Recent content by NeilatNEL

I am currently investigating a problem in which sand erosion is occuring in a multiphase (oil/water/gas & sand) pipeline. Essentially sand is causing erosion in the body and downstream of a dual plate check valve. I am looking for an alternative check valve design with a good record of erosion...

I am looking at the intensity of erosion generated by the jet of steam and condensate released when a steam trap opens. Is anyone aware of any test data or calculation methods for estimating - 1. The velocity of steam jets generated by condesnate depressurising through a small orifice 2. The...

Are any rules of thimb for sizing pipework for heavy oil applications. I know that in general liquid flows pipes are usually sized to keep the flow velocity between 2 and 4 m/s. Does this still hold for high viscosity fluids (up to 8000 cP!) Cheers, Neil

We have done a lot of work on orifice plate installation errors at NEL and one of my colleagues chairs the commitee for ISO 5167. (I'm sure he could answer you question in more detail than you would ever want!) From my experience I would guess that the recommendation in the standard is based on...

Most of the people I have been discussing this with to date have been at oil refineries using steam from CHP plant. They all seem to use (or at least meter) superheated steam. In fact they have serious problems if they get any wetness in their steam. I guess from what you're saying that they are...

Thank you all for your words of advice. I'd agree with TBP that pressure (and temperaure) correction is a big issue for flowmeters. Can anyone give an indication of when superheated steam is used and when saturated steam is used? Is this related to the size of the steam distribution system or...

I am currently doing a review of steam flow metering systems. I know a reasonable amount about flowmeters but I'm a relative novice on the subject of steam systems. I believe that one of the primary sources of flowmetering error is that steam quality is rarely known. This is obviously not an...

I am currently doing a review of tseam flow metering systems. I know a reasonable amount about flowmeters but I'm a relative novice on the subject of steam systems. I believe that one of the primary sources of flowmetering error is that steam quality is rarely known. This is obviously not an...

Sorry, I should have said, you can reach me at info@nel.uk Cheers, Neil

It is feasible to estimate impact forces of different sizes of waves using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) flow modelling methods. This type of approach has been used to look at impact forces on offshore structures and ships (look at the 'green water' movie example at...

Thanks for that. We are dealing with a well at the end of its life with low flow rates. If we can reduce the pressure drop in the system then we should be able to increase production enough to justify the expense. In this respect the valve application will probably be closer to that of a...

I am looking into the implications of using triple offset 20 inch butterfly valves as alternatives to chokes in a hydrocarbon production system. Two particular issues we are interested in - 1. Is slug flow more damaging to butterfly valves than multi-orifice control valves? Do butterfly valves...

Advantica (used to be British Gas R&T) did a lot of blast loading work on pipelines - try their website.

yimc, we did some work on this subject a couple of years ago at the National Engineering Laboratory. More information can be found at http://www.flowprogramme.co.uk/projects/proj_marg.htm Cheers, Neil

I am performing a government sponsored review of steam flow metering technology and how it is applied in the UK. I'd be grateful if anyone out there would be willing to share their experiences. Specifically, I am trying to get a handle on the metering methods used and information available to...