Mass Flow Rate for Gas Pipeline Blowdown through Hole or Orifice

Notes:
1. The depressuring or blowdown is assumed to be adiabatic and the heat
exchange with the environment is neglected.

Sonic or Choked Release Rate (ms), kg/s

If the pressure ratio (Pa/Pi) is less then or equal to the critical pressure ratio (Pc) then the
flow is sonic or choked and the mass flow rate through the hole or orifice can be calculated
from:

k +1
 2  k −1
m s = C d × Ath × ρ i × Pi × k ×  
 k +1

where:
Pa = Atmospheric Pressure, Pa (abs)
Pi = Initial Pressure of the gas pipeline, Pa (abs)
ms = Sonic Release Rate, kg/s
Cd = Hole or Orifice discharge coefficient, dimensionless
(Use a value of 0.62 for sharp-edged orifices)
(Use a value of 0.95-0.99 for rounded orifices)
Ath = Hole or Orifice C/S Area, m2
ρi = density of the gas in pipeline@Pi,T
T= Absolute temperature of the gas in pipeline, K
MW = Molecular Weight of the Gas
= SG*28.96 (if only specific gravity of gas is known)
Z= Compressibility Factor
SG = Specific Gravity of Gas (Air =1)
k= Ratio of Specific heats (Cp/Cv)

Pi × MW
ρi =
8314 × T × Z

Inputs
Pi = 8.95E+06 Pa (abs)
k= 1.3
Cd = 0.62
T= -5
SG = 0.6
Hole/ Orifice Size = 2 inch
Z= 0.87

Calculations
MW = 17.4
3
ρi = 80.2 kg/m
 2
Ath = 0.00203 m
ms = 22.46 kg/s
Sub-Sonic Release Rate (mss), kg/s
If the pressure ratio (Pa/Pi) is greater then the critical pressure ratio (Pc), (Psc), then the flow
is sub-sonic and the mass flow rate through the hole or orifice can be calculated from:
k +1
 2  k −1
m ss = C d × Ath ×ψ × ρ i × Pi × k ×  
 k +1
where:
mss = Sub-sonic Release Rate, kg/s

1 k −1 k +1
P k P  k
 2   k + 1  k −1
ψ =  a  × 1 −  a  ×  × 
 Pi   Pi   k −1  2 

Inputs
Pa = 1.00E+05 Pa (abs)
k= 1.3
Cd = 0.62
T= 10 °C
SG = 0.6
Hole/ Orifice Size = 2 inch
Z= 1
Psc = 0.5555 (Pc = 0.5457 for k =1.3)

Calculations
MW = 17.4
Pi = 1.80E+05 Pa (abs)
ψ= 0.99978
3
ρi = 1.3 kg/m
2
Ath = 0.00203 m
mss = 0.41 kg/s
Gas Pipeline Blowdown time
Reference: "Simple Method Predicts Gas Line Blowdown Times", by
M.H. Weiss, K.K. Botros, W.M. Jungowski, Oil & Gas Journal, Dec. 12, 1988

P   k   k +1
t c = ln  i  −   × ln  
 Pa   k −1  2 

k +1
 k + 1  2×( k −1)
V × 
τv =  2 
c × Ath × C d

Z ×k × R ×T
c=
MW

1
Z =
  Pi × 5270 × 101.785×SG 
1 +  
  T 3.825 

2 3
 f ×L   f × L    f × L 
C f = a1 + a 2 × log 10   + a3 × log 10   + a 4 × log 10  
 D    D    D 
2 3
 1   1   1 
a1 = 1.0319 − 5.2735 ×   + 25.680 ×   − 38.409 ×  
 Ar   Ar   Ar 

2 3
1 1 1
a 2 = −0.26994+ 17.304×   − 86.415×   + 144.77 ×  
 Ar   Ar   Ar 

2 3
 1   1   1 
a3 = 0.24175− 12.637×   + 56.772×   − 88.351×  
 Ar   Ar   Ar 

2 3
 1   1   1 
a 4 = −0.054856+ 2.6258×   − 8.9593×   + 12.139×  
 Ar   Ar   Ar 

Ap
Ar =
Ath × C d

Note:
The polynomials for the coefficients (a1, a2, a3, a4) are valid only for 3 < Ar < 30 and should
not be used outside this range.

k Pc ts
1.20 0.5645 0.7371
1.25 0.5549 0.7605
1.30 0.5457 0.7833
1.35 0.5368 0.8058
1.40 0.5283 0.8278
1.45 0.52 0.8495
1.50 0.512 0.8707
1.55 0.5042 0.8916
1.60 0.4968 0.9122

t tot = (t c + t s ) × τ V × C f
where:
tc = Dimensionless Sonic blowdown time
Pi = Initial Pressure of the gas pipeline, kPa (abs)
Pa = Atmospheric Pressure, kPa (abs)
k= Ratio of Specific heats (Cp/Cv)
τV = Time constant, seconds
V= Volume of the pipe being blown down, m3
(Pipe C/S area X Pipe length)
c= sonic velocity, m/s
Z= compressibility factor
SG = Specific Gravity of Gas (Air =1)
T= Absolute temperature of the gas in pipeline, K
R= Universal Gas Constant (8314 J/kmol-K)
MW = Molecular Weight of the Gas
= SG*28.96 (if only specific gravity of gas is known)
Cf = Blowdown Correction Factor, dimensionless
f= Darcy friction factor, dimensionless
L= Length of pipeline, m
D= Inside Diameter of the Pipeline, m
Ar = Ratio of Pipe-to-effective-valve-discharge-area, dimensionless
Ap = C/S area of pipe, m2
Ath = Blowdown Valve discharge Area, m2
Notes:
1. For full-bore ball valves the "discharge area" will be considered the
same as the blowdown line cross-sectional area
2. For reduced bore ball valves the "discharge area" should be considered
based on the cross-sectional area of one size lower than the blowdown
line size
Cd = Blowdown Valve discharge coefficient, dimensionless
(Use a value of 0.85 to 1 in absence of manufacturer's data)
Ath*Cd = Effective valve discharge area, m2
Pc = Critical Pressure Ratio

k
 2  (k −1)
Pc =  
 k +1
ts = Dimensionless subsonic blowdown time
ttot = total blowdown time, seconds

Darcy Friction Factor (Turbulent Flow)

Pipe ID f
mm
26.64 (1" STD) 0.023
40.9 (1.5" STD) 0.021
52.5 (2" STD) 0.019
77.92 (3" STD) 0.018
102.26 (4" STD) 0.017
154.08 (6" STD) 0.015
202.74 (8" STD) 0.014
254.46 (10" STD) 0.014
304.81 (12" STD) 0.013
336.56 (14" STD) 0.013
387.36 (16" STD) 0.013
438.16 (18" STD) 0.012
488.96 (20" STD) 0.012
590.56 (24" STD) 0.012
742.96 (30" STD) 0.011
895.36 (36" STD) 0.011
Example Calculation:
Estimate the total blowdown time for a 25 km, 36" STD pipeline which contains natural
gas at 6000 kPa(abs) and 10°C. The gas has a specific gravity of 0.6.
The blowdown valve is a 8" full bore valve on a 8" blowdown line
The atmospheric pressure is 100 kPa(abs).

Inputs
Pi = 6000 kPa(abs)
Pa = 100 kPa(abs)
k= 1.3 input from external source
Cd = 0.85
D= 0.895 m Input based on NPS & Pipe Schedule
T= 10 °C
SG = 0.6 specific gravity of gas (Air =1)
f= 0.011 manual input based on table for Darcy friction factor
BDV size = 8 inch (if RB use one size lower than BD line size and if FB use line size)
L= 25000 m
ts = 0.7833 Refer table

Calculations
Z= 0.87
MW = 17.4
3
V= 15728.1 m
c= 390.4 m/s
2
Ath = 0.031 m
2
Ap = 0.629 m
Ar = 23.6
tc = 3.49
τV = 2578.0 seconds
a1 = 0.8514
a2 = 0.3229
a3 = -0.1991
a4 = 0.0413846
Cf = 1.06
ttot = 11669.7 seconds
Losses 1.05 (Time delay is based on losses in vent line and entrance)
ttot = 12253.2 seconds (including losses)
204.2 minutes

Prepared by: Ankur Srivastava

Chemical Engineer
Email: [email protected]