AspenTech Support Center Solution 112560 11/17/2016
How are two-phase sonic velocities calculated in FlareNet?
Solution ID: 112560
Product(s): Aspen Flare System Analyzer
Version(s): Multiple
Primary subject: General, Calculations, Hydraulics
Last Modified: 07-Dec-2004
Attached files (filesize):
FlareNet Sonic Vel [Link] (100 k): FlareNet Sonic Velocity Check
Applicable Version(s)
3.51 - current
Problem Statement
How are two-phase sonic velocities calculated in FlareNet?
Solution
FlareNet uses a homogeneous model assuming no-slip between phases for the calculation of two phase sonic
velocities (in general the assumption of a homogeneous two-phase mixture is reasonable given the flow velocities
usually experienced in flare systems). The sonic velocity is defined as:
c^2 = dP/d(rho) @ constant entropy [1]
where
c two-phase sonic velocity
rho homogeneous fluid density
P static pressure
(see, for example, "Perry's Chemical Engineers' Handbook")
The equation of state methods in FlareNet are used to calculate the density and entropy at the pipe conditions and
then a small pressure pertubation is used to obtain the density and pressure gradients
Sonic velocities are known to be very low in the two-phase region and can be as low as 30-40 m/s.
The calculated sonic velocities in FlareNet can be cross-checked in HYSYS using the method outlined below:
1. In HYSYS define a stream to be at the same conditions (temperature, composition and pressure) as those of
the FlareNet pipe of interest.
2. To make a constant entropy pressure pertubation in HYSYS connect the stream defined in step 1 to an
Expander unit operation with a specified efficiency of 100%. Connect an outlet stream to this expander and set
the pressure of the outlet stream to 0.1 kPa less than the pressure of the inlet stream. This defines a 0.1 kPa
pressure pertubation at constant entropy.
3. Add a Spreadsheet unit operation and import the pressures and mass densities from the streams defined in
steps 1 and 2. Use the spreadsheet to calculate the sonic velocity from equation [1] above.
The attached HYSYS 3.1 file demonstrates this calculation to cross-check the downstream sonic velocity of pipe
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AspenTech Support Center Solution 112560 11/17/2016
"Header 3" in FlareNet sample case [Link] (located in the \Samples\Convergent folder of the FlareNet
installation).
KeyWords
sonic velocity, mach number, choke, choked, critical flow
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