KOHASA ENGINEERING COMPANY LIMITED OIL AND GAS FIELD PROCESSING

MODULE 4a

LINE SIZING CALCULATIONS

 KOHASA ENGINEERING COMPANY LIMITED OIL AND GAS FIELD PROCESSING

1.0 INTRODUCTION
In determining the diameter of pipe to be used in platform piping systems, both the flow velocity
and pressure drop should be considered.

Sections 2.3, 2.4 and 2.5 present equations for calculating pipe diameters (and graphs for rapid
approximation of pipe diameters) for liquid lines, single-phase gas lines, and gas/liquid two-
phase lines, respectively.

a. When determining line sizes, the maximum flow rate expected during the life of the
facility should be considered rather than the initial flow rate. It is also usually advisable to
add a surge factor of 20 to 50 percent to the anticipated normal flow rate, unless surge
expectations have been more precisely determined by pulse pressure measurements in
similar systems or by specific fluid hammer calculation.

Table 2.1 presents some typical surge factors that may be used if more definite
information is not available.

b. Determination of pressure drop in a line should include the effect of valves and fittings.
Manufacturer's data or an equivalent length given in Table 2.2 may be used.
c. Calculated line sizes may need to be adjusted in accordance with good engineering
judgment.
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1.1 SINGLE PHASE LIQUID LINE SIZING

a. General.
Single-phase liquid lines should be sized primarily on the basis of flow velocity. For lines
transporting liquids in single phase from one pressure vessel to another by pressure
differential, the flow velocity should not exceed 15 feet/second at maximum flow rates to
minimize flashing ahead of the control valve.

If practical, flow velocity should not be less than 3 feet/second to minimize deposition of
sand and other solids. At these flow velocities, the overall pressure drop in the piping will
usually be small. Most of the pressure drop in liquid lines between two pressure vessels
will occur in the liquid dump valve and/or choke.

Flow velocities in liquid lines may be calculated using the following derived equation:

1
1 = 0.012 1.0
12

Where:
V1 = average liquid flow velocity, feet/sec
Q1 = liquid flow rate, barrel/day.
d1 = pipe inside diameter, inches.

Pressure drop (psi per 100 feet of flow length) for single phase liquid lines may be
calculated using the following (Fanning) equation:

0.00115 12 1
= 1.1
15

Where:
P = Pressure drop, psi/100 feet.
f = Moody friction factor, dimensionless.
QL = liquid flow rate, barrels/day.
SL = liquid specific gravity (water = 1).
d1 = pipe inside diameter, inches.
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The Moody friction factor, f, is a function of the Reynolds number and the surface
roughness of the pipe. The modified Moody diagram, Figure 2.3, may be used to
determine the friction factor once the Reynolds number is known. The Reynolds number
may be determined by the following equation:
1 1 1
= 1
1.2

Where:
Re = Reynolds number, dimensionless.
1 = liquid density, lb/ft3.
d1 = pipe inside diameter, ft.
V1 = liquid flow velocity, ft/sec.
1 = liquid viscosity, lb/ft-sec, or
= centipoise divided by 1488, or
= (centistokes times specific gravity)

The friction factor for fluids in laminar flow is directly related to the Reynolds Number (Re
< 2000), and is expressed:
64
=

KOHASA ENGINEERING COMPANY LIMITED OIL AND GAS FIELD PROCESSING

The friction factor for fluids in turbulent flow (Re > 4000) depends on the Reynolds
number and the relative roughness of the pipe. Relative roughness is the ratio of pipe
absolute roughness, to pipe inside diameter. Roughness is a measure of the
smoothness of the pipe's inner surface. Table 1 shows the absolute roughness, , for
various types of new, clean pipe. For pipe which has been in service for some time it is
often recommended that the absolute roughness to be used for calculations shall be up
to four times as much as the values shown in Table 1.

Table 1: Pipe Roughness

Absolute Roughness ()

Type of Pipe
(New, clean condition) (mm) (ft) (in)
Unlined Concrete 0.30 0.001-0.01 0.012-0.12
Cast Iron - Uncoated 0.26 0.00085 0.0102
Galvanized Iron 0.15 0.0005 0.006
Carbon Steel 0.046 0.00015 0.0018
Fiberglass Epoxy 0.0076 0.000025 0.0003
Drawn Tubing 0.0015 0.000005 0.00006

The friction factor, f, can be determined from the Moody diagram, Figure 5, or from the
Colebrook equation:
1 2.51
()1/2
= 2 10 [ 3.7 + 1 ]
()2

Where:

f = moody friction factor

D = pipe ID, m (ft)

Re = Reynolds Number

= absolute roughness, m (ft)

Also, the friction factor, f, can be approximately calculated from the Moody equation:
 KOHASA ENGINEERING COMPANY LIMITED OIL AND GAS FIELD PROCESSING

Where:

: absolute roughness, m (in)

f : moody friction factor

d : pipe ID, m (in)

NRe : Reynolds Number

1 : density, kg/m3.

: absolute viscosity, kg/ms

1.2 SINGLE PHASE GAS LINE SIZING

Single-phase gas lines should be sized so that the resulting end pressure is high enough to
satisfy the requirements of the next piece of equipment. Also velocity may be a noise problem if
it exceeds 60 feet/second; however, the velocity of 60 feet/second should not be interpreted as
absolute criteria. Higher velocities are acceptable when pipe routing, valve choice and
placement are done to minimize or isolate noise.

The design of any piping system where corrosion inhibition is expected to be utilized should
consider the installation of additional wall thickness in piping design and/or reduction of velocity
to reduce the effect of stripping inhibitor film from the pipe wall. In such systems it is suggested
that a wall thickness monitoring method be instituted.

a. General Pressure Drop Equation.

2 1
12 22 = 25.2 5

Where:
P1 = upstream pressure, psia
P2 = downstream pressure, psia
S = gas specific gravity at standard conditions
Qg = gas flow rate. MMscfd (at 14.7 psig and 60oF)
Z = compressibility factor for gas (Refer to GPSA Engineering Data Book)
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T1 = flowing temperature, oR
f = Moody friction factor, dimensionless (refer to Figure xx)
d = pipe ID, in.
L = length, feet

Rearranging and solving for Qg gives;

5 (12 22 ) 1/2
= 0.199 [ 1
]

An approximation of Equation 2.6 can be made when the change in pressure is less than 10%
of the inlet pressure. If this is true, we can make the assumption:

12 22 21 ()

Substituting in equation xx, we have;

2 1
= 12.6
1 5

b. Gas Velocity Equation.

Gas velocities may be calculated using the following derived equation:

60
=
12

Where:
Vg = gas velocity, feet/second.
d1 = pipe inside diameter, inches.
Qg = gas flow rate, million cubic feet/day (at 14.7 psia and 60F).
T = operating temperature, oR
P = operating pressure, psia
Z = gas compressibility factor (Refer to GPSA Engineering Data Book)
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1.3 TWO PHASE GAS/LIQUID LINE SIZING

a. Erosional Velocity
Flowlines, production manifolds, process headers and other lines transporting gas and liquid in
two-phase flow should be sized primarily on the basis of flow velocity. Experience has shown
that loss of wall thickness occurs by a process of erosion/corrosion. This process is accelerated
by high fluid velocities, presence of sand, corrosive contaminants such as CO2 and H2S, and
fittings which disturb the flow path such as elbows.

The following procedure for establishing an erosional velocity can be used where no specific
information as to the erosive/corrosive properties of the fluid is available.

The velocity above which erosion may occur can be determined by the following empirical
equation:

=

Where
Ve = fluid erosional velocity, feet/second
C = empirical constant
m = gas/liquid mixture density at flowing pressure and temperature lbs/ft3

Minimum Velocity: If possible, the minimum velocity in two-phase lines should be about 10 feet
per second to minimize slugging of separation equipment. This is particularly important in long
lines with elevation changes.

b. Density
The density of the gas/liquid mixture may be calculated using the following derived equation
12409 1 + 2.7
=
198.7 +
where:
P = Operating pressure, psia.
S1 = liquid specific gravity (water = 1; use average gravity for hydrocarbon water mixtures) at
standard conditions.
R = gas/liquid ratio, ft3/barrel at standard conditions.
T = operating temperature, oR.
Sg = gas specific gravity (air = 1) at standard conditions.
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Z = gas compressibility factor, dimensionless

c. Minimum Pipe Cross-sectional Area

Once Ve is known, the minimum cross sectional area required to avoid fluid erosion may be
determined from the following derived equation:

9.35 +
= 21.25

Where:
A = minimum pipe cross-sectional flow area required, in2/1000 barrels liquid per day.

d. Pressure Drop
The pressure drop in a two-phase steel piping system may be estimated using a simplified
Darcy equation

0.000336 2
=
15
Where:
P = pressure drop, psi/100 feet.
di = pipe inside diameter, inches
f = Moody friction factor, dimensionless.
m = gas/liquid density at flowing pressure and temperature, lbs/ft3 (calculate as shown
above).
W = total liquid plus vapor rate, lbs/hr.
W may be calculated using the following derived equation:

W = 3180 Qg Sg + 14.6 Ql Sl
Where:
Qg = gas flow rate, million cubic feet/day (14.7 psia and 60F).
Sg = gas specific gravity (air = 1).
QI = liquid flow rate, barrels/day.
Sl = liquid specific gravity (water = 1).