Lecture 6

TOG
 Overview
• Re (liq & gas)
• Bernoulli’s theorem
• HL (Darcy Weisbach)
• Moody’s Friction factor
• Fluid flow equation for liquid
• Hazen William equation and ‘C’
• GAS flow equation
• Weymouth equation
• Panhadle Equation
• Splitzglass equation
• Head loss in valve and pipe fitting
• Flow coefficient
Pressure Drop in Piping
• Piping design in production facilities involves
the selection of a pipe diameter and a wall
thickness that is capable of transporting fluid
from one piece of process equipment to
another, within the allowable pressure drop
and pressure rating restraints imposed by the
process.
• The first step in being able to make these
changes is to understand how pressure drops
in these lines are calculated.
• The concepts included on pressure drop are
equally valid for determining the pressure
drop in flow lines, pipelines, gas transmission
lines, etc.
• Here, we’ll discuss basic principles for
determining pressure drops in piping and then
discusses the flow equations for liquid flow,
compressible flow, and two-phase flow.
• Finally, it shows how to calculate pressure
drop in valves and fittings when using the
various flow equations.
BASIC PRINCIPLES
 Reynolds Number
• The Reynolds number is a dimensionless
parameter that relates the ratio of inertial
forces to viscous forces.
• It can be expressed by the following general
equation:
• The Reynolds number can be expressed in
more convenient terms.
• For liquids, the equation becomes:
 Flow Regimes
• Flow regimes describe the nature of fluid flow.
• There are two basic flow regimes for flow of a
single-phase fluid: laminar flow and turbulent
flow.
• Laminar flow is characterized by little mixing
of the flowing fluid and a parabolic velocity
profile.
• Turbulent flow involves complete mixing of
the fluid and a more uniform velocity profile.
• Laminar flow has been shown by experiment
to exist at Re < 2,000 and turbulent flow at Re
> 4,000.
• Reynolds numbers between 2,000 and 4,000
are in a transition zone, and thus the flow
may be either laminar or turbulent.
 Bernoulli's Theorem
• It is customary to express the energy
contained in a fluid in terms of the potential
energy contained in an equivalent height or
"head" of a column of the fluid.
• Using this convention, Bernoulli's theorem
breaks down the total energy at a point in
terms of
1. The head due to its elevation above an
arbitrary datum of zero potential energy.
2. A pressure head due to the potential energy
contained in the pressure in the fluid at that
point.
3. A velocity head due to the kinetic energy
contained within the fluid.
• Assuming that no energy is added to the fluid
by a pump or compressor,
• and that the fluid is not performing work as in
a steam turbine,
• the law of conservation of energy requires
that the energy at point "2" in the piping
system downstream of point "1" must equal
the energy at point "1" minus the energy loss
to friction and change in elevation.
Thus, Bernoulli's theorem may be written:
 Darcy's Equation
• This equation, which is also sometimes called
the Weisbach equation or the Darcy-Weisbach
equation, states that the friction head loss
between two points in a completely filled,
circular cross section pipe is proportional to
the velocity head and the length of pipe and
inversely proportional to the pipe diameter.
• Equations can be used to calculate the
pressure at any point in a piping system if the
pressure, flow velocity, pipe diameter, and
elevation are known at any other point.
Conversely, if the pressure, pipe diameter, and
elevations are known at two points, the flow
velocity can be calculated.
• In most production facility piping systems, the
head differences due to elevation and velocity
changes between two points can be
neglected.
 Moody Friction Factor
• The factor of proportionality in the previous
equations is called the Moody friction factor
and is determined from the Moody resistance
diagram shown in Figure BELOW.
• The friction factor is sometimes expressed in
terms of the Fanning friction factor, which is
one-fourth of the Moody friction factor.
• In some references the Moody friction factor
is used, in others, the Fanning friction factor is
used.
• Care must be exercised to avoid inadvertent
use of the wrong friction factor.
• In general, the friction factor is a function of
the Reynolds number, Re, and the relative
roughness of the pipe, e/D.
• For Laminar flow, f is a function of only the
Re:
• For turbulent flow, f is a function of both pipe
roughness and the Reynolds number.
• At high values of Re, f is a function only of e/D.
• Table BELOW shows the relative roughness for
various types of new, clean pipe.
• These values should be increased by a factor
of 2 to allow for age and use.
FLUID FLOW EQUATIONS
Derivation of Equation
• The most common use of Equation above is to
determine a pipe diameter for a given flow
rate and allowable pressure drop.
• However, first, a calculation of Reynolds
number (Equation above) to determine the
friction factor must be made.
• Since a Reynolds number depends on the pipe
diameter the equation cannot be solved
directly.
• One method to overcome this disadvantage is
to assume a typical friction factor of 0.025,
solve Equation above for diameter, compute a
Reynolds number, and then compare the
assumed friction factor to one read from
Figure 1.
• If the two are not sufficiently close, it is
possible to iterate the solution until
convergence.
• In an effort to void an iterative calculation,
several empirical formulas have been
developed. The most common of these is the
Hazen-Williams formula, which can be
expressed as follows:
• This equation is based on water flowing under
turbulent conditions with a viscosity of 1.13
centipoise, which is the case for water at 60°F.
• Since water viscosity varies appreciably from
32°F to 212°F, the friction factor can decrease
or increase as much as 40% between the two
temperature extremes.
• The Hazen-Williams equation is frequently
used for calculating pressure losses and line
capacities in water service.
• The discharge coefficient "C" must be
carefully chosen to reflect both fluid viscosity
and pipe roughness in a used condition.
• A "C" factor of 90 to 100 in steel pipe is
common for most produced liquid problems.
• Hazen-Williams factor "C“ must not be
confused with the Moody friction factor "f," as
these two factors are not directly related to
each other.
• Typical "C" factors for various types of pipe are
shown BELOW
 Gas Flow
• The Darcy equation assumes constant density over the
pipe section between the inlet and outlet points.
• While this assumption is valid for liquids, it is incorrect
for pipelines flowing gases, where density is a strong
function of pressure and temperature.
• As the gas flows through the pipe it expands due to the
drop in pressure and thus tends to decrease in density.
• At the same time, if heat is not added to the system,
the gas will cool, causing the gas to tend to increase in
density.
• In control valves, where the change in pressure is
near instantaneous, and thus no heat is added to
the system, the expansion can be considered
adiabatic.
• In pipe flow, however, the pressure drop is
gradual and there is sufficient pipe surface area
between the gas and the surrounding medium to
add heat to the gas and thus keep the gas at
constant temperature.
• In such a case the gas can be considered to
undergo an isothermal expansion.
• On occasion, where the gas temperature is
significantly different from ambient, the
assumption of isothermal (constant
temperature) flow is not valid.
• In these instances greater accuracy can be
obtained by breaking the line up into short
segments that correspond to only small
temperature changes.
The general isothermal equation for the expansion of gas can be
given
by:
This equation assumes that
1. No work is performed between points 1 and
2, i.e., there are no compressors or expanders
and no elevation changes.
2. The gas is flowing under steady state
conditions, i.e., no acceleration changes.
3. The Moody friction factor, f, is constant as a
function of length.
There is some change due to a change in
Reynolds number, but this is quite small.
• As was the case for liquid flow, in order to
solve any of these equations for a pipe
diameter to handle a given flow and pressure
drop, it is necessary to first guess the diameter
and then compute a Reynolds number to
determine the friction factor.
• Once the friction factor is known, a pipe
diameter can be calculated and compared
against the assumed number.
• The process can be iterated until convergence.
 Weymouth Equation
• This equation is based on measurements of
compressed air flowing in pipes ranging from 0.8 in.
to 11.8 in. in the range of the Moody diagram where
the e/d curves are horizontal (i.e., high Reynolds
number).
• In this range the Moody friction factor is
independent of the Reynolds number and dependent
upon the relative roughness.
• For a given absolute roughness, e, the friction factor
is merely a function of diameter.
For steel pipe the Weymouth data indicate:
Assuming a temperature of 520°R, a compressibility of 1.0 and a specific
gravity of 0.6 the Weymouth equation can also be written:
• This is the form of the equation given in the
Gas Processors Suppliers Association (GPSA)
Engineering Data Book.
• The correction factors for gravity and
temperature are merely ratios of square roots
of the assumed values divided by the actual
values.
• It is important to remember the assumptions
used in deriving this equation and when they
are appropriate.
• Short lengths of pipe with high pressure drops are
likely to be in turbulent flow and thus the
assumptions made by Weymouth are appropriate.
• Industry experience indicates that Weymouth's
equation is suitable for most piping within the
production facility.
• However, the friction factor used by Weymouth is
generally too low for large diameter or low
velocity lines where the flow regime is more
properly characterized by the sloped portion of
the Moody diagram.
 Panhandle Equation
• This equation was intended to reflect the flow
of gas through smooth pipes and is a
reasonable approximation of partially
turbulent flow behavior.
• The friction factor can be represented by a
straight line of constant negative slope in the
moderate Reynolds number region of the
Moody diagram.
• Using this assumption and assuming a
constant viscosity for the gas,
• the Panhandle A equation can be written:
• In practice, the Panhandle equations are commonly
used for large diameter, long pipelines where the
Reynolds number is on the straight line portion of the
Moody diagram.
• It can be seen that neither the Weymouth nor the
Panhandle equations represent a "conservative“
assumption.
• If the Weymouth formula is assumed, and the flow is a
moderate Reynolds number, the friction factor will in
reality be higher than assumed (the sloped line portion
is higher than the horizontal portion of the Moody
curve), and the actual pressure drop will be higher than
calculated.
• If the Panhandle B formula is used and the
flow is actually in a high Reynolds number, the
friction factor will in reality be higher than
assumed (the equation assumes the friction
factor continues to decline with increased
Reynolds number beyond the horizontal
portion of the curve), and the actual pressure
drop will be higher than calculated.
 Spitzglass Equation
• This equation is used for near-atmospheric
pressure lines.
• With these assumptions, and expressing
pressure drop in terms of inches of water, the
Spitzglass equation can be written:
 Application of Gas Flow Equations
• The Weymouth and Spitzglass equations both
assume that the friction factor is merely a
function of pipe diameter.
• Figure below compares the friction factors
calculated from these equations with the
factor indicated by the horizontal line of the
Moody diagram for two different absolute
roughnesses.
Friction factor vs. pipe diameter for three
correlations
• One equation presented in the American
Petroleum Institute's Recommended Practice
API RP 14E entitled "Design and Installation of
Offshore Production Piping Systems," is:
This equation is derived from the general
equation for isothermal flow by making the
following assumptions:
1. ΔP is less than 10% of inlet pressure
2. Bubble or mist flow exists
3. No elevation changes
HEAD LOSS IN VALVES AND PIPE FITTINGS

• In many piping problems, especially those

associated with offshore production facilities
where space limitation are important, the pressure
drop through valves, bends, tees, enlargements,
contractions, etc. becomes very important.
• The three most common ways of handling these
additional pressure drops are by use of resistance
coefficients, flow coefficients, and equivalent
lengths.
• Although Kr depends on the Reynolds number
and surface roughness as well as on the
geometry of the elbow or couplings, this
dependence Is usually neglected
• The total head loss for the entire piping
system can be determined from the following
equation:
 Flow Coefficient
• The pressure drop characteristics of control
valves are often expressed in terms of Cv, the
flow coefficient.
• The flow coefficient is measured
experimentally for each valve or fitting and is
equal to the flow of water, in gpm, at 60°F for
a pressure drop of one psi.
It can be shown from Darcy's equation that with Cv measured in this manner:
Representative resistance coefficients (K) for
fittings
Representative resistance coefficients (K) for
fittings
Resistance in pipe due to sudden
enlargements and contractions
Equivalent length of valves and fittings in feet
Equivalent length of 90° bends
Equivalent length of mitre bends
Mitre joint
Mitre joint
EXAMPLE PRESSURE DROP CALCULATIONS
 Steps to solve problem
1. Find S.G
2. Finf Re
3. Find relative roughness assume old steel
4. Find change in pressure
5. ε= 0.004 (assume old steel)
Formulas
1. S.G = (FLOW RATE OF WATER * sp gravity)/
total flow + (FLOW RATE OF CONDENSATE *
sp gravity )/ total flow
2.

3.
 Friction factor from chart
• f = 0.032 for 2’’
• f= 0.034 for 4’’
Hazen williams
C= 120
Pressure Drop in Gas Line
ε = 0.004 (assume old steel)
Z = 0.67
Gas viscosity = 0.013
Consider good operating condition for
E – EFFICIENCY FACTOR
• Find Reynold’s number :
CASE 1 for general equation
Case 2 for approximate equation find
pressure drop for both line sizes
CASE 3 Panhandle B
CASE 4 WEYMOUTH EQUATION
PROBLEM 3
 Same conditions as Examples above
SOLVE FOR pressure drop in A SINGLE LINE OF
6’’, 8’’ & 10’’ LINE SIZE

ASSUME E = 0.95

F = 0.015

Steps to solve:

1. Find flow rate

2. Find GLR
3. FIND density of gas mixture
4. Find pressure loss for all line sizes
FLOW RATE
MIXTURE DENSITY
Pressure drop for given mulitiphase flow
condition
Solve
PIPING AND INSTRUMENTATION SYMBOLS USED IN OIL FIELDS