Predictions of hydraulic efficiency and calculation of drag reducing agent dosage for oiland product pipelines
Background Despite the fact that drag reducing agents (DRA) have become a part of the practice of pipeline companies, issues of adequate dosage remain open. This is due to the fact that in order to determine the total required amount of DRA it is necessary to define the integral hydraulic efficiency in each section of the pipeline system with different maximum allowable working pressure, length, diameter, including the variables under different seasonal conditions. Aims and Objectives Development of methodology for calculating the dosage of DRA for pipelines with pressure restrictions for different discharge and different seasonal conditions on the basis of a large-scale transition from laboratory small diameter pipes for the oil industry and product. Methods Large-scale transition from a closed laboratory pipeline to an industrial one equipped with sensors measuring the pressure in the intermediate points, allowing to determine the hydraulic efficiency at the entry point, as well as the model degradation constant. Integration of the system of equations of pressure loss due to friction and kinetic equation of changes in the average molecular weight of the DRA in the industrial pipeline. Conclusion This paper presents the procedure of the forecasting of the DRA hydraulic efficiency in a wide range of operating and geometrical parameters on the basis of a large-scale transition and integration of kinetic equations degradation, as well as the procedure for calculating the dosage of DRA in a wide range of operating and geometrical parameters.