An improvement of Hardy Cross method applied on looped spatial natural gas distribution networks

Abstract

Hardy Cross method is common for calculation of loops-like gas distribution networks with known node gas consumptions. This method is given in two forms: original Hardy Cross method-successive substitution methods and improved-simultaneous solution method (Newton–Raphson group of methods). Problem of gas flow in looped network is nonlinear problem; i.e. relation between flow and pressure drop is not linear while relation between electric current and voltage is. Improvement of original method is done by introduction of influence of adjacent contours in Yacobian matrix which is used in calculation and which is in original method strictly diagonal with all zeros in non-diagonal terms. In that way necessary number of iteration in calculations is decreased. If during the design of gas network with loops is anticipated that some of conduits are crossing each other without connection, this sort of network became, so there has to be introduced corrections of third or higher order.