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 Check.HSC (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 Sample-S1.fnw (located in the \Samples\Convergent folder of the FlareNet
installation).

KeyWords
sonic velocity, mach number, choke, choked, critical flow

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