Flush or blow lines adequately

Journal Article · Fri Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 1988 · Hydrocarbon Process.; (United States)

OSTI ID:6956007

Junique, J C

During the commissioning of new plants, before initial startup, an important step is to clean debris from pipes and equipment. This is usually done by flushing with water or blowing with steam or air. It is not the intention of this article to give recommendation about how to proceed, but rather to give a general method to estimate the effectiveness of this operation. The method is based on the general theory of particle dynamics and the concept of drag force - the force needed to displace particles and move them along through the system. We want to make sure the degree of cleanliness obtained at the end of flushing or blowing is such that, later, in the most critical case during operation or operational upset, the particles which are left in the pipework or equipment will not move further. Therefore, the notion of drag force is useful to make comparisons between normal operation and cleaning operation. The concept can also be used to compare the efficiency of different cleaning media; for example, whether to use air blowing or water flushing.

• Research Organization: Shell Internationale Petroleum, Maatschappij B.V., The Hague (NL)
• OSTI ID: 6956007
• Journal Information: Hydrocarbon Process.; (United States), Vol. 67:7
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

42 ENGINEERING
22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
PIPES
CLEANING
DRAG
DYNAMICS
EQUIPMENT
PARTICLES
REACTOR COMMISSIONING
REACTOR START-UP
STEAM INJECTION
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
WATERFLOODING
FLUID INJECTION
MECHANICS
OPERATION
REACTOR OPERATION
START-UP
420205* - Engineering- Transport & Storage Facilities- (1980-)
420400 - Engineering- Heat Transfer & Fluid Flow
220000 - Nuclear Reactor Technology