Guidelines for sizing of Restriction Orifice for single-

phase fluids (With PDF)

whatispiping.com/few-guidelines-for-sizing-of-restriction-orifice-for-single-phase-fluids/

Anup Kumar Dey September 3, 2019

In our last article we have discussed regarding restriction orifices in details. The same
article also lists the important factors on which the sizing of a restriction orifice depends.
Click here to recapitulate those before proceeding for actual RO sizing steps.

Of many kinds of flow restriction devices, restriction orifices (RO) are frequently
used, because they are simple and economical devices. RO is applied to regulate
the flow rate or pressure. This article will provide the guidelines for the sizing of
Restriction Orifice. It should be noted that this standard practice is applicable to single-
phase fluids only.

Inputs Required for Restriction Orifice Sizing

The following is a summary of input data to be prepared for the design of RO:

(1) Operating Conditions

Flow rate
Upstream & downstream pressure
Temperature (for vapor)
Line Size

(2) Physical properties

For liquid service: density, vapor pressure
For vapor service: molecular weight, Cp/Cv, Z-factor, viscosity

(3) Minimum allowable value of cavitation index for liquid service

Output from the Restriction Orifice Design

(1) Single orifice

Orifice diameter
The pressure at vena-contracta
Velocity at orifice
Calculated cavitation index (for liquid)
Critical or non-critical (for vapor)

(2) Multi-stage orifice

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 Required stage number
Orifice diameter of each orifice
Distance between adjacent orifice plates
Inlet and outlet pressures of each orifice
The pressure at vena-contracta of each orifice
Velocity at each orifice
Calculated cavitation index of each orifice

Principle of RO Sizing Calculation

Flow restriction orifice calculation for Gas Service

Critical Pressure Ratio:

The critical pressure ratio, rc can be obtained from the following equation.

Orifice Diameter:

The equation for orifice diameter should be selected using equation (2), depending on
whether the flow is critical or non-critical.

(A) Critical flow (sonic region)- When the ratio of downstream pressure to upstream
pressure, r4, is smaller than or equal to critical pressure ratio, rc, the following equation of
orifice diameter for a critical flow should be used.

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(B) Non-critical flow (subsonic region)- The following equation of orifice diameter can
be used for non-critical flow region.

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Restriction orifice calculation for Liquid Service:

Orifice Diameter:

Cavitation Index
In order to avoid cavitation problem, the minimum allowable value of cavitation index, Kd,
should be selected based on the following:

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(1) Cavitation index Kd=0.37 shall be used for the usual case. At this critical cavitation
condition, the noise is steady but still light. No erosion will occur. (Once the orifice chokes
and supercavitation occurs, no damage by erosion will exist near the orifice. This is
because the damage is caused by the collapse of the cavities and the collapse occurs far
downstream during supercavitation)

(2) On some occasion such as the following cases, use Kd=0.93 as an incipient cavitation
condition in order to avoid severe economical risk.

Material is high grade such as stainless steel or higher and pipe size is larger than
12”.

Interval of Orifices
In the case of the multi-stage restriction orifice, the minimum distance, as shown
below, should be provided between orifices, to avoid the reduction in RO performance.

For concentric orifice: L ≥ 5.4*D*(1-β)

For eccentric orifice: L ≥ D

Deflection Ratio of Eccentric Orifice

The deflection ratio of the eccentric orifice “e” is 0.75.

e = 2δ /(D − d0 ) = 0.75 (14)

Where,

δ: Pipe center to orifice center length (m)

dO: Orifice hole diameter (m)
D: Pipe inside diameter (m)

Image showing Deflection Ratio for Eccentric Orifice

Restriction Orifice Plate Sizing Calculation Procedure

A. Single RO system-

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① Decide the minimum allowable value of the cavitation index to meet a given situation.

Kd = 0.37: for usual case

Kd = 0.93: for conservative case

② Assume dO and calculate β by equation (8).

③ Incompressible coefficient of contraction CCi shall be calculated by equation (7).

④ Orifice diameter (dO) shall be calculated by equation (13).

⑤ Compare the assumed d0 with the calculated dO in step ④.

⑥ Calculated dO shall be replaced with previous dO and repeat step ② to step ⑤ until
the dO agrees with calculated dO.

Calculate cavitation index, Kd by equation (15), and compare with minimum allowable
value.

If cavitation index ≥ 0.37 (or 0.93), then the orifice diameter is acceptable.

If the cavitation index < 0.37 (or 0.93), then a single orifice is unable to
accommodate the required pressure drop. In that case, a multi-stage orifice system
should be applied.

B. Multistage Restriction Orifice Calculation

① Decide the minimum allowable value of the cavitation index to meet a given situation.

Kd = 0.37: for usual case

Kd = 0.93: for conservative case

First stage orifice: located at the outlet

② Assume upstream pressure of the first stage orifice.

③ Assume dO and calculate β by equation (8) for the first stage orifice.

④ Incompressible coefficient of contraction CCi shall be calculated by equation (7).

⑤ Orifice diameter (dO) shall be calculated by equation (13) using assumed upstream
pressure.

⑥ Compare the assumed d0 with the calculated dO in step ⑤.

⑦ Calculated dO shall be replaced with previous dO and repeat step ③ to step ⑥ until
the dO agrees with calculated dO.

⑧ Calculate cavitation index, Kd, using Equation (15), and compare with minimum
allowable value.

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If cavitation index > 0.37 (or 0.93), increase the upstream pressure and repeat the steps
from ③ to ⑧.

If cavitation index < 0.37 (or 0.93), decrease the upstream pressure and repeat the steps
from ③ to ⑧.

If the cavitation index equals to or slightly bigger than 0.37 (or 0.93), the design of the first
stage RO is completed and go to step ⑨.

n-th stage orifice

⑨ Set the upstream pressure of (n-1)-th stage orifice for the downstream pressure of n-th
stage orifice.

⑩ Assume the upstream pressure of n-th stage orifice.

⑪ Repeat the steps from ③ to ⑧, until the cavitation index is equivalent to the minimum
allowable value.

Special Consideration of RO Design:

(1) The minimum hole diameter of RO-

To prevent the plugging problem with RO caused by debris, the hole diameter should be
greater than the following values:

For the clean liquid service: 2mm

For the clean Gas service: 1mm

When the diameter smaller than the above values is required, the strainer or filter to
remove debris should be provided upstream of RO.

(2) The necessity of minimum straight run length-

Basically, the objective of RO is rough control of flow rate and should not be used for strict
control of flow rate. Therefore, it should not be necessary to take a straight run of piping
both upstream and downstream of RO to keep performance. However, for the erosional
services such as slurry or flush services, countermeasures for erosion shall be
considered.

(3) The calculated hole diameter of RO should be rounded to the conservative size for
easy manufacturing.

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Few More Handpicked Learning Resources for you…

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