17 Feb.

2023

Factors Effecting the

Pipeline Design
 Pipeline
 Structural design normally involves calculation of loads from which the
maximum stresses, strains, and deformations of the structure are
calculated, and then compared with the limiting states such as the
allowable stresses, strains, and deformations.
 In order to prevent structural failure from causes such as rupture, buckling,
crushing, or excessive deformation, some of the design aspects for pipes
are considered for both high-pressure and low-pressure pipes.
Mechanical design of Pipelines usually requires consideration of several factors.
 Internal Pressure

 Stability

 Construction Loads External Damages.

 External Pressure.

 Expansion Stresses (Frequent temperature changes)

 Climatic Condition.

 Hydraulic Shock/ surge and Water hammering in Pipes

 Seismic effect on Design of Pipelines

 Construction Stresses (Pipe bending etc.)

Internal Pressure:Internal pressure from the contained fluid is the most
important loading which a pipeline must carry. Pipeline will yield
circumferentially if the generated stress in the pipe wall is too large and
continued yielding will lead to thinning of the pipe wall and ultimately to
rupture.
Stability: Pipeline has to be stable on the seabed. If it is too light, it will
slide sideways under the action of currents and waves. Additional weight
may be provided by either increasing the wall thickness or by adding
concrete weight coating. Another way to reduce the environmental loads
on the pipe is by lowering it into a trench or burying it.

Construction Loads Pipelines need to withstand the impact of

construction loads. Some examples of construction loads are bending
during pipe laying, and impact loads as the pipeline passes over the
stinger of a lay-barge due to the barge motion.
External Damage: External damage for offshore pipelines mainly
results from ship anchors, trawling gears, or other natural hazards.
Most offshore pipelines are buried below the ocean floor or covered
by gravel/rock to protect them from such external damages.

External Pressure : A large external pressure tends to make a

pipeline oval, and eventually causes it to collapse. This is mainly of
concern for deep-water pipelines, where the external hydrostatic
head is an important factor. Use of higher-grade steel or thicker wall
pipe would protect an offshore pipeline against the external
hydrostatic pressure.

Climatic Conditions (Cold-Region Construction) In Regions of

extremely cold weather, such as the Arctic, or near Arctic areas,
special factors and issues must be considered in the construction of
pipelines.
Hydraulic Shock/ Water hammering in Pipes: For high-pressure pipes, analysis and design are
generally focused on the stress, deformation, and failure caused by high internal pressure. In cases
where water hammer is a common occurrence in a pipeline, the dynamic effects of the water
hammer, including vibration and material fatigue.
Expansion Stress (Frequent temperature changes): Expansion stresses may arise from the difference
between the pipeline operating temperature and the installation temperature. If sufficient flexibility is
not built in, for example, by providing an expansion loop, buckling may occur.
Seismic effect on Design of Pipelines: Designing a pipeline to withstand earthquakes is complicated
because a strong earthquake can damage the pipe in many ways. Large vibrations and differential
settlement of the ground can cause large bending and shear stresses in parts of the pipe.
Effects of Pipe Bending (Construction Stresses): Bending happens whenever a pipe is not supported
uniformly, and when a lateral load exists. Bending causes a moment at any cross section of the pipe,
which in turn generates a flexural stress (bending stress) that is a tensile stress.
 Fluid Physical Properties
Physical properties of the transported fluids play a very important role in determining the pipeline diameter, selecting the
pipe material and the associated equipment and power required to transport the fluid. The most important fluid
properties that affect pipeline design are:

 Specific Gravity and API gravity.

 Viscosity

 Vapor Pressure
 Compressibility

 Temperature
 Specific heat of liquids

 Pour Point
 Water, CO2 and H2S Content
Specific Gravity and density: These are the synonymous of the weight of the fluid and directly affect
the design parameter/ results. Higher the density more is the pressure drop.
There are several definitions of fluid density that are used in the petroleum industry, such as Density,
Specific Gravity or Relative Density, and API Gravity.
 
Viscosity: Viscosity is a measure of a fluids internal resistance to flow. It is determined either by
measuring the shear force required to produce a given shear gradient or by observing the time
required for a given volume of liquid to flow through a capillary or restriction.
When measured in terms of force, it is called Absolute or Dynamic Viscosity. And when measured
with respect to time, it is called Kinematic Viscosity. A fluid’s kinematic viscosity is equal to its
absolute viscosity divided by its density.
 
Vapor Pressure: moves from single-phase flow, gas or liquid, into two-phase flow, a mixture of gas and
liquid Vapor pressure is the pressure exerted by the vapor phase of a fluid in a confined container at a
given temperature. Vapor pressure increases with temperature. Vapor pressure determines the
operating conditions at which a fluid tends to change into the gaseous or vapor state.
Compressibility: Most liquids are only slightly compressible hence not significant while designing pressure drops. This
becomes significant in case of gas pipeline design because most gases deviate from the Ideal Gas law. The term, Super
compressibility factor is more significant at high pressure and temperature conditions.

Temperature: Temperature affects pipeline capacity both directly and indirectly. In case of gas, lower the operating
temperature, greater the capacity. Temperature also affects the other parameters like density and viscosity of liquid and gas,
which affects the design capacity of the pipeline. Temperature also affects the physical properties of the line pipe which may
affect the strength of the pipe body as well as the ultimate upstream pressure limit.

Specific heat of liquids: The physical properties of liquid/ fluid play a very important role in maintaining the flow assurance
in the pipeline. Higher the specific heat of the fluid higher the capacity to retain heat energy and lesser the heat loss to the
environment during fluid transportation. Also, the expansion and contraction properties vary with effect of temperature. The
temperature changes are inversely proportional to the specific heats of the fluid subject to no change in heat energy of the
system.

Pour Point: The lowest temperature at which oil will pour or flow when cooled under specified conditions is the pour point
of the liquid. Oils can be pumped below their pour point but under special conditions which need to be generated during
pumping.

Water, CO2, and H2S Content: Water content, and CO2 and H2S level in the transport fluid are important to know because
their presence will cause internal corrosion in pipelines. These parameters are required to select the right pipeline material
(or proper coating) to prevent the pipeline from internal corrosion.
 
 Specific Gravity and API Gravity and Density: The weight of the fluid and directly affect the design
parameter/ results. Higher the density more is the pressure drop. There are several definitions of fluid
density that are used in the petroleum industry, such as Density, Specific Gravity or Relative Density, and
API Gravity.

Problem: Specific gravity of gasoline at 60°F is 0.736. The specific gravity at 70°F is 0.729. What is the specific gravity
at 50°F?
 23 Feb. 2023

Specific Gravity of Blended Liquids

Problems: Three liquids A, B, and C are blended together in the ratio of 15%, 20%, and 65% respectively.
Calculate the specific gravity of the blended liquid if the individual liquids have the following specific
gravities at 70°F:
Specific gravity of liquid A: 0.815
Specific gravity of liquid B: 0.850
Specific gravity of liquid C: 0.895
 Viscosity
Viscosity: Viscosity is a measure of a fluids internal resistance to flow. It is determined either by measuring the
shear force required to produce a given shear gradient or by observing the time required for a given volume of
liquid to flow through a capillary or restriction.
When measured in terms of force, it is called Absolute or Dynamic Viscosity. And when measured with respect to
time, it is called Kinematic Viscosity. A fluid’s kinematic viscosity is equal to its absolute viscosity divided by its
density.

 Absolute viscosity
 Kinematic viscosity
 In Petroleum industry, two other units for kinematic viscosity are also used.
 Saybolt seconds universal (SSU)
 Saybolt seconds furol (SSF)
When expressed in these units, kinematic viscosity represents the time taken for a fixed volume of a liquid to
flow through an orifice of defined size. SSU viscosity means the number of
seconds it takes 60 cubic
centimeters of an oil to flow through the
standard orifice of a Saybolt Universal
viscometer at 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

Saybolt Furol viscosity - the efflux time in

seconds required for 60 milliliters of a
petroleum product to flow through the
calibrated orifice of a Saybolt
Purol viscometer, under carefully
controlled temperature, as prescribed by
test method ASTM D 88.

 Use the above equations to convert the viscosity of ANS crude oil from 200 SSU to its equivalent in centistokes

 Suppose we are given a liquid viscosity of 15 cSt. Calculate the corresponding viscosity in SSU.
Viscosity Variation with Temperature
 Viscosity of a liquid decreases as the liquid temperature increases and vice versa. For
gases, the viscosity increases with temperature
Variation of viscosity with temperature is found to be logarithmic in nature

A and B are constants that depend on the specific liquid.

Suppose we are given the viscosities of a liquid at 60°F and 100°F as 43 cSt and 10 cSt. What is the viscosity at
80°F?
 Several researchers have put forth various equations that attempt to correlate viscosity variation of petroleum
liquids with temperature.
 Most popular and accurate of the formulas is the one known as the ASTM method. In this method, also known
as the ASTM D341 chart method.
 Using the ASTM method, without using the special logarithmic graph paper.

Given two sets of temperature viscosity values (T1, ν1) and (T2, ν2) we can calculate
the corresponding values of C, D, and Z
A=9.778; B=3.4313
Viscosity =279.08 cSt
 Viscosity of Blended Product
Viscosity of a blend of two or more liquids cannot be calculated by simply using the ratio of
each component.

Calculate the blended viscosity obtained by mixing 20% of liquid A with a viscosity of 10 cSt and 80% of liquid B
with a viscosity of 30 cSt at 70°F.
 Pipeline Code and Standards
 Different countries have different national standards and codes for best practice.
 The basis of these codes is to provide guidance on the design, construction and operation
of pipelines.
 Pipelines are designed and constructed safely, and that the integrity of the pipeline is
maintained throughout its life cycle, comprising the following stages:
 Design
 Construction
 Pressure testing
 Operation
 Maintenance
 Repair
 Decommissioning
 Main codes used throughout the pipeline industry (Worldwide pipeline codes and standard) for both oil
and gas pipeline mentioned below:

CSA Z662-15, Oil and Gas Pipeline Systems, is a Canadian standard
that outlines the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of
oil and gas pipelines. It is published by the Canadian Standards
Association and has been in effect since 2015.
 Codes and Standards
• Several codes and standards regulate the design, manufacture, and
installation of NG and LPG distribution systems
• The most commonly used standards are:

1. ASME Section VIII

American Society of Mechanical Engineers –Pressure Vessels Code

2. ANSI/NFPA 30
American National Standards Institute/National Fire Protection
Association –Flammable and Combustible Liquids Code

3. ANSI Z223.1/NFPA 54
ANSI/NFPA –National Fuel Gas Code 21
 Codes and Standards (Contd…)

4. ANSI Z83.3
The standard for gas utilization equipment in large boilers

5. ANSI/UL 144
Pressure regulating valves for LPG

6. NFPA 58
Standard for the storage and handling of LPG

• 7. SBCCI (Southern Building Code Congress International)

• International fuel gas code
22
 American Society of Mechanical Engineers
(ASME)
• ASME B31.1 – power piping
• ASME B31.2 – fuel gas piping
• ASME B31.3 – chemical plant and petroleum refinery
• ASME B31.4 – liquid petroleum transportation piping system
• ASME B31.5 – refrigeration piping and heat exchanger components
• ASME B31.6 – merged with B31.3
• ASME B31.7 - nuclear Power Piping (Inactive)
• ASME B31.8 – gas transportation and distribution systems
• ASME B31.9 – building services piping
• ASME B31.10 - cryogenic piping systems (merged with B31.3)
• ASME B31.11- slurry Transportation Piping Systems
• ASME B31.12 - hydrogen Piping and Pipelines
23