Is Warm-up Considered in Condesate Pipe Sizing?
Is Warm-up Considered in Condesate Pipe Sizing?
(OP)
When sizing steam condensate return lines, do we need to consider warm-up? I understand the need to do so for steam traps, but I have never seen it for condensate piping. I am guessing that although there is more mass flow, the condensate will probably be subcooled enough to reduce the percentage of flash. And since the flash steam is the governing factor in condensate pipe sizing, I am guessing that there is no need to consider additional liquid flow during warm-up. In other words, if the pipe is correctly sized for the full-load flash percentage, then it will be large enough for warm-up.
Agree?
Agree?





RE: Is Warm-up Considered in Condesate Pipe Sizing?
The length of time between warm-up situations does not justify the additional expense to capture the condinsate. No use spending dollars to save pennies.
During warm-up drain valves in the steam line are cracked open to release the additional condensate.
NozzleTwister
Houston, Texas
RE: Is Warm-up Considered in Condesate Pipe Sizing?
RE: Is Warm-up Considered in Condesate Pipe Sizing?
On an industrial or refinery application you should size the piping for at least double the average load anyway because there will be flow fluctuations around the average. This will help with the start-up situation.
NozzleTwister raises a valid point over the time between start-ups. If this is a once-a-year thing then maybe you can live with it, but with smaller factories that start up every week or fortnight a few hours lost in start-up can be significant. My personal feeling is that it is worth spending another $500 on piping to ensure that a 2 million dollar distillation column runs smoothly.
Katmar Software
Engineering & Risk Analysis Software
http://katmarsoftware.com
RE: Is Warm-up Considered in Condesate Pipe Sizing?