Abstract
The transient flow analysis is fundamental to the simulation of natural gas process, in order to adjust the system to real operative conditions and to obtain the highest level of efficiency, compliance and reliability. The simulation of natural gas pipelines and networks requires mathematical models that describe flow properties. Some models that have been developed year after year based on the laws of fluid mechanics that govern this process, interpreted as a system of equations difficult to solve. This investigation describes the fully implicit finite volume method for natural gas pipeline flow calculation under isothermal conditions and transient regime. The simplification, discretization scheme and implementation equations are approached throughout this paper. The model was subjected to two evaluations: sinusoidal variation of the mass flow and opening-closing valve at the outlet of the pipeline, it is compared with two models: fully implicit finite difference method and method of characteristics. This method proved to be efficient in the simulations of slow and fast transients, coinciding the flow oscillations with the natural frequency of natural gas pipeline.
Highlights
Natural gas has come to occupy a significant place in the global energy scenario, with a continuous growth in demand, situation that represents a great challenge for the optimization of the infrastructure associated to gas transportation and distribution
The transient flow analysis is fundamental to the simulation of natural gas process, in order to adjust the system to real operative conditions and to obtain the highest level of efficiency, compliance and reliability
There are various works related to the simulation of transient flow in gas pipelines, among which is the method of characteristics (MC)
Summary
Natural gas has come to occupy a significant place in the global energy scenario, with a continuous growth in demand, situation that represents a great challenge for the optimization of the infrastructure associated to gas transportation and distribution. The first stage of a gas transportation project begins with an economic evaluation that, from a technical point of view, uses a steady-state flow analysis to determine the system states parameters As soon as this evaluation shows the project’s economic feasibility, the design stage of the gas pipeline network begins. The finite differences method (FDM) for isothermal flow in gas pipelines and networks (Kiuchi, 1994), integrates the system of equations in partial derivatives, using a totally implicit discretization scheme with some simplifications. This research work consists in describing a simplified mathematical model, discretized with FVM, that allows computational simulation of gas flow transport for different entry and exit conditions, considering transient regime and that the fluid is transmitted in gas pipelines.
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