Economical velocity through pipeline networks “Case Studies of Several Different Markets”

Abstract

In this research, a new concept for the economic pipeline design was presented. The new concept is called economic design velocity. Considering a simple pipeline, a mathematical model was presented to relate different types of annual costs to the design velocity of pipeline. At least annual cost, the design velocity is called the economic velocity. Relationships between design velocity and different parameters related to the pipeline were presented to show the effect of pipeline length, static head, capital recovery factor, flow discharge, pipeline accessories, as well as excavation and backfill on the economic design velocity. Three different markets were considered to estimate the annual cost of different components of pipeline. These markets are: Lebanese, United States, and Indian. Two different types of pipe materials were considered: ductile iron and high density polyethylene pipes. The economical velocities for ductile iron were 1.00 m/s, 1.70 m/s, and 0.90 m/s for Lebanon, United States of America, and India, respectively. The economical velocities for high density polyethylene were 1.75 m/s, 1.00 m/s, and 1.95 m/s for Lebanon, United States of America, and India, respectively. The Economical velocities of Indian and Lebanese markets were very similar to each other. The economical velocity for India and Lebanon is low while that for United States of America is high for ductile iron; whereas the economical velocity for India and Lebanon is high while that for United States of America is low for high density polyethylene.