Analysis of a Looped High Pressure Steam Pipeline Network in a Large-Scale Refinery

This work presents a rigorous analytical method to evaluate a looped high pressure steam distribution network in an oil refinery. The Hardy Cross method is modified to handle the nonisothermal and compressible flow of high pressure steam in the looped pipeline network. Steam conditions taken into account include the flow pattern, the pressure, and temperature profiles. The amount of condensate generated in pipeline sections in the looped network is calculated with high precision. The movement of possible stagnant points, pipe sections where steam flow rate is significantly small, is also identified. Scenario-based analyses indicate that steam temperature drop is significant in those sections with stagnant points. An oil refinery can benefit greatly from using the proposed analysis to optimize operation of a high pressure steam distribution network.