Design Tips 9

Piping

• Avoid bends downstream of LCV/ Steam/ Water Injection points. Potential source of rupture. Min 20D to bends. See Safety Alerts

• Check Valves: Avoid orphan check valves, i.e., without a downstream block valve. Maintenance of such check valves require downstream system isolation/ shutdown. Take spec break upstream of check valve

• Check Valves: Dissimilar or double or any number of check valves in series is not a LP/HP protection. Check valves reduce bulk backflow but leak and equalize pressure across. With incompressible liquids, all it takes is a few drops. Regardless of tightness specified, foulants - sand, coke, mill scale etc may not allow proper check valve seating. Even with 0.1% leak, pressure is equalized over time with upstream LP system. Upstream LP system requires relief protection if the downstream pressure is high

• Check Valves: API 521 abandoned 2 dissimilar check valves in series. “Complete check valve failure is assumed for all check valves in series that are not inspected and maintained and for a single check valve regardless of, if it is inspected and maintained”. Take spec break correctly

• Check Valves: Add a check valve at all utility connections. i.e. Blind flange + check valve + ball valve at nozzle to avoid hose rupture and release. Expecting operators to attach a check valve to a temporary hose, may not work. See Safety Alert

• Choked Flow: Choked flow issues continue to baffle process engineers. Too many queries on the subject and see wrong calculations/ conclusions regularly

• Choked flow at sonic velocity occurs at-the-throat when outlet pressure Po is <≈ 0.5*inlet pressure, Pi. (1) Further reduction in Po doesn’t increase mass flow. But mass flow increases proportionally with Pi. See API 520 RV formula, W α APi (2) While throat velocity remains constant at sonic velocity, increasing Pi increases throat pressure, Pt and throat density, ρt. Wrong to say at sonic velocity, flow cannot increase further (3) Sonic velocity is at the throat and not in outlet piping. Velocity in downstream piping is decided by piping ID and Po. Wrong calculations are regularly made assuming sonic velocity in downstream piping, multiplying it by downstream piping area* downstream density

• Choked Flow: Occurs at (1) RV or RO or CV throat (2) tail pipe to header and (3) flare tip

• Choked Flow: Orifice/ Control Valves. Flow α sqrt(Pi-Po). For choked flow, backpressure felt is not Po but throat pressure, Pt. Instrument Engineers use Pi-Pt in critical flow calculations, call it as critical drop, erroneously concluding that a RO/ CV can drop Pi only to half of it downstream. This confusion has percolated to process engineers further confused by vendors. This confusion is only in RO or Control Valve sizing. Not in RV sizing as API 520 has 2 separate formulae for critical and sub-critical flows. Next time you hear critical drop story, please point out - if you open LPG cylinder at 14 bar or N2 cylinder at 200 bar, atmospheric pressure doesn’t become 7 or 100 bar

• Choked Flow: In flow application, upstream can NOT decide downstream pressure. It is decided by datum pressure further down. In a river flowing from Town A to Town B, Town A is at a higher elevation. Its water level is decided by flow and level in Town B. There is a level continuity. In a waterfall, upstream level does NOT decide downstream level for any flow. Downstream level has no influence on flow. So also, with choked flow with pressure discontinuity at throat

• Choked Flow: If velocity in a 6” is 70% sonic, in a 4” velocity will NOT be 70*(6/4)^2 = 160% sonic. Pressure in 4” will go up to increase density and maintain sonic velocity

• Choked Flow: RV backpressure = flare tip ΔP + header ΔP + tail pipe ΔP or choked pressure at tail pipe / header junction. As long as backpressure is less than allowed, RV capacity is not affected - irrespective of tail pipe/ header/tip velocity and ΔP. Keep velocity < 70% Mach (Some clients may want 50% in new installations) to avoid vibration and noise. You can’t avoid sonic velocity and choked flow at RV nozzle or tail pipe exit or HP flare tip. Sonic at tip increases backpressure in upstream header, reduces volume flow and velocity; allows smaller headers and laterals. Before HP Flares in upstream Oil & Gas, API and industry practice was governed by refineries where highest backpressure was decided by Crude column top at 0.5 bar. API 521 past editions used to mention flare tip velocity to 20% sonic and never talked about sonic flares

• ROs: Multiple ROs reduce noise/ vibration. Wrong to assume a single RO can drop pressure only by half and you need multiple ROs to reduce further. A single RO can take any pressure drop, say from 64 bar to 1 bar. You don’t need multiple ROs to drop to 32, 16, 8, 4 and 2 in steps. A single RV for SP = 100 bar. You don’t use multiple RVs in series. Single RO is OK with a BDV regardless of upstream pressure. Intermittent service. Upstream pressure will decline fast reducing noise. Take care of tail pipe support and size to meet Mach No <0.7 + momentum limits, subject AIV/ FIV (Acoustic/ Flow Induced Vibration) studies. For a long duration pipeline blowdown or continuous RVs in Steam lines, multiple ROs are recommended from noise 

• Small bore: Avoid less than 2” in hydrocarbon service - mechanical integrity and dropped object issues

• Condensate Header: Bad practice to protect a piece of pipe with RV. Fully rate. In 4”-6” size, it will not make any cost difference

• Personnel Protection: Insulate hot surfaces > 60°C to avoid heat burn. Similarly, for cold burn < -10°C or 25°C below ambient. Screen/ mesh guards above piping surface near ladder or walkways or where operators may come in accidental contact. Insulate where such guards are not practical

• FI: Show upstream and downstream straight piping requirement. With hire-and-fire project staffing, the assigned piper may not know such requirements. Rework has ripple effect. Do it right the first time

• FI - TI: Locate TTs 10D downstream of FI. ΔP thru flow orifice gives good mixing and prevents velocity profile distortions to get average temperature

• Vacuum Breaker: Add a goose neck with vent on downcomer gravity flow lines to avoid vacuum and vibration

• Piping model review: Sit with piper. Avoid long RV inlet and pump suction runs. Avoid dead legs associated with vessel liquid outlets - LCV bypass, drain lines and low points. Easily get corroded and have caused many incidents. See Safety Alerts. Avoid piping blocking manholes or access or PGs/TGs protruding into ladder access

• Slope: Closed Drain 1:100 to 1:250. Depends on flow rate to meet friction head. Lower slopes reduce piping cost; OK for clean liquid. Higher slope for Oil & Gas plant drains with sand, dirt and muck accumulation. Flare - 1:250 to 1:500. A consultant has suggested reverse slope towards unit KOD to reduce flare header elevation and costs

• LO/LC Valves: RV/ RD/ BDV valves are LO/LC. When a RV on one vessel protects another, add a "LO" valve in between. Sometimes a start-up HP line, say fuel gas sourced from a pipeline, can cause overpressure during normal operation even if kept "LC", due to leaks. Preferred option is a drop-out spool piece or swing elbow for positive isolation. Some facilities use excessive "LC" and "LO" valves that are not safety-critical. Could be NC or NO - normally open or closed or CSO or CSC - Car Seal Open/ Closed are OK. Have an internal valve by valve review and decide

• Liquid Spray: Use nozzles to mix inhibitor etc with gas or liquid. ΔP = 7 bar is a magic number for nozzles - service water hose or oil burners or Chemical Injection Quills. See www.spray.com

• Piping Vs Instrumentation Valves: Piping engineers specify valves MOC, heat treatment, ASTM spec etc to suit service. In a few companies, Control + SDV valves are specified and procured by Instrumentation engineers, with less emphasis on valve body construction and more emphasis on actuator etc. This may lead to poor performance of Control and SDV. Instrumentation Engineers at times end up procuring wrong type of valves - example, RF (Raised Face) while Piping Spec is for FF (Flat Face) that requires rework. Instrumentation Engineers should refer to piping specs for the valve body and specify only actuators, PID logic, etc. Refer to piping specs for instrumentation valves