Main aspects of liquefied natural gas process line thermal and hydraulic calculations

Abstract

Abstract The rapid growth of liquefied natural gas consumption makes the issues of its transportation more urgent. At present, liquefied natural gas pipeline transportation is carried out only by means of short length process lines. This paper discusses the main features of cryogenic liquids pipeline transportation that obstruct its spread. The proposed model allows to carry out thermal and hydraulic calculations of an underground cryogenic pipeline. The distinctive feature of this model is the fact that it takes into account the changes in basic thermodynamic parameters of cryogenic liquid. The model is based on the Darcy-Weisbach equation and a differential heat transfer equation. In addition, the influence of the Joule-Thomson coefficient inversion on the temperature of the pumping cryogenic liquid was discussed. The comparative analysis of the pipeline construction efficiency made of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene and AISI 321 steel was conducted. It was found that the use of polymer materials contributes to an increase in the transportation distance. The developed model can be applied for estimation of the transportation parameters change of single-phase fluid flow. The obtained results can be used in initial analysis of the process lines designing and construction.