Security of gas pipelines

Abstract

Security of the natural gas supply strongly depends on the integrity of the transportation pipelines. The statistical evidence shows that the most probable cause of the break occurrence at natural gas pipeline is the external third party interference. A potential damage to the surrounding objects and violation of the people lives during the pipeline accident depends oil the mass flow rate of the natural gas leakage from the break. The paper presents an efficient method for the prediction of the natural gas leakage rates in case of pipeline accidents, as well as for the prediction of transient gas dynamic forces that are generated in case of an unsteady fluid flow and a fluid discharge from the pressurized volume to the Surrounding. The method application is demonstrated on the test cases of natural gas Outflow from a high pressure main transportation gas pipeline and a break occurrence at the distribution pipeline. Obtained data are a necessary input to the safe design of pipeline structures and supports.