Software Package for Pipe Hydraulics Calculation for Single and Two Phase Flow

Abstract

− In various industrial processes, piping serves as a link between unit processes and is an essential installation for internal flow. Therefore, the optimum design of the piping system is very important in terms of safety and cost, which requires the estimation of the pressure drop, flow rate, pipe size, etc. in the piping system. In this study, we developed a software that determines pressure drop, flow rate, and pipe size when any two of these design variables are known. We categorized the flows into single phase, homogeneous two phase, and separated two phase flows, and applied suitable calculation models accordingly. We also constructed a system library for the calculation of the pipe material, relative roughness, fluid property, and friction coefficients to minimize user input. We further created a costing library according to the piping material for the calculation of the investment cost of the pipe per unit length. We implemented all these functions in an integrated environment using a graphical user interface for user convenience, and C # programming language. Finally, we verified the accuracy of the software using literature data and examples from an industrial process with obtained deviations of 1% and 8.8% for the single phase and two-phase models.