Tell me more ×
Physics Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for active researchers, academics and students of physics. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 0 down vote favorite

I need to do some natural gas flow in network calculations. I am using a steady state formulas, but since I am interested in the failure of the pipeline, I started to wonder how fast would entire gas flow in network settle down to the steady state after the failure event. I.e. is there any knowledge about how fast steady flow is approached if nothing else changes?

share|improve this question
What you describe is a complex problem. When you say failure of the pipeline, do you mean explosion/wall breach? If so, the time taken for the gas flow to reach steady state will be directly related to the gas pressure down stream of the 'breach', the outside pressure (so the pressure differential across the 'breach'), the local geometry in the vicinity and the sound speed in the gas. You can not expect the flow to reach steady state at any point faster that sound can propagate through the liquid to that point. – Killercam Mar 18 at 16:12

Know someone who can answer? Share a link to this question via email, Google+, Twitter, or Facebook.

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.