Atmos International publishes pipeline simulation book

The book features insights into the behaviour of gas and liquid pipelines and the associated equipment, also discussing how, as well as why, we simulate them. It discusses how computers deal with challenging physical laws involving partial differential equations by solving them using special numerical methods, and how pipeline simulation software deals with challenging real-world pipeline data pragmatically.

A few features of ‘The Atmos book of pipeline simulation’ include:

• The value of Atmos SIM being versatile, modeling gas and liquid pipelines and simulating every type of scenarios: offline, online, look-aheads and as a tool for training and assessment.
• The importance of a transient ground thermal model to calculate the inventory and estimated time of arrival (ETA) calculations when simulating many pipeline scenarios.
• The thermodynamic principles and detailed calculations governing the performance of pumps, compressors and associated equipment, including their efficiency and energy consumption.
• How the automated Atmos Tuning Assistant facilitates calibrating models manually, and how automatic learnt parameters act to keep a model well-calibrated while simulating in real-time.
• How smart adaptive knot-spacing and time-stepping algorithms improve both the speed and the accuracy of a simulation.
• Why the Maximum Likelihood State Estimator, using a statistical approach, is the most reliable method for reconciling potentially flawed meter data in real-time.
• How advanced look-aheads, cloud computing and strategic optimisers empower pipeliners with insights they never had before, allowing them to perform intelligent pipeline operations.

All of these topics are covered at a level intended to familiarise a fresh reader with pipeline simulation, with a focus on Atmos SIM. The book comes in two core parts, one main book and the appendices. The main book enables readers to dive straight into the technical details with no distractions. The appendices provide the history of pipelines, background information on the energy industry, a primer on pipeline basics, a discussion around hydrogen and a quiz to consolidate the reader’s knowledge.

Dr Jun Zhang, founder and CEO at Atmos said “The Atmos book of pipeline simulation provides an excellent in-depth overview of pipeline hydraulics. It demonstrates how using these future-proof solutions like Atmos SIM can help understand complex pipeline operations, provide critical information for pipeline control and safety management, improve efficiencies and maximise profits”.

Moemen Metwally, Application Support Engineer at Atmos and the main author of the book said: “This book addresses a set of pertinent discussions of interest to pipeline simulation professionals. These have, to our knowledge, never been compiled before in a single convenient place. It aims to contextualise what pipeline simulation is all about.”

Jason Modisette, Chief Simulation Scientist and the co-author of the book said: “The world is going to need pipeline simulation software for a long time to come. This is the book I wish I’d had when I started in the field, it covers how oil and gas pipelines work in practice with pipeline simulators.”

A summary of the chapters

The main book covers an array of subjects over 13 chapters, with Atmos SIM applied to real life examples.

Chapter 1 - Model-building: what is a pipeline?

Chapter 2 - The simulation engine

Chapter 3 - A simulator’s performance

Chapter 4 - Shut-in pipelines: sitting still

Chapter 5 - Steady states: flowing forever

Chapter 6 - Temperature: the thermal model

Chapter 7 - Pumping and compression

Chapter 8 - Operations: change in motion

Chapter 9 - Rapid transients & surge analysis

Chapter 10 - Leaks and ruptures

Chapter 11 - Live on site

Chapter 12 - Look-aheads and optimizers

Chapter 13 - Beyond single phase

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/product-news/02032022/atmos-international-publishes-pipeline-simulation-book/