Improved Natural Gas Transmission Modeling for Network Analysis Using a Quartic Framework in Pseudoreduced Form
Publication: Journal of Pipeline Systems Engineering and Practice
Volume 5, Issue 2
Abstract
In natural gas transmission network analysis, the general gas pipeline equation and its common design variations (Weymouth, Panhandle A, Panhandle B, IGT/AGA) typically assume an average compressibility factor across pipeline sections. In this work, it is shown that errors in the selected value result in design specification errors biased toward pipe sections further downstream of the network. These errors are especially pronounced in large pressure change systems and can have significant cost implications given standardized pipeline sizing. Consequently, a new natural gas transmission model is developed towards improved natural gas pipeline network analysis. The new model is based on quartic characterization of the integral term in pseudoreduced form. The pseudoreduced framework serves to preserve the simplicity level of prevailing design equations while improving the accuracy in the handling of the integral computation by up to 100% with improved design specifications and cost-saving implications.
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Acknowledgments
The author would like to thank Dr. Luis Ayala, Associate Professor of Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering at The Pennsylvania State University, for granting the opportunity to carry out this work and for providing the network problems used for validation of the quartic models.
References
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Information
Published In
Journal of Pipeline Systems Engineering and Practice
Volume 5 • Issue 2 • May 2014
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 23, 2012
Accepted: Sep 25, 2013
Published online: Dec 17, 2013
Published in print: May 1, 2014
Discussion open until: May 17, 2014
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