Temperature distribution in natural gas/condensate pipelines using a hydrodynamic model

A hydrodynamic model for predicting the flow of natural gas and condensate in transmission pipelines has been developed. The steady state model was used to study the temperature profile along a transmission pipeline. The model is based on formulating the problem in terms of mass, momentum, and energy balance equations. It can predict the pressure drop, liquid holdup, and liquid dropout for a multi-component wet gas being transported in a hilly terrain at non-isothermal conditions. This model can determine the temperature profile along a multi-elevation pipeline by coupling the energy equation to the mass and momentum equations. Regardless of the type of terrain, the temperature of the flowing mixture drops to the surrounding temperature value within 3.3 mi from the inlet. After this point, the gravity effect dominates. This is an abstract of a paper presented at the SPE Eastern Regional Meeting (Morgantown, WV 9/14-16/2005).