Chapter 4 – Source Models
Introduction, Flow of liquid through a hole, Flow of
liquid through a hole in a tank, Flow of liquids through
pipes, Flow of vapor through holes, Flashing liquids
Consequence Selection of
Models release incident
Selection of
source model to Chapter 4
describe release
incident
Selection of
dispersion model
Chapter 5
Flammable Flammable Toxic
Chapter 6 and/or Toxic
Selection of fire Mitigation factor Chapter 2
and explosion
model
Selection of
dispersion model
Consequence
model
Introduction
Source Models
• What: Describe how material escapes
from a process
Source models
• Why: Required to determine potential are used to
consequences of and accident estimate the
consequences.
Risk = f( Probability, Consequences )
What do Source Models Provide?
• Release rate, mass/time
• Total amount released
• State of material: liquid, solid, gas, combination
Why do we need Source Models?
System description
Hazard identification
Scenario identification
Accident Accident
Source models
probability consequences are used to
estimate the
Risk determination consequences.
Risk &
hazard N
Modify design
acceptable
?
Y
Accept system
Release Mechanisms
I. Wide Releases Large hole develops in process unit
Example: over-pressuring and explosion of a storage tank
II. Limited Aperture Releases Releases at slow rate (Pupstream ~ constant)
Mainly due to ejection of material from:
• holes in tanks
• cracks in tanks
• cracks in pipes
• leaks in flanges, valves, pumps
• severed rupture pipes
• Relief systems
(designed to prevent over-pressuring of tanks and process vessels)
Releases Mechanism: based on physical state of the
material
Gases: Leak results in a jet of gas or vapor
Liquid: Leak below liquid level
If Pupstream > Psat Partial flashing
Liquid - Vapor system:
Leak in vapor space could be a
vapor stream or two phase stream
Release Mechanisms - 1
Immediately
Wind Resulting
Direction Vapor Cloud
Vapor Vapor
Liquefied Gas
under Pres.
Small Hole in Vapor Catastrophic Failure of
Space of a Pressurized Tank Pressurized Tank
Release Mechanisms - 2
Vapor Vapor
Liquefied Gas
under Pres.
d
Intermediate Hole in Escape of Liquefied Gas from
Vapor Space of a Pressurized a Pressurized Tank
Tank
Release Mechanisms - 3
Evaporation Evaporating
Cloud
Liquid Jet
Spill
Liquid in Bund
Spillage of Refrigerated Spillage of Refrigerated
Liquid into Dike Liquid onto Water
Release Mechanism Parameters
Nature of release depends on lots of parameters:
1. Temperature and pressure of released material.
2. Composition of released material.
3. Ambient temperature and pressure.
4. Ambient wind, humidity
5. Geometry of release (hole, rupture, catastrophic failure)
6. Vapor – Liquid – Equilibrium of released material.
7. Velocity of release.
Source Model: Flow of Liquid thru a hole
P = Pg P = 1 atm 1. Pressure drives liquid thru hole
u1 = 0
2. Pressure energy converted to KE as
u2 = u
z = 0 liquid escapes
W=0 3. Frictional losses
Mechanical Energy Balance:
gc: gravitational constant
P u2 g
z F Ws Wc: shaft work
2 gc gc .
m F: net frictional loss term
The velocity of the fluid within the process unit is assumed negligible:
Pgu2
F 0
2 gc
Mechanical Energy Balance for
Incompressible flow
P u 2 g Ws
z F
2 gc gc m Eq. 4-28
P Pressure
Density
u Velocity
gc Gravitational Constant
g Acceleration due to gravity
z Height above datum
F Friction
Ws Shaft work
m Mass flow
P u 2 g Ws
z F
2 gc gc m
P
u
2
2 gc
g z
gc
F
W s Mechanical Energy from pumps / turbines
m
Make Assumptions for Hole:
Horizontal:
No Pumps / turbines:
F 0
Solve ME balance for u
Apply: Qm uA
m kg/s
kg m 2
Qm 3
m
s
Orifice Discharge Equation
Qm Co A 2 gc P Eq. 4-7
Co= Discharge coefficient accounts for
friction
= 1 ---> No friction loss
= 0.61 for turbulent flow of liquids.
Rules for Discharge Coefficient:
The previous equation can be used to derive the following expression for the
average discharge velocity:
2 g c Pg
u C0
The mass flow rate Qm resulting from a hole area A is given by:
Qm u A AC0 2 g c Pg
C0 = Discharge coefficient accounts for friction
= 1 no friction
= 0.61 for turbulent flow of liquids.
Orifice Discharge Coefficient
Example 1-inch diameter hole
100 psig upstream pressure
Water
2
1 ft
(3.14) (1 in)
D 2 12 in = 5.45 × 10-3 ft2
A
4 4
Co = 0.61 for highly turbulent flow
ΔP =100 psig − 0 psig =100 psi=100 lbf / in2
Qm AC0 2 gc Pg
lbm ft lbm lbf 144 in
Qm (0.61)(5.45 10 3 ft 2 ) (2) 62.4 3 32.17 100 2 2
ft lbf s
2
in ft
= 25.3 lbm / s
This is 3.03 gallons/sec.
The discharge velocity is 74 ft/sec!
Hole in a Tank
Pressure at hole due to hydrostatic
head plus ambient pressure.
Flow is maximum at t = 0 and
decreases with time.
Why?
g c Pg g c Pg
u C0 2 ghL Qm Au AC0 2 ghL
• As the tank empties, the liquid height decreases and the velocity and mass flow
rate decreases.
Can solve above equations to determine:
1. Total draining time.
2. Liquid level as a function of time.
3. Discharge rate as a function of time.
For a tank of constant cross-sectional area At, the total mass of liquid in the tank
above the leak is m = AthL
The rate of change of mass within the tank is: Mass balance: Accumulation = -Output
dm d ( At hL ) g c Pg
Qm AC0 2 ghL
dt dt
hL t
Or//
dhL AC0
dhL AC0 g c Pg dt
2 ghL g c Pg At
dt At hL
0
2 ghL 0
1 g c Pg 1 g c Pg 0 AC0
2 ghL 2 ghL t
g g At
0 0
2
AC0 2 g c Pg
g AC0 Liquid level height in the
hL hL 2 ghL t t
At 2 At tank as function of time
g c Pg
But: Qm AC0 2 ghL
After manipulation: g c Pg 0 gA C0
2 2 Mass discharge
Qm C0 A 2 ghL t at any time
At
The time te from the vessel to empty to the level of the leak is found by setting
hL = 0:
1 g c Pg 1 g c Pg AC0
2 ghL 2 ghL0 t
g g At
0
1 At g c Pg 0 2 g c Pg
te 2 ghL
C0 g A
If the vessel is at atmospheric pressure, i.e. Pg = 0, then 1 At
te 2 ghL
0
C0 A
Example
A cylindrical tank 20 ft height and 8 ft in diameter is used to store benzene. The
tank is padded with N2 to a constant regulated pressure of 1 atm to prevent
explosion. The liquid level within the tank is 17 ft. A 1-in puncture occurs in the
tank 5 ft off the ground because of the careless driving of a forklift truck.
Estimate:
a) The gallons of benzene spilled
b) The time required for benzene to leak out
c) The maximum mass flow rate of benzene through the leak
SG = 0.8794 = (0.8749)(62.4 lbm/ft3) = 54.9 lbm/ft3
At = (/4)(82) = 50.2 ft2 A = (/4)(12) in2 (1 ft/12 in)2 = 0.00545 ft2
Pg = (1 atm) (14.7 lbf/in2) (144 in2/ft2) = 2120 lbf/ft2
(a) The volume of benzene above the tank is:
V = AthL0 = (50.2 ft2) (17 ft – 5 ft) (7.48 gal/ft3) = 4506 gal
This is the total volume that will spill
(b) The length of time for the benzene to leak out is given by:
1 At g c Pg 0 2 g c Pg
te 2 ghL
C0 g A
1 50.2 32.17 2120
2 32 .17 12 2484
(0.61)(32.17) 0.00545 54.9
te = 3386 s = 56.4 min
(c) The maximum discharge occurs at t = 0 at liquid level of 17 ft.
Thus, using the equation:
g c Pg 0 gA C0
2 2
Qm C0 A 2 ghL t Setting t = 0:
At
g c Pg
Qm C0 A 2 ghL0 54.9 0.00545 0.61 3260
Qm = 10.4 lbm
Liquid Flow Thru Pipes
- Pressure is driving force
- Velocity is constant if pipe diameter constant
- Pressure drops due to friction P1 > P2
Flow of incompressible flow through pipes can be described by the mechanical
energy balance:
P u2 g
z F Ws
2 gc gc .
m
Friction losses: losses resulting from (1) flow through the lengths of pipe; (2)
fittings such as valves, elbows, orifices; and (3) pipe entrance and exits
u2
Loss term is given by: F K f
2 gc
Where Kf: head loss due to the pipe or pipe fitting
(u2/2gc): velocity head
4 fL
For pipe lengths: Kf
d
where f is the Fanning friction factor (see text for computing)
L is the pipe length
d is the pipe diameter
2 fLu 2
Friction term, F, can be given by: F
dg c
f = Fanning friction factor
= f(Reynolds no., pipe roughness) = f(Re, ) (see table 4.1 for values)
Equations (4-31 to 4-37) and Figure (4-7) provided in textbook for f.
Differs from Moody friction factor (Figure 4-7)!
For pipe fittings: K1 1 - K1 important at low Re
Kf
K 1
Re IDinches - K important at high Re
where K1 and K are constants (see Table 4-2)
Re is the Reynolds number IDinches: fitting diameter in inches
Example – Horizontal Pipe, no fittings
Example: What is the pressure drop across 150 ft of 1-inch Sch. 40, commercial
steel pipe if flow = 30 gpm? Viscosity = 1.0 cp (water), cp = centipoise
Procedure:
1. Convert to appropriate units
2. Select equation
3. Determine Reynolds number and then f
4. Calculate answer.
I.D. = 1.049" = 0.0874 ft = 26.6 mm
Note: Typical pipe liquid velocity about 10 ft/sec.
Mechanical Energy Balance: No Pumps: Ws = 0; Horizontal: z = 0;
Velocity constant: u2 = 0
P P 2 fLu 2
F 0 F
gc d
= 9.04 × 104
From Table 4-1, = 0.046 mm (pipe roughness); Then
From Figure 4-7 (or equations in text), f = 0.00616
= -5052 lbf/ft2 = -35.1 lbf/in2
General Pipe Flow Problem
For the general case, with fittings, changes in elevation,
pumps, etc., problem is by trial and error.
Procedure:
1. Guess velocity
2. Compute Reynolds Number
3. Compute fitting head losses
4. Compute friction factor, f
5. Calculate velocity
6. Continue until guessed velocity = calculated velocity.
Can all be done easily by spreadsheet!
See example 4-3 (text book): pp 127-130
Gas Flow thru a Hole
1. Pressure is driving force Po > Outside P
2. Frictional losses
3. Gas expands as it escapes due to pressure drop
Assuming ideal gas with isentropic expansion:
Sonic velocity
2/ ( 1) /
2 gc M P P
Qm C0 AP0
Rg T0 1 P0 P0
where: C p / Cv
- For many safety studies, the maximum flow rate of vapor through the hole is
required. This is determined by differentiating the above equation with respect to
P/P0 and setting the derivative to zero:
/( 1)
Pchoked 2
Pchoked: maximum downstream pressure
P0 1 resulting in maximum flow thru hole or pipe
For P < Pchoked, the following statements are valid:
the velocity of the fluid at the throat of the leak
is the velocity of sound
the velocity and mass flow rate can not be increased - Sonic velocity
further by reducing the downstream pressure; they are - P = Pchoked
independent of the downstream conditions.
Flow called choked, critical or sonic flow
For ideal gases, the choked pressure is a function only of the heat capacity ratio :
Example: for air, = 1.4 Pchoked = 0.528 Po (Table 4-3 for other values)
Therefore, for an air leak to atmospheric condition (Pchoked = 14.7 psia), if the
upstream pressure (Po) is greater than 14.7/0.528 = 27.8 psia flow will be choked
and maximized through the leak A common flow in process industries
( 1) /( 1) • Co ~ 0.61
Maximum gas flow: g c M 2
Qm choked C0 AP0 • Co = 1
Rg T0 1 uncertain
See example 4-4; page 135
