Abstract
The simulation of a natural gas pipeline network allows us to predict the behavior of a gas network system under different conditions. Such predictions can be effectively used to guide decisions regarding the design and operation of the real system. The simulation is generally associated with a high computational cost since the pipeline network is becoming more and more complex, as well as large-scale. In our previous study, the Decoupled Implicit Method for Efficient Network Simulation (DIMENS) method was proposed based on the ‘Divide-and-Conquer Approach’ ideal, and its computational speed was obviously high. However, only continuity/momentum Equations of the simple pipeline network composed of pipelines were studied in our previous work. In this paper, the DIMENS method is extended to the continuity/momentum and energy Equations coupled with the complex pipeline network, which includes pipelines and non-pipeline components. The extended DIMENS method can be used to solve more complex engineering problems than before. To extend the DIMENS method, two key issues are addressed in this paper. One is that the non-pipeline components are appropriately solved as the multi-component interconnection nodes; the other is that the procedures of solving the energy Equation are designed based on the gas flow direction in the pipeline. To validate the accuracy and efficiency of the present method, an example of a complex pipeline network is provided. From the result, it can be concluded that the accuracy of the proposed method is equivalent to that of the Stoner Pipeline Simulator (SPS), which includes commercially available simulation core codes, while the efficiency of the present method is over two times higher than that of the SPS.
Highlights
As a high quality and clean fossil fuel, natural gas plays an important role in global industry and economy [1]
One is that the non-pipeline components are appropriately solved as the multi-component interconnection nodes; the other is that the procedures of solving the energy Equation are designed based on the gas flow direction in the pipeline
The calculation accuracy of the Decoupled Implicit Method for Efficient Network Simulation (DIMENS) method is investigated by comparing the numerical solution obtained by the DIMENS method with that of Stoner Pipeline Simulator (SPS)
Summary
As a high quality and clean fossil fuel, natural gas plays an important role in global industry and economy [1]. The computational speed was further improved by 50% Many researchers, such as Wylie et al [19] and Stoner [27], have recommended the sparse matrix technique to efficiently solve the large-scale discretized equations of network simulation. Dividing the network into several pipelines and solving them one by one is an effective way to further improve the computational speed of natural gas pipeline network simulation. This is the idea of the ‘Divide-and-Conquer Approach’. A numerical case of the complex pipeline network is designed to test the performance of the present method
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