Rupture Leakage Model for a Natural Gas Pipeline

Abstract

A study to develop a rupture leakage calculation model for a natural gas pipeline was conducted. The model was based on the unsteady flow equations in the pipeline combined with the orifice outflow principle. In this article, a description of the rupture and leakage process of the gas pipeline is given. An analytical method that produces functions such as the pressure change in the leakage process, the leakage flow rate, and the cumulative leakage amount was employed. By introducing a balance factor and calculating natural gas capacity using the pipeline state equation before leakage as a reference state, the model results for the leakage process became more credible and useful. A limited exhaustive comparison method is proposed for estimating the leakage process. In the calculations, actual pipeline operational parameters were employed. The model and the proposed method are suitable for analysis and calculations of the rupture leakage of gas pipelines with cutoff devices situated at intervals of 8, 16, 24, and 32 km.