PIPE RUPTURE SIMULATIONS FOR TWO-PHASE CO2-MIXTURE

Control of ductile fracture propagation to ensure arrest is an essential element of design of pipelines transporting natural gas and other fluids such as dense-phase CO2. Full-scale pipe rupture simulations have been carried out using Finite Element Analysis (FEA). The simulations captured an accurate pressure loading profile behind the crack tip resultant from the escaping fluid. Results for loading profiles representative of both natural gas and a CO2 mixture are compared, the difference being that the CO2 mixture can exist as a two-phase fluid (liquid and gas) compared to the single-phase natural gas.
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