Improved Tube Rupture Analysis with BOSfluids

30 Mar 2020

The tube rupture model provided by BOSfluids, the transient pipe flow analysis tool by DRG, has been significantly improved and extended. It can therefore more accurately predict the pressure rise due to rupture of a tube in a heat exchanger. The improved model can account for phase transitions due to flashing and the critical flow conditions that often occur as a result. The improved model also accounts for the friction losses within the tubes.

The previous tube rupture model implemented by BOSfluids was limited to the discharge of a single-phase gas from the high-pressure side (typically the tubes) of the heat exchanger into the low-pressure side (typically the shell). While this covers some scenarios, it could not accurately predict the pressure rise in the event of a phase transition. The new tube rupture model eliminates that shortcoming by implementing methods and models that can handle phase transitions due to flashing, both for saturated and sub-cooled liquids. The model supports both phase transitions occurring within the tubes and within the fracture opening. The new model can, of course, still handle single-phase gas flow as well as single-phase liquid flow.

In addition to the new tube rupture model, the relief valve model has been extended with support for phase transitions and critical flow. The makes the relief valve model better suited to be used in tube rupture analyses. BOSfluids also offers a new Burst Disk element type that can be used to model burst or rupture disks. This element type, too, supports phase transitions and critical flow.

The new tube rupture model will land in BOSfluids 6.1 that is slated for release in the second quarter of this year. This new release will bring many other improvements and new features making it a surge analysis tool of choice even more.