The eLearning Center for B.F. Environmental Consultants, Inc.

Overview

This online course on liquid pipeline hydraulics covers the steady state transportation of liquids in pipelines. These include water lines, refined petroleum products and crude oil pipelines. This course will prove to be a refresher in fluid mechanics as it is applied to real world pipeline design. Although many formulas and equations are introduced, we will concentrate on how these are applied to the solution of actual pipeline transportation problems.

First, the liquid properties are discussed and how they vary with temperature and pressure are analyzed. The pressure in a liquid and liquid head are explained next. Then the classical Darcy equation for determining pressure drop due to friction in liquid flow is introduced and a modified more practical version is explained. Common forms of equations relating flow versus pressure drop due to friction are introduced and applications illustrated by example problems. In a long distance pipeline the need for multiple pump stations and hydraulic pressure gradient are discussed.

Next the pumping horsepower required to transport a liquid through a pipeline is calculated. Centrifugal and positive displacement pumps are discussed along with an analysis of the pump performance curves. The impact of liquid specific gravity and viscosity on pump performance is explained with reference to the Hydraulic Institute charts. The use of drag reduction as a means to improving pipeline throughput is explored. Batching of different products in a pipeline simultaneously, with minimum commingling, is discussed next. The internal design pressure in a pipeline and the hydrostatic test pressure for safe operation are explained with illustrative examples.

The student must take a multiple-choice quiz consisting of twenty-five (25) questions at the end of the course to obtain PDH credits.

Specific Knowledge or Skill Attained

This course teaches the following specific knowledge and skills:

  · Properties of liquids
  · Calculating Reynolds Number and friction factor
  · How to calculate liquid pressure drop in a pipeline using Moody Diagrams and pressure drop equations such as Miller Equation, MIT Equation and Hazen Williams
  · Components of total pressure and how to maintain the hydraulic pressure gradient above the elevation profile
  · The effect of temperature on liquid pipeline calculations
  · Looping a pipeline to increase flow rate
  · Determining the quantity and location of pumping stations and the required horsepower
  · Plotting pump vs. system head curves
  · Evaluating pump curves, including head vs. flow rate, efficiency vs. flow rate, BHP vs. flow rate, NSPH vs. flow rate
  · Using the pump affinity laws
  · Using drag reduction agents (DRA) to increase a pipeline's capacity
  · Pumping different products, such as jet fuel and diesel, through a pipeline using batching methods
  · Calculating pipe wall thickness based on MAOP

State Board Acceptance

This course can be used by professional engineers to fulfill PDH requirements mandated by state and provincial licensing boards. Decatur Professional Development is an approved provider of continuing education in all states that pre-approve course providers. In all other states that mandate continuing education for engineers, it is the individual engineer's responsibility to determine the suitability of activities for PDH credit. The state boards typically accept online* courses that cover technical, managerial** or ethical content and which are relevant to the practice of engineering. The course must have a clear purpose or objective with a content that will maintain, improve or expand the skills and knowledge of the licensee's field of practice. For questions about your mandatory PDH requirements, visit the website of your state licensing board.

*Online courses are accepted by all state licensing boards that mandate continuing education. Other than New York (which limits online courses to 18 PDH) and Iowa (which limits online courses to 6 PDH), there are no limits placed by other states on the number of hours that can be earned through online continuing education. Consult with your state licensing board if you have any questions about the acceptability of online courses.

**The New York State Board of Engineers does not accept general office management courses, but will accept project management courses that are offered by an approved provider and that are technical in nature and contribute to the engineer's professional practice.

Please Note: Continuing Education credits for this course are awarded as PDH (Professional Development Hour Credits).