Line Sizing

Objective of Training
Learning the basic concept
for the determination of line size.
In determining line size, Process Engineer should recognize;
What should be taken into account?
What is the background of sizing calculation?

What is Line Sizing?

To determine the size of piping

Why is Line Sizing Necessary?

To select appropriate size
If too large piping is selected,
Not Economical!
If too small piping is selected,
Hydraulic Problem!
In both cases, Not Good Design!

Who does perform Line Sizing?

Process Engineer
To perform Line Sizing, engineer has to know;
Physical properties, State, Required flow rate,
Process requirement, etc.

It is Process Engineer who knows those things.

When is Line Sizing performed?

Early stage of project
Piping design, civil design, mechanical design will
executed on the information of line size.
Size of piping should be fixed before detail design.

How is Line Sizing performed?

Based on Velocity and Friction Loss
Criteria from velocity and friction loss is prepared.
Each company has their own criteria.
Contractor, Licensor, Plant Owner
Applicable criteria is different in case by case.
Usually, Line Sizing that is software to calculate
friction loss and velocity is used.

How to Calculate Velocity?

w
v
A

v; velocity [m/s]
w; mass flow rate [kg/s]
; density of fluid [kg/m3]
A; area of piping [m2]
D; internal diameter of piping [m]

A=(D/2)2

How to Calculate Friction Loss?

Incompressible Fluid (single phase)
Fannings Equation

v2 L
P 4 f
2 D
P:
f:
v:
L:
:
D:

friction Loss [Pa]

friction Factor [-]
velocity [m/s]
pipe Length [m]
density of fluid [kg/m3]
Internal Diameter of Piping [m]

How to Calculate Friction Loss?

What is Incompressible Fluid?
Liquid
Gas if the following are satisfied,

Velocity is less than 61m/s

Pressure loss of system is less than 10% of entrance
pressure

For gas, If the pressure drop is greater than 10%, the

pipe can be divided into shorter sections and
calculated for each section, or exact calculations
based on compressible flow theory must be made.

How to Calculate Friction Loss?

Friction Factor
For laminar flow (Reinolds Number < 2100)
16
f
Re

f; friction factor
Re; Reinolds Number [-]
Re=vD/
; viscosity of fluid [Pa s]

For turbulent flow (Reinolds Number > 2100)

Empirical equation or chart is used.
Friction factor is the function of pipe diameter (D) and
relative roughness of piping surface (). Unit of is
length. For carbon steel: 0.04572mm, For stainless
steel: 0.0015mm

How to Calculate Friction Loss?

Effect of Flow Rate and Diameter of Piping on Friction Loss
v

Q
4Q

D 2 D 2
2
2

A:
Q:

Area of Piping (m2)

Volumetric Flow Rate (m3/s)

v2 L
16Q 2 L
P 4 f 4 f
2 D
2 2 D 5
Frication Loss is;
inverse proportional to the 5th power of diameter
proportional to the 2nd power of flow rate

How to Calculate Friction Loss?

Compressible fluid (single phase)
Example for compressible service
Flare System
Gas Pipe Line

How to Calculate Friction Loss?

Two-phase flow (Gas-Liquid)
Flow pattern and erosion velocity need to be taken into
account.
Depending on gas velocity and liquid velocity, flow pattern
varies. Some kind of them cause vibration of piping.
Therefore, such flow pattern should be avoided if
possible.
Erosion by kinetic energy of fluid could occur if velocity is too
high. Erosion velocity is the guideline predicting limit.
Velocity should be less than erosion velocity.

Pipe Materials and Sizes

Materials used depends on the application
The required thickness of a pipe is proportional
to the pressure the pipe must carry. However,
not all pipes operate at high pressure.
Therefore, pipes may be available in different
wall thickness (schedules).
There are many different standards governing
pipe diameter and wall thickness. A
manufacturing specification and class or
category are usually needed to completely
specify pipe dimensions.

Minor Losses
Friction losses also result from fittings in
the line, changes in direction, and
changes in flow area. These losses are
known as minor losses. Two methods
are used to calculate minor losses:

Equivalent Length

Loss Coefficient

Equivalent Length
Each fitting or other flow variation is
assumed to produce friction equal to
the pipe wall friction from an equivalent
length of pipe. The equivalent length for
all minor losses are added to the pipe
length term, L, in the Fanning equation.
Ltotal = L + Le

Bernoulli Equation
Bernoulli equation is an energy
conservation equation.
E1 = E2 Ef
E1: Energy at point 1
E2: Energy at point 2
Ef: Energy Loss by friction

Fluid Energy
Kinetic Energy: Ev = v2/2
Potential Energy: Ez = zg
Pressure Energy: Ep = p/
Total Fluid Energy = Ev + Ez + Ep
v: velocity [m/s]
z: elevation [m]
p: pressure [Pa]
: density [kg/m3]
E: energy [J/kg]

Energy Balance

E1

E2
1

2
Ef
E1 = E2 + Ef

Reference
These are the example of general reference
books. You can find similar ones in book store,
of course. To get further understanding, it is
recommended to have it.
Perrys Chemical Engineer Handbook