ASSIGNMENT – PIPELINE DESIGN

ADVANCED FLUID MECHANICS & CFD

PROBLEM:
Crude oil is transported A km from a production field to a loading terminal through pipelines.
The flowrate of the oil is B m3 per day. The crude oil properties could be considered similar to
those of Brent crude. The average temperature is 25 °C. Two-phase flow should be avoided.

Some of the factors will affect the pipeline design:

 The number of pumping stations and the pumps sizes
 The velocity at which the crude oil is pumped
 The pressure in the pipeline
 The type of tubes chosen
 Arrangements of the pumping stations (number of branches, number of pumps, etc.).

1. Design a pipeline system for the oil transfer project. Give clear justification for all
assumptions and the engineering decisions you make.
2. If it is to be designed to minimise the costs of the project, list the main factors which
will affect the costs significantly, and propose a strategy for the design to achieve the
objective of the cost minimization.

Clearly identify the reference of any data in the design.

ASSUMPTIONS
 Negligible effect of valves, bends and other accessories therefore no head loss because
of that.
 Uniform velocity throughout the pipeline.
 Because 2-phase flow should be avoided, we assume that there is no water in the oil.
 No heat loss along the pipeline so we assume perfect insulation.
 No changes in height along the pipeline so no elevation difference.
 Assume a Steel commercial pipe as material.

DEVELOPMENT:
1.-
Known Data:
 Banner ID: B1098311
 Brent Crude Oil
 Pipeline Length: L = 2031km = 2031000m
 Flowrate: Q = 100311m3/day = 1.161m3/s
 Average Temperature of the Fluid: T = 25°C
 Density: ?
 Viscosity: ?
 Reynolds: ?
 Assumed Diameter: 26NPS = D = 0.65m (Chart, n.d.)
(reference, n.d.)
Density:
From chart we get that the API gravity of the Brent Crude Oil is between 37 and 39 so we
assume 38.

ρoil =SG∗ρ water

Where
SG = Specific Gravity
ρ=Density

141.5
SG=
API +131.5
Replacing in the first equation
141.5 141.5 0.988 g g kg
ρoil = ∗ρ = = =0.8246 =824.6
API + 131.5 water API +131.5 cm 3 cm3 m3

Dynamic Viscosity:

(Chart K. V., n.d.)

From chart we get the following values
 Kinematic Viscosity of a 40 API Oil at 15.56°C is 9.7x10^-6m2/s
 Kinematic Viscosity of a 35 API Oil at 15.56°C is 1.7x10^-5m2/s
Assuming the API variation is linear with regards of the kinematic viscosity, interpolating,
we get that for a 38 API Oil at 15.56°C is 1.3x10^-5m2/s

From chart we also get the following values

 Kinematic Viscosity of a 40 API Oil at 54.44°C is 3.5x10^-6m2/s
 Kinematic Viscosity of a 35 API Oil at 54.44°C is 4.9x10^-6m2/s
Assuming the API variation is linear with regards of the kinematic viscosity, interpolating,
we get that for a 38 API Oil at 54.44°C is 4.1x10^-6m2/s
Now that we have both values at 38 API but at different temperatures, we interpolate
between those two to get the Kinematic Viscosity at 25°C
 Kinematic Viscosity of a 38 API Oil at 15.56°C is 1.3x10^-5m2/s
 Kinematic Viscosity of a 38 API Oil at 54.44°C is 4.1x10^-6m2/s
Assuming the Temperature variation is linear with regards of the kinematic viscosity,
interpolating, we get that for a 38 API Oil at 25°C is 5.69x10^-6m2/s

To calculate the Dynamic Viscosity, we have the following formula:

µ
ϒ=
ρ
therefore
−6 m2 kg kg
µ=ρ∗ϒ =5.69 x 10 ∗824.6 3 =0.004692
s m m∗s
Where:
ρ=Density
µ=Dynamic Viscosity
ϒ =KinematicViscosity

Choosing pumps:
Because the flowrate is too high, we know that one streamline will not be enough, therefore
we will need pumps in parallel. We also assume that our ΔP will require several pumps in
series so we use the following equations to decide based on our chosen pump :
 For Pipeline in Series:
Qtotal =Q1 =Q2=Q3=Qn
( HL)Total =( HL)1+(HL)2+(HL)3 +(HL)n

 For Pipelines in Parallel:

Qtotal=∑Q∂ =Q1 +Q2 +Q3 +Q n
( HL )1 =( HL )1=( HL )2 =( HL )3 ¿ ( HL )n

The chosen pump is the BB5 DDHF multistage centrifugal pumps for API 610 heavy-duty
services, fully compliant with the most stringent NOC and IOC specifications from
bakerhughes.
(Hughes, n.d.)
Having the following specifications:

Max. differential head 7,000 m

Max. flowrate 1,800 m3/h
Max. shaft power 10 MW
Max. pressure 670 bar
Max. rotational speed 8,000 rpm
Head rise 15% to 30%
Operating temperature range -70ºC to 430ºC
Impeller diameters 245 to 475 mm

From the specifications, we get that for a flowrate of 1393.2m3/h we would get a Head of
5250m. So those are the values we are using.

We divide the flowrate given into 3 streams and for that we use the parallel formulas:

Qtotal =∑Q ∂ =Q1 +Q2 +Q3 +Q n

(HL)1=( HL)1=( HL )2 =( HL)3 ¿( HL)n

m3 m3 m3 m3 m3
Qtotal=100311 =4179.625 =Q 1 +Q2+ Q3=1393.2 +1393.2 + 1393.2
day h h h h

We will have 3 streamlines and for each streamline the flowrate will be 1393.2m3/h.
We divide our total length in intervals of 130km to see if the pumps head loss will be enough.

All the following calculations will be done for 1 streamline.

Flow Velocity(V):
To calculate the flow velocity, we have the following formula:
Q=V ∗A
Therefore
 3
m
∗day
day
∗1 h
24 h
∗4
Q 3600 s m
V = =33437 =1.1663
A π∗0.6 5 m s
Where
Q = Flowrate
A = Area
V = Velocity

Reynolds (Re):
To calculate the Reynolds number, we have the following formula:
kg m
824.6 ∗1.1663 ∗0. 6 5 m
ρ∗V ∗D m3 s
ℜ= = =1 33228(TURBULENT )
µ kg
0.004692
m∗s

Even though Brent Crude Oil is a Non-newtonian fluid it behaves as a Newtonian fluid when
n is approximate to 1 in the power law equation

Power Law Equation:

n
τ ry=m∗( γ ry )
Newtonian and incompressible Fluids:
τ ry=µ∗( γ ry )
Therefore m = µ

Energy Equation:

( Pρ + 12∗V + gz) =( Pρ + 12∗V + gz) + HL

2

2
2

1
Assuming our velocity remains constant, there is no elevation and our density is also constant,
our equations turns to:
P max−P min
=HL
ρ
HL = Head Loss

2
L V
HL=λ ⋅ ⋅
D 2
Therefore:
L ρ 2
ΔP=λ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅V
D 2
Which is the Darcy Weisbach equation

Where λ=Friction factor

To calculate the friction factor, we use the Colbrook Equation for Turbulent flow

1
√λ
=−2 log
[
2,51 k
+ ⋅ 0,269
ℜ ⋅√ λ D ]
Where
K = Absolute Roughness
Giving that a Steel Commercial Pipe has a roughness of 0.07mm = 0.00007m from:

(Box, n.d.)

Replacing in the formula and solving for λ we get:

λ=0.01 7 616 m

And replacing in the Darcy Weisbach equation we get:

m∗130000 m k
∗824,6 g3
0 ,6 5 m
( )
2
L ρ m m
ΔP=λ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅V 2 =0,01799 ∗ 1.1663
D 2 2 s

kg
ΔP=1975810 2
=¿ 19382702Pa = 19382.702KPa
m

kg
1975810
And HL=
ΔP m2
= =2396 . 08 m
ρ kg
824.6
m3

Given that the HL is below the HL from the pump(5250m), our 570m segment assumption is
correct.
Pump Power (PP):
m3
19382702 Pa∗0.387
ΔP∗Q s 9.38MWatts
PP= = =9376437.97Watts=¿
η pu m p 0. 8

Which isless the themaximum pump power which is10 MW sois ok ¿ use .

From the all the information gathered, we get that we will have 3 streamlines and each
streamline with 16 pumps. Making a total of 48 pumps

(canva, n.d.)

2.-The main factors who will affect the project cost significantly are:
 Use standard parts, not pumps or accessories made specifically for the project.
 Minimize number of pipes and accessories.
 Using more smaller pumps sometimes is cheaper because bigger pumps are more
expensive so it might be worth it to do the respective calculations.
 Avoid using coated pipelines. For oil, galvanized pipelines are not needed and would
be extra cost.
 Analyse the diameter of the pipeline. Smaller pipeline uses less material but might end
up needing more pumps and the overall cost might be higher than using a bigger
diameter.
 Take into consideration that bigger pipes(bigger diameters) involves less friction
coefficient which will result in higher pump efficiency.

REFERENCES:

Box, E. T. (n.d.). https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/major-loss-ducts-tubes-d_459.html.

Retrieved from https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/major-loss-ducts-tubes-
d_459.html.

canva. (n.d.). https://app.workcanvas.com/d/4PhmXcgvo8g0DdCGYFII-K4QaXv4M2zv.

Chart, K. V. (n.d.). https://www.engineersedge.com/fluid_flow/kinematic-viscosity-table.htm.

Chart, N. (n.d.). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nominal_Pipe_Size.

https://www.tribonet.org/wiki/density-of-lubricating-oil/. (n.d.).
Hughes, B. (n.d.). https://www.bakerhughes.com/centrifugal-pumps/bb5-ddhf.

reference, D. (n.d.). https://wiki.anton-paar.com/uk-en/crude-oil/.