Table Of ContentPipeline
Engineering
Pipeline a
Engineering
H enry Liu
First published 2003 by Lewis Publishers
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Reissued 2018 by CRC Press
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Foreword
Think about it. The U.S. has been one of the world leaders in developing increasingly
more sophisticated pipeline systems for transportation of crude oil, natural gas,
petroleum products, water, solids, and slurries. A vast network of pipelines literally
blankets the U.S. as well as many other countries worldwide. Given these facts, it
is amazing that there is no university curriculum, at least in the U.S., that recognizes
pipeline engineering as a separate and distinct discipline. Equally amazing is the
fact that there currently exists no comprehensive and recognized textbook that
specifically addresses pipeline engineering. When I entered the pipeline industry in
1970 as an engineering trainee, my company supplied me with a copy of a textbook
entitled Hydraulics for Pipeliners by C.B. Lester, which was published in 1958 and
out of print at the time it was given to me. It is difficult to believe that more than
30 years have passed and no comprehensive text has been published that addresses
the topics covered by Lester in his landmark book.
Dr. Henry Liu has filled this void with this book, which can be used by univer
sities wishing to offer a course in pipeline engineering. It will be a valuable reference
not only for students but also for practicing engineers who are confronted with
pipeline engineering, construction, and/or operations issues in the real world. Even
though Dr. Liu’s book addresses a wide variety of topics in sufficient detail, it also
provides an excellent yet concise list of references for those who wish and need to
delve into particular areas in greater detail.
Dr. Liu has performed a valuable service by writing this book, which will be a
tremendous asset to the pipeline industry.
James R. Beasley
President
Willbros Engineers, Inc.
Tulsa, OK
Preface
An extensive network of underground pipelines exists in every city, state, and nation
to transport water, sewage, crude oil, petroleum products (such as gasoline, diesel,
or jet fuel), natural gas, and many other liquids and gases. In-plant pipelines are
also used extensively in most industrial or municipal plants for processing water,
sewage, chemicals, food products, etc. Increasingly, pipelines are being used for
transporting solids including minerals (such as coal, iron ore, phosphate, etc.);
construction materials (sand, crushed rock, cement, and even wet concrete); refuse;
municipal and industrial wastes; radioactive materials; grain; hospital supplies; and
hundreds of other products. Pipelines are an indispensable and the preferred mode
of freight transport in many situations.
Pipelines perform vital functions. They serve as arteries, bringing life-dependent
supplies such as water, petroleum products, and natural gas to consumers through
a dense underground network of transmission and distribution lines. They also serve
as veins, transporting life-threatening waste (sewage) generated by households and
industries to waste treatment plants for processing via a dense network of sewers.
Because most pipelines are buried underground or underwater, they are out of sight
and out of mind of the general public. The public pays little attention to pipelines
unless and until a water main leaks, a sewer is clogged, or a natural gas pipeline
causes an accident. However, as our highways and streets become increasingly
congested with automobiles, and as the technology of freight pipelines (i.e., the
pipelines that transport freight or solids) continues to improve, the public is begin-
ning to realize the need to reduce the use of trucks and to shift more freight transport
to underground pipelines. Underground freight transportation by pipelines not only
reduces traffic on highways and streets, but also reduces noise and air pollution,
accidents, and damage to highways and streets caused by trucks and other vehicles.
It also minimizes the use of surface land. Surely, we can expect an increase in the
use of pipelines in the 21st century.
Despite the long history and widespread application of pipelines, pipeline engi
neering has not emerged as a separate engineering discipline or field as have highway
engineering and railroad engineering. This is due in part to the diverse industries
and government organizations that use different kinds of pipelines, and in part to
the lack of a single textbook or reference book that examines the general principles
and different applications of pipelines. This situation has motivated the author to
write this book.
The fragmentation of pipeline engineering can be seen from the number of
different equations used to predict pressure drop along pipelines that carry different
fluids such as water and oil. Yet, all these fluids are incompressible Newtonian fluids,
which should be and can be treated by the same equations. As Professor Iraj Zandi
of the University of Pennsylvania wrote in the editorial of the first issue of the Journal
of Pipelines, the fragmentation of the pipeline field has impeded the diffusion of
knowledge and transfer of manpower from one pipeline business to another, thereby
creating an artificial barrier to technology transfer and job mobility (professional
development). There is a strong need to unify the treatment of different types of
pipelines by using a common approach, so that the next generation of engineers can
be educated to understand a broad range of pipelines for a wide variety of applications.
In this book, pipeline is considered to be a common technology or a single
transportation mode that has different applications. Pipeline engineering is defined
here as the field that studies the various principles, technologies, and techniques that
are used in the planning, design, analysis, construction, operation, and maintenance
of pipelines for transportation of any cargo, be it liquid, gas, solid, or even packaged
products.
This book will be useful not only to those employed by pipeline companies, but
also to most mechanical, civil, chemical, mining, petroleum, nuclear, and agricultural
engineers who must deal with piping or pipelines in their professional work. It
provides the essentials of pipeline engineering — concepts, theories, calculations
and facts — that all engineers working on pipelines should know. The book can be
used as a reference book or as a college textbook. At the University of Mis-
souri-Columbia, an early version of this manuscript was used as the basis for a
3-semester-hour course entitled “Pipeline Engineering.” The prerequisite for this
course was fluid mechanics. The course was taken by both graduate and undergrad
uate students from various engineering departments, especially civil and mechanical
engineering. Student feedback was used to improve the original manuscript that
evolved into this book.
This book consists of a total of 14 chapters, divided into two parts. Part I, Pipe
Flows, consists of seven chapters that present the equations needed for the analysis
of various types of pipe flows. It begins with a treatment of single-phase, incom
pressible Newtonian fluids, then follows with discussions on compressible flow,
non-Newtonian fluids, flow of solid/liquid mixtures, flow of solid/air mixtures, and
capsule flow, in that order. Part II, Engineering Considerations, consists of seven
chapters that deal with nonfluid-mechanics-related engineering of pipelines required
for the proper planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of pipe
lines. Topics include pipe materials, valves, pumps, blowers, compressors, pressure
regulators, sensors, flowmeters, pigging, computer control of pipelines, protection
against freezing, abrasion and corrosion, planning, design, construction, mainte-
nance, rehabilitation, and integrity monitoring of pipelines.
As discussed above, this book examines the principles and important engineering
aspects of all types of pipelines, and provides details on a wide range of subjects to
broaden the reader’s knowledge about the planning, design, construction, and oper
ation of various types of modem pipeline systems. Practicing engineers will find the
book useful for broadening their knowledge of pipelines, especially with respect to
recent developments, such as freight pipelines and trenchless technologies. Profes
sors may find this to be the most suitable textbook available for a new course in
pipeline engineering. It is the author’s belief that all engineering and mining colleges
should offer pipeline engineering as a senior-level elective course offered by any
engineering or mining department with an interest in the course and open to students
from all engineering departments. This will greatly enhance the competence of future
graduates involved in pipeline engineering work.
This book addresses only the most fundamental aspects of pipeline engineering.
Consequently, it excludes discussion of various software systems that are used
currently by design professionals. Nor does it include treatment of codes, standards,
manual of practices, and current laws and regulations on pipelines, which not only
differ from nation to nation, but also are in a state of constant change.
The book assumes that the reader has taken a college-level course in fluid
mechanics. Even so, the book provides some review of fluid mechanics pertinent to
pipe flow (see Chapter 2) to ensure a smooth transition to the more advanced subjects
covered in this book. Today, most pipeline engineers in the U.S. still use the English
(ft-lb) units in practice, although the SI units are being used increasingly. To be able
to practice, to communicate with one another, and to effectively comprehend the
literature on pipelines, the current generation of U.S. engineers and future genera
tions must be familiar with both SI and ft-lb units. For this reason, some examples
and homework problems in this book are given in SI units and others are given in
ft-lb units. This will enable the reader to master both systems of units.
Henry Liu
