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Stea
Trap

January 9th,
2021

Reb
Sele Refinery and Petrochemical
December
Ess Line Sizing Criteria
31st, 2020
n every oil and gas project, there are tons of lines

Intro
I and networks of pipes. Each one of these pipes has
a specific size. It is essential for process engineers to
to
Mat calculate the best size for each line. Thus, there is a need for
in a specific criterion to provide the general line sizing
Oil
standards. In fact, for every oil and gas project, there exists a
and
Gas unique document called “Design Basis” or “Process Sizing
Indu Criteria”, which is intended to be used as a reference to
November
calculate the proper size of each line and other equipment.
27th, 2020
In the following section, we will review the general principle
of petrochemical line sizing criteria and its procedures,
How
to
 Des which is common among most refinery and petrochemical
a
plants.
Vert
Sep
December 6th,
2020 Line sizing procedures
There are a couple of steps in order to achieve the optimum
Hum
pipe size. Optimum pipe size has the following
Term
and characteristics:
The
February 7th, Economic (in terms of material, construction,
2021
installation)
Allowable fluid velocity
Low pressure drop
Available material

Categories
Petrochemical line sizing criteria are based on two major
parameters, maximum allowable pressure drop and velocity.
 Catalyst
(1) Generally, the more the velocity, the more the pressure drop.
Therefore, one cannot decrease the pipe size too much in
 Design order to achieve an economic design. Otherwise, pressure
(2) drop and velocity would exceed their maximum limits. Now,
let’s take a look at pipe sizing procedures. We will explain
 Fundamental each step accordingly.
(3)
1. Choose a velocity based on the criteria and calculate
 General the pipe internal diameter (ID).
(2) 2. Calculate the pressure drop (dP) and check it with the
criteria.
 Heat 3. Calculate pipe thickness and schedule based on the
exchanger
design pressure and pre-determined pipe diameter.
(1)
4. Determine the new ID using defined schedule and
calculate velocity & dP again based on new ID and
 Humidity
check with the criteria.
(1)
5. Analyze flow hydraulic & phenomena. (Flow mapping)

 Machinery
(2)
Step 1. Initial pipe ID determination
 Material In this step, we have to select a value for velocity that is
(2) lower than maximum limit. Each project has a unique
 document in which, maximum velocity & pressure drop
 Mechanical
limits for various services are specified. Therefore,
(2)
engineers have to refer to this document for proper velocity

 Piping (3) & pressure drop determination.

 Process For two-phase flows, erosion velocity is the maximum

(7) allowable velocity that shall be satisfied. According to API

(American Petroleum Institute) RP 14E , erosion velocity is
 Pump (3) the velocity at which the pipe internal surface may start to
erode:
 Reactor
c ​
(1) V e​ =
ρm ​​
 Selection  Where:
Guide (4)
ṁl ​ + ṁg ​​
ρm =
​
ṁl ​​ ṁg ​​
 Separator ρl ​ + ρg ​
(1)
V e ​ = erosion velocity
 Utility (1)
c = empirical constant
 Water
Treatment ρm ​ = gas/liquid mixture density
(1)
ṁl ​ = liquid mass flowrate

ṁg ​ = gas mass flowrate

ρl ​ = liquid density

ρg ​ = gas density

“c” is a function of corrosiveness of the fluid and whether

the service is continuous or intermittent. One can take
c=122 (SI unit) as a conservative value for continuous
services. For two phase low pressure services, It is
recommended to consider a margin of 65% of erosion
velocity for maximum velocity limit.

As a rule of thumb, the following rough figures are mostly

used as petrochemical line sizing criteria for velocity &
pressure drop limits:
 Nominal Max
Max ΔP
LIQUID Pipe Velocity
(bar/100m)
Size (m/s)

Pump Lower
1 0.1
suction than 8″

Pump Higher
2 0.1
suction than 8″

Pump Lower
2 0.5
discharge than 8″

Pump Higher
3.5 0.5
discharge than 8″

Table 1. General velocity & pressure drop limits for

petrochemical and refinery plants – Liquid Flow

Max
GAS & Operating Max ΔP
Velocity
VAPOR Pressure (bar/100m)
(m/s)

Lower
Gas than 7 30 0.1
barg

Higher
Gas than 7 30 0.4
barg

12 d  ​
Steam LPS 0.1
 (note 1)

9 d  ​
Steam MPS 0.5
 (note 1)
 Table 2. General velocity & pressure drop limits for
petrochemical and refinery plants – Gaseous Flow

Max Velocity Max ΔP

TWO PHASE
(m/s) (bar/100m)

High
pressure Ve 0.45
flow

Low
pressure 0.65 Ve 0.45
flow

Table 3. General velocity & pressure drop limits for

petrochemical and refinery plants – Two Phase Flow

After identifying the velocity, calculate pipe internal diameter

using volumetric flowrate. It’s recommended to consider
10% overdesign for the fluid flowrate.

Note 1:  d= pipe’s diameter in inch

Step 2. Pressure drop calculation

Having determined pipe ID, calculate fluid pressure drop
using the related dP equations and formulas. This is usually
done by conventional engineering software. Check the
calculated dP with the related criteria. If it exceeds the
maximum limit, return to step one and repeat the
calculations for a lower velocity.

Step 3. Thickness calculation

In this step, we have to calculate pipe thickness which is
done by piping department. For every project, there is a
document called piping & material specification (PMS). In
this document, all the available piping materials, sizes and
pressure rating classes are specified. Design engineers
usually refer to PMS in order to specify pipe’s pressure class
and thus the proper schedule (thickness). In PMS, schedule
is a function of design pressure, temperature and line
service. However, PMS itself is calculated based on
mechanical stress-relating correlations. ASME B31 provides
complete sets of correlations to calculate various pipes
thicknesses.

The following equation can be used for straight process

pipes, which are under internal pressure. Mostly utilized in
petrochemical or refinery plants: (Only valid for t < Do /6)

tm ​ = t + c
P d ​Do ​
t= ​

2 (SE + P d ​Y )

Where:

tm = Minimum final thickness. The minimum thickness

for the pipe selected, considering manufacturer’s
minus tolerance, shall not be less than tm . The minus
tolerance for seamless steel pipe is 12.5% of the
nominal pipe wall thickness.
t = Calculated thickness (inch)
c = Corrosion allowance. For carbon steel, based on
the corrosiveness condition, the normal values are 1.6/
3.2/ 6 (mm).
Pd = Design pressure (psig). This parameter shall be
determined by process engineers based on operating
pressure and the predicted over-pressure scenarios.
Do = Outside diameter (inch). It can be determined
based on pipe ID using pipe table. Note that for pipes
with nominal pipe size (NPS) more than 14”, NPS is
equal to Do . Otherwise NPS < Do .
 S = Allowable stress (psi). It is a function of material
grade and metal temperature. The more the metal
temperature, the less the allowable stress. An
approximate value for most steels at medium
temperature is 20000 psi.
E = Quality factor – or joint efficiency (dimensionless).
It is a function of material grade and pipe’s fabrication
method. For seamless pipe E=1. For most steel
castings it can be approximated by 0.8.
Y = Coefficient of temperature (dimensionless). For
almost all metals except cast iron at temperature
smaller than 480° C, Y=0.4. For cast iron Y=0.

After calculation of minimum thickness (tm), refer to pipe

tables and choose an appropriate schedule for the selected
NPS. The schedule shall be selected with a minimum
thickness of tm .

Pipe tables provide specifications of standard pipes used in

industry. Since there are only limited values available for
thickness of different NPS, engineers use pipe tables to
select a proper schedule among available dimensions.
ASME B36.10 & B36.19 cover the standardization of
dimensions of steel and stainless steel pipes.

Step 4. Checking the velocity and dP for the

new ID

After choosing the proper pipe schedule for the selected

NPS, specify pipe ID again based on the new thickness,
using pipe table. Then, calculate the velocity and dP for the
new ID and check them with the criteria. If they don’t meet
the criteria, return to step three and use a bigger NPS.

Step 5. Analysis of flow hydraulic &

phenomena

Flow mapping is done after specifying pipe’s dimensions.

Engineers have to analyze flow hydraulic prior to pipeline
fabrication by means of flow assurance software. This step
is especially essential if there is a probability for the flow to
enter two phase regimes. In this case, hydraulic analysis
shall be done for both maximum flow (110% normal) and
minimum flow (30% normal). This step includes the
following activities:

Erosion checking
Wax deposition
Hydrate formation (usually for pipelines)
Slug analysis
Corrosion rate estimation
Static flow regime
Dynamic flow evaluation (startup- shutdown)

Conclusion
In this article, we studied some basic principles of
petrochemical line sizing criteria and pipe design.
Technically, this procedure has to be done via trial and error.
For each initial guess, all the possible consequences have to
be considered. In order to achieve the best design, it requires
a whole team of engineers from different departments to
cooperate. In addition to report the final calculation for the
desired pipe size, process engineers usually include
calculations for one size bigger and one size smaller for all
the lines.

Economic considerations are extremely important. Optimum

design is an economic one. Therefore, they have to be
studied thoroughly from the raw materials weight to welding
cost, corrosion inhibition, installation requirements
(underground/rack) and insulation cost.

Consequently, these line sizing criteria are unique for each

project. Therefore, the calculation shall be done according to
their specific design basis.

Note: This information is for general

knowledge only and shall be used under
 specialist’s supervision.

By S-Pourazimi | December 17th, 2020 | Design, Piping,

Process | 0 Comments

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