yors12016 Choked flow - Wikipedia
Choked flow
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Choked flow is a compressible flow effect. The parameter that becomes "choked" or "limited" is the fluid
velocity.
Choked flow is a fluid dynamic condition associated with the Venturi effect. When a flowing fluid at a given
pressure and temperature passes through a restriction (such as the throat of a convergent-divergent nozzle or a
valve in a pipe) into a lower pressure environment the fluid velocity increases. At initially subsonic upstream
conditions, the conservation of mass principle requires the fluid velocity to increase as it flows through the
smaller cross-sectional area of the restriction. At the same time, the Venturi effect causes the static pressure, and
therefore the density, to decrease downstream beyond the restriction. Choked flow is a limiting condition
where the mass flow will not increase with a further decrease in the downstream pressure environment while
upstream pressure is fixed. Note that the limited parameter is velocity, and thus mass flow can be increased with
increased upstream pressure (increased fluid density),
For homogeneous fluids, the physical point at which the choking occurs for adiabatic conditions, is when the
exit plane velocity is at sonic conditions i.e. at a Mach number of 1.12115) At choked flow, the mass flow rate
can be increased only by increasing density upstream and at the choke point,
The choked flow of gases is useful in many engineering applications because the mass flow rate is independent
of the downstream pressure, and depends only on the temperature and pressure and hence the density of the gas
on the upstream side of the restriction. Under choked conditions, valves and calibrated orifice plates can be
used to produce a desired mass flow rate.
Contents
1 Choked flow in liquids
2. Mass flow rate of a gas at choked conditions
= 2.1 Choking in change of cross section flow
3 Real gas effects
= 4 Thin-plate orifices
5 Minimum pressure ratio required for choked flow to occur
= 5.1 Vacuum conditions
The flow pattern
See also
References
External links
Choked flow in liquids
If the fluid is a liquid, a different type of limiting condition (also known as choked flow) occurs when the
‘Venturi effect acting on the liquid flow through the restriction causes a decrease of the liquid pressure beyond
the restriction to below that of the liquid’s vapor pressure at the prevailing liquid temperature. At that point, the
liquid will partially flash into bubbles of vapor and the subsequent collapse of the bubbles causes cavitation.
Cavitation is quite noisy and can be sufficiently violent to physically damage valves, pipes and associated
equipment. In effect, the vapor bubble formation in the restriction prevents the flow from increasing any
further. (4115)
Mass flow rate of a gas at choked conditions
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Al gases flow from upstream higher pressure sources to downstream lower pressure sources. There are several
situations in which choked flow occurs, such as the change of cross section in a de Laval nozzle or flow
through an orifice plate.
Choking in change of cross section flow
Assuming ideal gas behaviour, steady-state choked flow occurs when the downstream pressure falls below a
critical value p* . That critical value can be calculated from the dimensionless critical pressure ratio equation'®!
a
Pr ( 2 ) Hi
po \k+1) °
where k is the heat capacity ratio ¢ /cy of the gas (also called the adiabatic index, also sometimes denoted 7)
and where po is the upstream pressure.
For air with a heat capacity ratio k = 1.4, then p* = 0.528pp ; other gases have k in the range 1.09 (e.g
butane) to 1.67 (monatomic gases), so the critical pressure ratio varies in the range 0.487 < p* /pp < 0.587,
which means that, depending on the gas, choked flow usually occurs when the downstream static pressure
drops to below 0.487 to 0.587 times the absolute pressure in stagnant upstream source vessel.
When the gas velocity is choked, the equation for the mass flow rate in ST metric units is:[U?I
th = CaA tor (<2)
th =ma
flow rate, in kg/s
Cq = discharge coefficient, dimensionless
Andi
k= cp/cy of the gas
harge hole cross-sectional area, in m?
€p = specific heat of the gas at constant pressure
Cy = specific heat of the gas at constant volume
po = real gas (total) density at total pressure Py and total temperature Zp, in kg/m*
Pp = absolute upstream total pressure of the gas, in Pa, or kg/m 8”
Tp = absolute upstream total temperature of the gas, in K
The mass flow rate is primarily dependent on the cross-sectional area A of the nozzle throat and the upstream
pressure P, and only weakly dependent on the temperature T. The rate does not depend on the downstream
pressure at all. All other terms are constants that depend only on the composition of the material in the flow.
Although the gas velocity reaches a maximum and becomes choked, the mass flow rate is not choked. The mass
flow rate can still be increased if the upstream pressure is increased as this increases the density of the gas
entering the orifice.
The value of Cg can be calculated using the below expression: Ca =
V2pkP
Where:
Gq ~ Discharge Coefficient through the constriction (dimensionless)
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A = Cross-sectional area of flow constriction (unit length squared)
tht = Mass flow rate of fluid through constriction (unit mass of fluid per unit time)
p = Density of fluid (unit mass per unit volume)
AP = Pressure drop across constriction (unit foree per unit area)
The above equations calculate the steady state mass flow rate for the pressure and temperature existing in the
upstream pressure source,
If the gas is being released from a closed high-pressure vessel, the above steady state equations may be used to
approximate the initial mass flow rate. Subsequently, the mass flow rate will decrease during the discharge as,
the source vessel empties and the pressure in the vessel decreases. Calculating the flow rate versus time since
the initiation of the discharge is much more complicated, but more accurate, Two equivalent methods for
performing such calculations are explained and compared online.!7]
The technical literature can be very confusing because many authors fail to explain whether they are using the
universal gas law constant R which applies to any ideal gas or whether they are using the gas law constant R,
which only applies to a specific individual gas, The relationship between the two constants is R, = R / M where
Mis the molecular weight of the gas.
Real gas effects
If the upstream conditions are such that the gas cannot be treated as ideal, there is no closed form equation for
evaluating the choked mass flow, Instead, the gas expansion should be calculated by reference to real gas
property tables, where the expansion takes place at constant entropy.
Thin-plate orifices
The flow of real gases through thin-plate orifices never becomes fully choked. The mass flow rate through the
orifice continues to increase as the downstream pressure is lowered to a perfect vacuum, though the mass flow
rate increases slowly as the downstream pressure is reduced below the critical pressure.!8] Cunningham (1951)
first drew attention to the fact that choked flow will not occur across a standard, thin, square-edged
orifice (910011
Minimum pressure ratio required for choked flow to occur
The minimum pressure ratios required for choked conditions to occur (when some typical industrial gases are
flowing) are presented in Table 1. The ratios were obtained using the criterion that choked flow occurs when
the ratio of the absolute upstream pressure to the absolute downstream pressure is equal to or greater than
[2k +1) #4 —D, where k is the specific heat ratio of the gas. The minimum pressure ratio may be
understood as the ratio between the upstream pressure and the pressure at the nozzle throat when the gas is
traveling at Mach 1; if the upstream pressure is too low compared to the downstream pressure, sonic flow
cannot occur at the throat.
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Table 1
Min. P,/P,
Gas K= e916. or choked flow
Dry air 1,400 at 20 °C 1.893
Nitrogen 1.404 at 15 °C 1.895
Oxygen 1,400 at 20 °C 1.893
Helium 1,660 at 20 °C 2.049
Hydrogen L410 at 20°C 1.899
Methane 1307 1.837
Propane L131 1.729
Butane 1.096 1.708
‘Ammonia 1310 at 15 °C 1.838
Chlorine 1355 1.866
Sulfur dioxide 1,290 at 15 °C 1.826
Carbon monoxide | 1.404 1.895
Carbon dioxide 1.30 1.83
Notes:
= P, = absolute upstream gas pressure
= Pq absolute downstream gas pressure
= k values obtained from:
1. Perry, Robert H.; Green, Don W. (1984). Perry's Chemical Engineers’ Handbook, Table 2-166, (6th
ed.). MeGraw-Hill Company. ISBN 0-07-049479-7.
2. Phillips Petroleum Company (1962). Reference Data For Hydrocarbons And Petro-Sulfur
Compounds (Second Printing ed.). Phillips Petroleum Company.
‘Vacuum conditions
In the case of upstream air pressure at atmospheric pressure and vacuum conditions downstream of an orifice,
both the air velocity and the mass flow rate becomes choked or limited when sonic velocity is reached through
the orifice.
The flow pattern
Figure 1a shows the flow through the nozzle when it is completely subsonic (ie. the nozzle is not choked). The
flow in the chamber accelerates as it converges toward the throat, where it reaches its maximum (subsonic)
speed at the throat. The flow then decelerates through the diverging section and exhausts into the ambient as a
subsonic jet. Lowering the back pressure, in this state, will inerease the flow speed everywhere in the
nozzle]
When the back pressure, py, is lowered enough, the flow speed is Mach | at the throat, as in figure Ib. The flow
pattern is exactly the same as in subsonic flow, except that the flow speed at the throat has just reached Mach 1
Flow through the nozzle is now choked since further reductions in the back pressure can't move the point of
I=1 away from the throat, However, the flow pattern in the diverging section does change as you lower the
back pressure further.(!21
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As py is lowered below that needed to just choke the flow, a region of
supersonic flow forms just downstream of the throat. Unlike in subsonic flow,
the supersonic flow accelerates as it moves away from the throat, This region of
supersonic acceleration is terminated by a normal shock wave. The shock wave
produces a near-instantaneous deceleration of the flow to subsonic speed. This
subsonic flow then decelerates through the remainder of the diverging section
and exhausts as a subsonic jet, In this regime if you lower or raise the back
pressure you move the shock wave away from (increase the length of supersonic
flow in the diverging section before the shock wave) the throat.!21
If the p, is lowered enough, the shock wave will sit at the nozzle exit (figure
1d). Due to the very long region of acceleration (the entire nozzle length) the
flow speed will reach its maximum just before the shock front, However, after
the shock the flow in the jet will be subsonic.!2)
Lowering the back pressure further causes the shock to bend out into the jet
(figure Le), and a complex pattern of shocks and reflections is set up in the jet
which will involve a mixture of subsonic and supersonic flow, or (if the back
pressure is low enough) just supersonic flow. Because the shock is no longer
perpendicular to the flow near the nozzle walls, it deflects the flow inward as it
leaves the exit producing an initially contracting jet. This is referred as
overexpanded flow because in this case the pressure at the nozzle exit is lower
than that in the ambient (the back pressure)- ie. the flow has been expanded by
the nozzle too much.{!” a3. ae
Figure 1. Flow patterns
‘A further lowering of the back pressure changes and weakens the wave pattern
in the jet. Eventually the back pressure will be low enough so that it is now equal to the pressure at the nozzle
exit. In this case, the waves in the jet disappear altogether (figure 1), and the jet will be uniformly supersonic.
This situation, since it is often desirable, is referred to as the ‘design condition’ [121
Finally, if the back pressure is lowered even further we will create a new imbalance between the exit and back
pressures (exit pressure greater than back pressure), figure Ig. In this situation (called ‘underexpanded’) what
we call expansion waves (that produce gradual turning perpendicular to the axial flow and acceleration in the
jet) form at the nozzle exit, initially turning the flow at the jet edges outward in a plume and setting up a
different type of complex wave pattern.|!2)
See also
= Accidental release source terms includes mass flow rate equations for non-choked gas flows as well
= Orifice plate includes derivation of non-choked gas flow equation.
= de Laval nozzles are Venturi tubes that produce supersonic gas velocities as the tube and the gas are first,
constricted and then the tube and gas are expanded beyond the choke plane.
= Rocket engine nozzles discusses how to calculate the exit velocity from nozzles used in rocket engines.
= Hydraulic jump.
References
1. Perry's Chemical Engineers' Handbook, Sixth Edition, McGraw-Hill Co., 1984,
2. Handbook of Chemical Hazard Analysis Procedures, Appendix B, Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S.
Dept. of Transportation, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1989. Handbook of Chemical Hazard Analysis,
Appendix B http:/nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyNET.cxe/10003MK5.TXT?ZyActionD=ZyDocument&Client=EPA Index
=1986+Thrut-1990&Docs~& Query-&Time~&EndTime~&SearchMethod~1 & TocRestrict-n&Toc~& TocEntry-8Q
Field=pubnumber?SE%220S WERHCHAP%22& QF eld Year=& QFieldMonth=& QFieldDay=&UseQField=pubnu
htps:fon wkipodia.orgiwikfChoked_low 561013112018 CChoked flow - Wikiedia
mberdIntQFieldOp=1 &ExtQFieldOp=1 &XmIQuery=8&File=D%3A%5Czy iles?%5CIndex%20Data%SCR6thru90%
SCTXT%5C00000003%65C10003MKS.TXT&User=ANON Y MOUS&Password=anonymous8&:SortMethod=h%7C-
&MaximumDocuments=1 08FuzzyDegree=0&Image Quality=175g8/175g8/x150y150g16/i425&Display=p%7CfSDe
sSeekPage=x&SearchBack=ZyActionL &Back=Zy ActionS&BackDese=Results%20paze&MaximumPages=1&ZyBn
try=1&SeckPage-x) Click on PDF icon, wait and then scroll down to page 391 of $20 PDF pages.
3. Methods For The Calculation Of Physical Effects Due To Releases Of Hazardous Substances (Liquids and Gases),
PGS2 CPR 14E, Chapter 2, The Netherlands Organization Of Applied Scientific Research, The Hague, 2005. PGS2
CPR 148 (http://vrom.nlipagina html?id=20725)
4, Read page 2 of this brochure. (http://www.documentation,emersonprocess.com/groups/publie/documents/brochures/d
351912x012.pdf)
5. Control Valve Handbook (http://www.chemicalprocessing, com/Media/MediaManager/control_valves.pdf) Search
document for "Choked"
6, Potter & Wiggert, 2010, Mechanics of Fluids, 3rd SI ed., Cengage.
7. Calculating Accidental Release Rates From Pressurized Gas Systems (http://air-dispersion.com/feature2.html)
8. Section 3 - Choked Flow (http://www.engsof.co.kr/download_e/steam_flow_e.htm)
9. Forum post on I Apr 03 19:37 (hitp:/svww.eng-tips.com/viewthread cfm ?qid=51260)
0. Cunningham, R.G., "Orifice Meters with Supercritical Compressible Flow" Transactions of the ASME, Vol. 73, pp.
625-638, 1951
I, Richard W, Miller (1996). Flow Measurement Engineering Handbook (Third ed.). McGraw Hill, ISBN 0-07-042366-
6.
12 The flow through the nozzle (http://www.engapplets.vt.edu/fluids/CDnozzle/edinfo.html)
External links
= Choked flow of gases (http://www.okcc.com/PDF/Choked%20Flow%2001%20Gases%20pg.48, pdf)
= Development of source emission models (http://www.qub.ac.uk/qe/webpages/whatwedo/researchgroups/e
nvironmentalmodelling/ia/documents/chapter5 pdf)
= Restriction orifice sizing control (http://www. enggcyclopedia.com/calculators/restriction-orifice-sizing)
Perform orifice plate, restriction orifice sizing calculation for a single phase flow.
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Categories: Flow regimes | Aerodynamics | Gas technologies
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