This example demonstrates how to model gas flow driven by a compressor in FluidFlow, compressing air at 25°C from a source vessel at 2 barg to a storage vessel at 5 barg while also accounting for an increase in elevation. The system includes a 15 m equivalent length of 6” SCH 40 steel suction line from the vessel to the compressor and a 15 m equivalent length of 4” SCH 40 steel discharge line to the storage vessel, with elevations defined for the vessel (2 m), compressor centerline (1 m), and storage vessel (10 m).
Using a target mass flow rate of 3500 kg/h, you’ll build the network, define boundaries, fluid, piping and compressor data, select a results unit set, run the hydraulic analysis, and then validate results against a hand calculation. Key outputs include pipe velocities, Reynolds numbers, Darcy friction factors, friction losses, and the required compressor differential pressure.