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When does a vessel become a pipe?
Author(s) -
Mahgerefteh Haroun,
Jalali Navid,
Fernandez Maria Isabel
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
aiche journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.958
H-Index - 167
eISSN - 1547-5905
pISSN - 0001-1541
DOI - 10.1002/aic.12541
Subject(s) - boiler blowdown , pipeline (software) , mechanics , isothermal process , transient (computer programming) , pipeline transport , phase (matter) , computer science , engineering , mechanical engineering , physics , thermodynamics , inlet , operating system , quantum mechanics
The conditions under which the transient outflow from a punctured pipeline may be approximated as that emanating from a vessel using a simplified analytically based vessel blowdown model (VBM) is investigated in this article. The above addresses the fundamental drawback of long computational run times associated with the numerically based techniques used for simulating pipeline puncture failures. The efficacy of the VBM is tested by comparison of its predictions against simulation data obtained using a validated rigorous but computationally demanding numerical technique based on the method of characteristics. The results show that the accuracy of the VBM increases with decreasing puncture/pipe diameter ratio, line pressure, and increasing pipeline length. Surprisingly, the VBM produces more accurate predictions for two‐phase mixtures when compared with permanent gases. This is found to be a consequence of the better applicability of the isothermal bulk fluid decompression assumption within the pipeline in the case of two‐phase mixtures. © 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2011