FLOW OF GAS/VAPOR THROUGH HOLE Gas and vapor discharges are classified into: 1. Throttling 2.

Free Expansion For throttling releases, the gas issues through a small crack with a large frictional losses. Little of the energy inherent to the gas pressure is converted to kinetic energy. However, for free expansion releases, most of the pressure energy is converted to kinetic energy. Therefore, the assumption of isentropic behavior of gas expansion is usually valid. The source model of throttling release requires detailed information on the physical structure of the leak, which is usually not easily available or determined. For free expansion release requires only the diameter of the leak which is usually estimated from the physical inspection of the leak. The free expansion equation for estimating gas or vapor releases is stated below:

Where Q = gas/vapor flowrate in kg/s Co = Constant (function of Reynoldss Number), 0.62 for turbulent flow A = Cross sectional area of the leak, m2 Po = Source pressure, PaA To = Source temperature, oK M = Molecular weight, kg/kmol = Specific heat ratio R = Ideal gas constant, 8314.3 Pa m3/kmol ok