two-Phase Flow ............................................................................................... 48

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4.4. Head Loss in Valves and Pipe Fittings ............................................................. 61

4.5. Equivalent Length ............................................................................................. 67

5. Choosing a Line Diameter ........................................................................................ 76

5.1. General ............................................................................................................. 76

5.2. Erosional Velocity ............................................................................................. 77

5.3. Liquid Line Sizing .............................................................................................. 82

5.4. Gas Line Sizing ................................................................................................. 83

5.5. Two-Phase Flow Line Sizing ............................................................................. 87

6. Determining Wall Thickness..................................................................................... 91

6.1. Commonly Available Pipe ................................................................................. 91

6.2. Standards and Requirements ........................................................................... 96

6.3. General Hoop Stress Formula .......................................................................... 97

Appendix A–Nomenclature............................................................................................ 100

Appendix B–Example Problems–Metric Units ............................................................. 105

1. Pressure Drop .......................................................................................................... 105

1.1. Liquid Line ...................................................................................................... 105

1.2. Gas Line ......................................................................................................... 107

1.3. Two-Phase Lines ............................................................................................ 113

2. Choosing a Line Diameter and Determining Wall Thickness .............................. 116

2.1. Liquid Line ...................................................................................................... 116

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2.2. Gas Line ......................................................................................................... 119

2.3. Two-Phase Line .............................................................................................. 122

Appendix C–Example Problems–Customary Units ..................................................... 127

1. Pressure Drop .......................................................................................................... 127

1.1. Liquid Line ...................................................................................................... 127

1.2. Gas Line ......................................................................................................... 129

1.3. Two-Phase Lines ............................................................................................ 135

2. Choosing a Line Diameter and Determining Wall Thickness .............................. 138

2.1. Liquid Line ...................................................................................................... 138

2.2. Gas Line ......................................................................................................... 141

2.3. Two-Phase Line .............................................................................................. 144

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Table of Figures

Figure 1: Physical Properties of Water (Courtesy of Ingersoll Rand) .........................15

Figure 2: Kinematic Viscosity vs. Temperature for Different API Gravity Oils ...........16

Figure 3: Liquid Viscosity of Pure and Mixed Hydrocarbons Containing Dissolved

Gases (Courtesy of GPSA) ..............................................................................17

Figure 4: Hydrocarbon Gas Viscosity (Courtesy of GPSA) ..........................................19

Figure 5: Friction Factor as a Function of Reynolds Number and Pipe Roughness

(Courtesy of API) ..............................................................................................31

Figure 6: Effect of Elevation Changes on Head.............................................................32

Figure 7: Friction Factor vs. Pipe Diameter for Three Correlations.............................47

Figure 8: Two-phase Flow Patterns in Horizontal Flow (Source: P. Griffith,

"Multiphase Flow in Pipes," JPT, March 1984, pp. 363-367) ........................50

Figure 9: Horizontal Multi-phase Flow Map (Source: P. Griffith, "Multiphase Flow in

Pipes," JPT, March 1984, pp. 363-367) ...........................................................52

Figure 10: Two-phase Flow Patterns in Vertical Flow (Source: J.P. Brill, "Multiphase
Flow in Wells," JPT, January 1987, pp. 15-21) ..............................................53

Figure 11: Vertical Multiphase Flow Map (Source: Yaitel, Y., Barhea, D., and
Duckler, A.E., "Modeling Flow Pattern Transitions for Steady Upward Gas-
Liquid Flow in Vertical Tubes," AIChE J., May 1980, pp. 345-354.) .............55

Figure 12: Resistance Coefficients for Different Types of Pipe Entrances and Exits
(Courtesy of Paragon Engineering Services, Inc.) ........................................64

Figure 13: Resistance Coefficients for Sudden Enlargements and Contractions

(Courtesy of Paragon Engineering Services, Inc.) ........................................65

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Figure 14: Equivalent Lengths of 90 Degree Bends (Courtesy of Crane Technical

Paper 410).........................................................................................................75

Figure 15: Equivalent Length of Miter Bends (Courtesy of Crane Technical Paper
410)....................................................................................................................76

Figure 16: Example of a Target Tee ................................................................................81

Figure 17: Wear Rate Comparison for Standard Fittings (Source: API OSAPR
Project No. 2) ....................................................................................................81

Figure 18: Acceptable Pressure Drop for Short Lines (Courtesy of Paragon
Engineering Services, Inc.) .............................................................................85

Figure 19: General Hoop Stress Free Body Diagram (Courtesy of Paragon
Engineering Services, Inc.) .............................................................................98

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Table of Tables

Table 1: Pipe Roughness ................................................................................................29

Table 2: Two Phase Flow Correlations, AGA Multiphase Pipeline Data Bank for Gas-
Condensate Lines (From: Battarra, Mariana, Gentilini and Giaccheta, Oil
and Gas Journal, Dec. 30, 1985) .....................................................................56

Table 3: Resistance Coefficients for Pipe Fittings ........................................................62

Table 4: Equivalent Lengths of Valves and Fittings in Feet (Courtesy of GPSA) .......69

Table 5: ANSI Pipe Schedules.........................................................................................91

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Scope

Piping transports produced fluids from one piece of production equipment to another.
Facilities piping, whether in an onshore production facility or an offshore platform, may be
required to carry liquids, gas, or two-phase flow.

Most facilities piping is made up of short segments, and pressure drop in the piping is
minimal. Pressure losses between process components occur primarily in control valves.
In these cases, flow velocity and not pressure drop is most important in choosing a line
size. However, pressure drop could be critical in sizing lines between vessels operating at
or near the same pressure, where elevation changes occur, for long transfer lines between
facilities, where back-pressure on wells is critical, and in vent and relief lines.

Selection of facilities piping is accomplished in three basic steps. First, determine the
allowable pressure drop and flow velocities within the constraints allowed by the process.
Second, select the required pipe diameter to meet the process fluid flow velocity and
pressure drop requirements. Third, determine the required wall thickness to meet
maximum working pressures, corrosion effects, and design code requirements.

The design pressure or stress due to thermal expansion, contraction, or bending

determines wall thickness and pressure rating class. Pressure rating class may be
substantially higher than the operating pressure of the line, since the system shall be
designed to contain the maximum pressure (stress) to which it can be subjected under
abnormal as well as normal conditions. The selection of a design pressure for a given line
is determined by selected distinct locations in the piping system, called "pressure breaks."
These are where the maximum pressure the system can be subjected to under abnormal
conditions changes. The procedure for determining pressure breaks is discussed in
Section 8.

The purpose of this Tutorial is to provide the project engineer with information for
determining line size, wall thickness, and pressure rating class. Miscellaneous details to
be considered in designing a piping system also are discussed.

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1. References

The following Mobil Guides and industry publications are referenced herein and shall be
considered a part of this EPT. Refer to the latest editions unless otherwise specified.

1.1. ASME–American Society of Mechanical Engineers

1
ASME B16.5 Pipe Flanges and Flanged Fittings NPS /2 Through NPS 24

ASME B31.1 Power Piping

ASME B31.3 Process Piping

ASME B31.4 Liquid Transportation Systems for Hydrocarbons, Liquid

Petroleum Gas, Anhydrous Ammonia, and Alcohols

ASME B31.8 Gas Transmission and Distribution Piping Systems

1.2. ASTM–American Society for Testing & Materials

ASTM A106 Standard Specification for Seamless Carbon Steel Pipe for
High-Temperature Service

1.3. AWS–American Welding Society

AWS QC7-93 Chemical Plant and Petroleum Refinery Piping (Supplement F)

1.4. CFR–U.S. Code of Federal Regulations

49 CFR 192 Transportation, Subchapter D - Pipeline Safety, Transportation

of Natural and Other Gases by Pipeline: Minimum Federal
Safety Standards

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2. Basic Flow Equations and Factors

2.1. Density

The density of a fluid is an important property in calculating pressure drop. A liquid's

density is often specified by giving its specific gravity relative to water at standard
conditions: 15.6°C and 101.4 kPa (60°F and 14.7 psia). Thus:

Equation 1

Metric :
  1000 SG 

Customary :
  62.4 SG 

where :
  density of liquid, kg / m 3 lb / ft 3 
SG   specific gravity of liquid relative to water

Oil density is often expressed in terms of API gravity, given in degrees API, which is
defined as:

Equation 2

Metric :
o 141.5
API  - 131.5

SG at 15.6 o C 
Customary :
o 141.5
API  - 131.5

SG at 60 o F

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The density of a mixture of oil and water can be determined by the volume weighted
average of the two densities and is given by:

Equation 3

 wQw   oQo

QT

where :
  density of liquid, kg / m 3 lb / ft 3 
 o  density of oil, kg / m 3 lb / ft 3 
 w  density of water, kg / m 3 lb / ft 3 
Qw  water flow rate, m 3 / hr BPD 
Qo  oil flow rate, m 3 / hr  BPD 
QT  total liquid flow rate, m 3 / hr BPD 

Similarly, the specific gravity of an oil and water mixture can be calculated by:

Equation 4

SG m  SG w Qw  SG o Qo

QT

where :
SG m  specific gravity of liquid
SG o  specific gravity of oil
SG w  specific gravity of water
Qw  water flow rate, m 3 / hr BPD 
Qo  oil flow rate, m 3 / hr  BPD 
QT  total liquid flow rate, m 3 / hr BPD 

The density of natural gas at standard conditions of temperature and pressure is

determined by its molecular weight. It is often expressed as a specific gravity, which is the

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ratio of the density of the gas at standard conditions of temperature and pressure to that of
air at standard conditions of temperature and pressure. Since the molecular weight of air
is 29, the specific gravity of a gas is given by:

Equation 5

S
MW 
29

where :
S  specific gravity ofgas relative to air
MW   molecular weight of the gas

The density of a gas under specific conditions of temperature and pressure is given by:

Equation 6

Metric :
SP
 g  3.48
TZ

Customary :
SP
 g  2.70
TZ

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Equation 7

Metric :

 g  0.1203
MW P
TZ

Customary :

 g  0.093
MW P
TZ

where :
 g  density of gas, kg / m 3 lb / ft 3 
P  pressure, kPa  psia 
T  temperature, K o R  
Z  gas compressibility factor
S  specific gravity of gas relative to air
MW   molecular weight of the gas

2.2. Fluid Viscosity

In determining the pressure drop in a piping system, the viscosity of the fluid flowing at the
actual conditions of pressure and temperature in the piping system shall be known.
Viscosity is a measure of a fluid's resistance to flow and is expressed in either absolute
terms or kinematic terms. The relationship between absolute and kinematic viscosity is
given by:

Equation 8

  

where :
  absolute viscosity, Pa - sec cp 
  kinematic viscosity, m 2 / sec cs 
  density offluid, kg / m 3 lb / ft 3 

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In the metric system, if absolute viscosity is given in centipoise then kinematic viscosity is
3
in centistokes and the unit of density to use in Equation 8 is gram/cm . Since water has a
density of 1.0 gram/cm3, Equation 8 can be rewritten:

Equation 9

Metric :
  1000SG  

Customary :
  SG  

where :
  absolute viscosity, Pa - sec cp 
SG   specific gravity of liquid relative to water
  kinematic viscosity, m 2 / sec cs 

Figure 1 shows the viscosity of water at various temperatures. The viscosity of oil is highly
dependent on temperature and is best determined by measuring the viscosity at two or
more temperatures and interpolating to determine the viscosity at any other temperature.
When such data are not available, the viscosity can be estimated from Figure 2 if the oil is
above its cloud point temperature (the temperature at which wax crystals start to form
when crude oil is cooled). Although viscosity is generally a function of API gravity, it is not
always true that a heavier crude (lower API gravity) has a higher viscosity than a lighter
crude. For this reason, this figure shall be used with care.

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Figure 1: Physical Properties of Water (Courtesy of Ingersoll Rand)

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Figure 2: Kinematic Viscosity vs. Temperature for Different API Gravity Oils

Figure 2 presents viscosity for "gas free" or stock tank crude oil. Figure 3 can be used to
account for the fact that oil at higher pressures has more light hydrocarbon components
and so has a higher gravity and lower viscosity than at stock tank conditions. This
correction also can be made by using Figure 2 with the API gravity of the oil at the higher
pressure rather than its stock tank gravity.

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Figure 3: Liquid Viscosity of Pure and Mixed Hydrocarbons Containing Dissolved

Gases (Courtesy of GPSA)

The viscosity of a mixture of oil and water is not the weighted average of the two
viscosities. Depending on the ratio of water and oil and the violence of mixing (shear rate)
in the system, the viscosity of the mixture can be as much as 10 to 20 times that of the oil.
The following equation has proven useful in analyzing piping systems:

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Equation 10

 eff  1  2.5   2   c

where :
 eff  effective viscosity of the mixture, Pa - sec cp 
 c  viscosity of the continuous phase, Pa - sec cp 
  volume fraction of the discontinuous phase

Normally the breakover between an oil-continuous and a water-continuous phase occurs

between 60 and 70 percent water cut.

The viscosity of a natural gas can be determined from Figure 4. For most production
facility gas piping applications, a viscosity of 0.012 cp can be assumed.

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Figure 4: Hydrocarbon Gas Viscosity (Courtesy of GPSA)

2.3. Fluid Head and Bernoulli's Law

The term "head" is commonly used to represent the vertical height of a static column of a
liquid corresponding to the mechanical energy contained in the liquid per unit mass. Head
also can be considered as the amount of work necessary to move a liquid from its original
position to the required delivery position. Here, this includes the additional work necessary
to overcome the resistance to flow in the line.

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In general, a liquid at any point may have three kinds of head:

1. Static Pressure Head represents the energy contained in the liquid due to its
pressure.

2. Potential Head represents the energy contained in the liquid due to its position
measured by the vertical height above some plane of reference.

3. Velocity Head represents the kinetic energy contained in the liquid due to its
velocity.

Bernoulli's Law states that as a fluid flows from one point to another in a piping system the
total of static, potential, and velocity head at the upstream point (subscript 1) equals the
total of the three heads at the downstream point (subscript 2) plus the friction drop between
points 1 and 2.

Equation 11

H SH 1  H PH 1  H VH 1  H SH 2  H PH 2  H VH 2  H f

where :
H SH  Static pressure head, m  ft 
H VH  Velocity head, m  ft 
H PH  Potential head, m ft 
H f  Pipe friction loss, m  ft 

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