An American energy company with multiple refineries in California and other locations in the U.S. required some complex dynamic analysis. ioMosaic was to evaluate dynamically a tube rupture overpressure scenario for several heat exchangers systems. The main challenge encountered during this project was to accurately track the vapor/liquid interface. In order to do that, it is critical to define the correct initial liquid volume, use a small-time step during the dynamic simulation, and split the downstream piping in as many equal-volume sections as possible.
The analysis was conducted using Process Safety Office® SuperChems™. Detailed pressure relief valve reports and supporting documentation were managed with Process Safety Enterprise®.The tube rupture overpressure analysis for each system was divided into three main steps:
Shell internal stress vs. failure stress at 2/3 UTS.
Source: G.A. Melhem, Ph.D., “Realize Better Risk Characterization of STHE Tube Failure Scenarios Through Relief Systems Dynamics Modeling”, ioMosaic Whitepaper (2018).
The deliverable for each system analyzed was a report illustrating the following results:
This detailed report provided the client with a comprehensive analysis of the system design and process operations data.