Slug Flow Analysis Procedure

SLUG-FLOW ANALYSIS:

The effect of slug on the piping may be described as below

In slug flow condition a liquid slug can hit the pipe elbow and consequently increase the load on elbow. This
load is time dependent. This load lasts till the slug traverses the elbow and then suddenly drops to zero again.
The duration of slug is calculated based on the length of slug & stream velocity. This results in short duration
impulsive loads on pipes. Thus the piping system is required to be designed for the dynamic loading.
In analysis the acceleration effects have been neglected as their effect is assumed to be secondary. It is
assumed that the slug is formed across the full cross-section of the pipe for the maximum impact. This
configuration is least probable for vertically downward flow, as no hold-up is possible for
accumulation of liquid and eventual formation slug. Hence slug forces in elbows for vertically
downward flow lines are not considered.

LOAD:

The main component of the load is of slug due to two-phase flow.

The slug size is calculated based on the length of the pipe before the elbow & liquid volume fraction i.e.

Length of liquid slug = Length of pipe X Liquid volume fraction

Force on the elbow due to fluid flow is calculated as,

FAXIAL = V2 A (1- COS )

FORTHOGONAL = V2 A SIN

Where
FAXIAL Force on elbow in axial direction (N)
FORTHOGONAL Force on elbow in orthogonal direction (N)
- Density of liquid (Kg/ M3)
A Internal cross-sectional area of pipe in (M2)
V Stream velocity (M/Sec)
- Angle of bend (Degree)

Duration of slug is calculated as,

Length of liquid slug
Time Duration =
(Milisec) Velocity of Flow

The slug periodicity is calculated as,

Length of liquid slug + Length of gas slug
Periodicity of slug =
(In milisec) Velocity of flow

It is assumed that the elbow is subjected to force due to liquid slug and drops to a smaller value based on the
density of gas, after some duration after the liquid traverses the elbow. This load is treated as a rectangular
pulse load with the duration and periodicity calculated as above. The number of cycles (3 nos.) is given as per
maximum limit of CAESAR II package.
A natural frequency of the piping system is calculated for the first few modes up to frequency cut-off of 33 Hz.

LOAD CASES

Load cases considered are as follows

Combination 1 - Static (Operating) + Slug

Combination 2 - Static (Sustained) + Slug
Combination 1 - Static (Operating) + Seismic
Combination 2 - Static (Sustained) + Seismic
Combination 3 - Static (Operating) + Slug + Seismic
Combination 4 - Static (Sustained) + Slug + Seismic