Molding and Simulation of Pig Speed with Brake Unit in Gas Pipeline
Publication: Journal of Pipeline Systems Engineering and Practice
Volume 11, Issue 1
Abstract
To provide efficient pigging operation, a stable and moderate speed of the pig is preferred. This paper describes a brake device for controlling the speed of a pig in a gas pipeline. A pigging model of a pig with a brake unit in gas pipeline is presented. In the model, the relevant pig speed equation is combined with the gas flow equations. It is assumed that the velocity of gas at the tail and nose of the pig is equal to that of the pig. Moreover, the inlet flow rate and the outlet pressure are kept constant during the simulation. The method of characteristics (MOC) is applied to solve the transient equation of gas flow, and the Runge–Kutta method is used to solve the pig speed equation and the steady flow equations to obtain the values of initial flow. Two cases for pigging simulation were carried out to verify the performance of the brake unit. The corresponding results indicate that the brake unit can prevent undesired high speed of the pig when the pig restarts under a stoppage condition in a gas pipe. Additionally, a brake device can ensure a more stable speed of the pig. However, due to the drag force generated by the brake unit, a greater differential pressure between the tail and nose of the pig is required to drive the pig in motion.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Ayati, A. A., J. Kolaas, A. Jensen, and G. W. Johnson. 2014. “A PIV investigation of stratified gas-liquid flow in a horizontal pipe.” Int. J. Multiphase Flow 61 (May): 129–143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmultiphaseflow.2014.01.008.
Ayati, A. A., J. Kolaas, A. Jensen, and G. W. Johnson. 2015. “Combined simultaneous two-phase PIV and interface elevation measurements in stratified gas/liquid pipe flow.” Int. J. Multiphase Flow 74 (Sep): 45–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmultiphaseflow.2015.03.024.
Birvalski, M., M. J. Tummers, R. Delfos, and R. Henkes. 2014. “PIV measurements of waves and turbulence in stratified horizontal two-phase pipe flow.” Int. J. Multiphase Flow 62 (Jun): 161–173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmultiphaseflow.2014.03.001.
Dale, A., J. C. Tannehill, and R. H. Pletcher. 2012. Computational fluid mechanics and heat transfer. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Esmaeilzadeh, F., D. Mowla, and M. Asemani. 2009. “Mathematical modeling and simulation of pigging operation in gas and liquid pipelines.” J. Pet. Sci. Eng. 69 (1–2): 100–106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.petrol.2009.08.006.
Groote, G. A., P. B. J. Van De Camp, P. Veenstra, G. Broze, and R. A. W. M. Henkes. 2015. “By-pass pigging without or with speed control for gas-condensate pipelines.” In Proc., Int. Petroleum Exhibition and Conf. Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: Society of Petroleum Engineers.
He, H., and Z. Liang. 2019a. “Simulation of pigging with a brake unit in hilly gas pipeline.” J. Appl. Fluid Mech. 12 (5): 1497–1509. https://doi.org/10.29252/jafm.12.05.29869.
He, H., and Z. Liang. 2019b. “Speed simulation of pig restarting from stoppage in gas pipeline.” Math. Prob. Eng. 2019: 10. https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/4036253.
He, H., Z. Liang, and Y. S. Guo. 2019. “Inlet pressure simulation of pigging in uphill gas pipeline.” Mech. Ind. 20 (4): 8. https://doi.org/10.1051/meca/2019020.
Hendrix, M. H. W., H. P. Ijsseldijk, W. P. Breugem, and R. A. W. M. Henkes. 2017. “Development of speed controlled pigging for low pressure pipelines.” In Proc., 18th Int. Conf. on Multiphase Production Technology. Cannes, France: BHR Group.
Holmas, H. 2010. “Numerical simulation of transient roll-waves in two-phase pipe flow.” Chem. Eng. Sci. 65 (5): 1811–1825. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ces.2009.11.031.
Hosseinalipour, S. M., A. Zarif Khalili, and A. Salimi. 2007. “Numerical simulation of pig motion through gas pipelines.” In Proc., 16th Australasian Fluid Mechanics Conf. Gold Coast, QLD, Australia: Univ. of Queensland.
Kumara, W. A. S., B. M. Halvorsen, and M. C. Melaaen. 2009. “Pressure drop, flow pattern and local water volume fraction measurements of oil-water flow in pipes.” Meas. Sci. Technol. 20 (11): 114004. https://doi.org/10.1088/0957-0233/20/11/114004.
Lesani, M., M. Rafeeyan, and A. Sohankar. 2012. “Dynamic analysis of small pig through two and three-dimensional liquid pipeline.” J. Appl. Fluid Mech. 5 (2): 75–83.
Liang, Z., H. He, and W. Cai. 2017. “Speed simulation of bypass hole PIG with a brake unit in liquid pipe.” J. Nat. Gas Sci. Eng. 42 (Jun): 40–47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jngse.2017.03.011.
Mirshamsi, M., and M. Rafeeyan. 2012. “Speed control of pipeline pig using the QFT method.” Oil Gas Sci. Technol. Revue d’IFP Energ. Nouv. 67 (4): 693–701. https://doi.org/10.2516/ogst/2012008.
Mirshamsi, M., and M. Rafeeyan. 2015. “Dynamic analysis and simulation of long pig in gas pipeline.” J. Nat. Gas Sci. Eng. 23 (Mar): 294–303. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jngse.2015.02.004.
Mohamad, A. H., and M. H. Fakhruldin. 2012. “Recent developments in speed control system of pipeline PIGs for deepwater pipeline applications.” World Acad. Sci. Eng. Technol. 6 (2): 360–363.
Nguyen, T. T., S. B. Kim, H. R. Yoo, and Y. W. Rho. 2001a. “Modeling and simulation for PIG flow control in natural gas pipeline.” KSME Int. J. 15 (8): 1165–1173. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03185096.
Nguyen, T. T., H. R. Yoo, Y. W. Rho, and S. B. Kim. 2001b. “Speed control of PIG using bypass flow in natural gas pipeline.” In Proc., 2001 IEEE Int. Symp. on Industrial Electronics (ISIE 2001). Pusan, Korea: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
Nieckele, A. O., A. M. B. Braga, and L. F. A. Azevedo. 2001. “Transient pig motion through gas and liquid pipelines.” J. Energy Resour. Technol. 123 (4): 260–269. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.1413466.
Strazza, D., B. Grassi, M. Demori, V. Ferrari, and P. Poesio. 2011. “Core-annular flow in horizontal and slightly inclined pipes: Existence, pressure drops, and hold-up.” Chem. Eng. Sci. 66 (12): 2853–2863. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ces.2011.03.053.
Tan, G. B., S. M. Zhang, and X. X. Zhu. 2011. “Design of the speed regulating pig with butterfly bypass-valve.” In Proc., 2nd Int. Conf. on Manufacturing Science and Engineering, Guilin, China: Trans Tech.
Xu, J. Y., and C. J. Li. 2011. “Quasi-steady state numerical modeling of pigging operation in gas pipelines.” In Proc., 2011 Int. Conf. on Mechanical, Industrial, and Manufacturing Engineering, edited by M. Ma, 202–207. Newark, NJ: Information Engineering Research Institute.
Zhu, X., X. Li, C. Zhao, S. Zhang, and S. Liu. 2016. “Dynamic simulation and experimental research on the motion of odometer passing over the weld.” J. Nat. Gas Sci. Eng. 30 (Mar): 205–212. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jngse.2016.02.025.
Zhu, X., S. Zhang, G. Tan, D. Wang, and W. Wang. 2014. “Experimental study on dynamics of rotatable bypass-valve in speed control pig in gas pipeline.” Measurement 47 (Jan): 686–692. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.measurement.2013.08.060.
Zhu, X. X., D. G. Wang, H. Yeung, S. M. Zhang, and S. H. Liu. 2015. “Comparison of linear and nonlinear simulations of bidirectional pig contact forces in gas pipelines.” J. Nat. Gas Sci. Eng. 27 (Nov): 151–157. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jngse.2015.08.048.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Pipeline Systems Engineering and Practice
Volume 11 • Issue 1 • February 2020
Copyright
©2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 27, 2018
Accepted: Apr 2, 2019
Published online: Oct 1, 2019
Published in print: Feb 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Mar 1, 2020
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.