5/15/2020 Relief Valve Isentropic Flash Calculation Options in Commercial Process Simulators – SimulationCoach.

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RELIEF, THERMODYNAMICS

Relief Valve Isentropic Flash Calculation

Options in Commercial Process Simulators

Date: January 9, 2017 Author: simulationcoach 0 Comments

Some modern relief valve calculation methods require an isentropic flash calculation. For a
rigorous isentropic (constant entropy) flash calculation, a commercial process simulation
software program can be an excellent, handy tool.Packed with thermodynamic rigorous
methods and physical properties process simulation software can provide every tool the
engineer need to perform such rigorous calculations. However, not all commercial process
simulation software have a built-in isentropic flash specification in their flash unit operation
model.

To the best of the author’s knowledge, PRO/II’s and CHEMCAD’s flash vessel unit operation
are the only ones that offer an isentropic calculation mode as depicted below.

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Other programs such as HYSYS, Unisim, COCO, DWSIM do not have such an explicit flash
calculation option. So, how can you do such a calculation in these programs? Easy !

Consider the expander unit operation that is used to model a turbine with a real isentropic
efficiency. In an expander, the calculation the outlet reversible entropy is used to estimate the
properties of the outlet fluid from a real, irreversible expander (turbine) taking into account
the efficiency specification. A 100% efficient expander is a reversible one, whose outlet has
the same entropy as the inlet, which is an isentropic calculation.

Therefore, the proper simulation model in HYSYS, Unisim, COCO and DWSIM for your
isentropic flash calculation consists of an expander whose efficiency is 100 % or 1.0 if the
efficiency input scale is 0-1 for your simulator. See a simulation flowsheet set up in COCO
software depicted below.

Similar models, using an expander rather than a flash vessel can be set up in HYSYS, Unisim,
DWSIM and even in PRO/II and CHEMCAD if you so desire.
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This simulation solution proves that your model is not necessarily a copy of a process flow
diagram (PFD), as your simulation model is there to suit your calculation needs.

Published by simulationcoach

Process engineer, P.Eng. with a passion for process modelling, excellence and software
automation. View all posts by simulationcoach

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