Energy

A HAZOP review on a North Sea production facility identified no prior surge analysis on the water injection system spanning five platforms. Impulse confirmed that valve closure at current and design flow conditions would not exceed piping design pressure across any scenario.

Wood performed a hydraulic transient analysis on a Gulf of Mexico platform exporting 140,000 BOE/day to a subsea pipeline. Recommendations reduced pressure pulsations by up to 75%, with transient forces seeing a similar decrease.

A waterhammer analysis on a produced-water injection system off Brazil (FPSO to multiple wellheads, 4–13 km flowlines) revealed peak pressures reaching 312% of design pressure. Minimum safe valve closure times were determined and upstream valve sequencing recommended to mitigate surge.

A transient study on an offshore water injection system (operating above 10,000 psi) revealed that the minimum-flow protection valves opened too late during ESD and valve-failure scenarios. Non-slam check valves and limit-switch logic were implemented to bring forces within acceptable limits.

Beta Machinery Analysis investigated a valve-slamming and waterhammer problem at a Canadian crude oil booster pump station. Using an iterative boundary-condition approach in Impulse, the model was calibrated to field measurements and used to resolve the client's significant pressure surge problem.

URS used Impulse to evaluate surge mitigation scenarios on a pipeline connecting Colonial's pumping station to a BP tank in New Jersey. Modeling showed that a relief valve alone — replacing a proposed control valve — protected both parties' piping under all worst-case scenarios including power failure.

Access Pipeline's engineer built a logical sub-model in Impulse to replicate real-time control logic for booster pump trip conditions at a crude oil terminal, eliminating the need for intermediate manual runs and enabling accurate assessment of overpressure risk during upset events.

Protton Engineering used Impulse to calculate transient surge forces on a 3 km diesel pipeline in Iraq, reducing the predicted peak force from 208 kN (manual calculation) to just 13.7 kN — a 93% reduction — allowing a much smaller, cost-effective thrust block design.

CHEMCAD was used to simulate refinery-type rectification of waste plastic pyrolytic oil across three column configurations. A simplified two-column design successfully produced naphtha, kerosene, and diesel-comparable fractions, and the study showed that blending up to 10% pyrolytic oil with crude oil caused no material change to product yields or fuel properties.

LyondellBasell used Datacor Fathom's Settling Slurry (SSL) module to model a non-Newtonian polymer slurry cooling loop suffering repeated reliability failures. The model pinpointed deposition zones — later confirmed during a plant turnaround — and targeted piping modifications increased recirculation rate by 15%, cancelled a pump replacement worth $435K, and delivered approximately $247K in annual savings from reduced shutdowns.

Fluor used Datacor Fathom to design a 40,300 m³/h cooling water system for the Kuwait National Petroleum Company's 454,000 bpd refinery expansion, then seamlessly transferred the model to Impulse for surge analysis. The integrated workflow significantly reduced engineering hours on this lump-sum project.

MegChem modeled a 120 km crude pipeline feeding a South African refinery to design safe MOV closure times following a capacity upgrade. Simulation also uncovered an undersized pressure safety valve — a potentially catastrophic finding — that was corrected before commissioning.

A calibrated CHEMCAD simulation identified abnormally low tray efficiencies (as low as 35%) in a refinery main column that had lost Heavy Atmospheric Gas Oil yield. The model pointed directly to mechanical tray damage, confirmed by gamma scan, and production was fully restored following a targeted turnaround — avoiding costly trial-and-error operations.

CHEMCAD was used to rigorously simulate a petroleum distillation unit separating jet and diesel fuel fractions. Sequential Quadratic Programming optimization identified an ideal 24-stage column with a reflux ratio of 0.6 and optimal feed tray location, reducing total energy consumption and providing clear guidance for refinery modernization projects.

Hydrus Works recalibrated a large refinery cooling water system with nearly 600 pipes, 492 junctions, and 127 heat exchangers using over 700 field measurements. The final model achieved flow matches within ±4.8% and pressure within ±1.8 psi, creating an evergreen digital twin for ongoing troubleshooting and capacity planning.

P&I Design used CHEMCAD steady-state and dynamic simulation to assess whether an existing gasoline blending system could increase ethanol content from 5% to 10% across three simultaneous loading arms. The model replicated on-site control failures, identified pressure control limitations, and validated both a short-term workaround and a fully redesigned long-term solution — brought online with minimal disruption.

Sasol modeled an entire integrated hydrocarbon separation plant in Datacor Fathom — 335 pipes spanning storage tanks, liquid-liquid extraction, distillation columns, reboilers, condensers, and control valves. Calibration to live plant data uncovered fouled heat exchangers and identified equipment bottlenecks for future capacity increases.

P&I Design built a CHEMCAD hydraulic model of a 50-acre UK bulk fuel terminal with over 145 storage tanks to verify firewater delivery against Energy Institute IP 19 requirements. The Excel-linked model showed that pump and pipework upgrades alone were insufficient — controlled flow distribution was essential — and the reusable model continues to support operational changes and future investment decisions.