An Efficiently Decoupled Implicit Method for Complex Natural Gas Pipeline Network Simulation

Abstract

The simulation of a natural gas pipeline network allows us to predict the behavior of a gas network system under different conditions. Such predictions can be effectively used to guide decisions regarding the design and operation of the real system. The simulation is generally associated with a high computational cost since the pipeline network is becoming more and more complex, as well as large-scale. In our previous study, the Decoupled Implicit Method for Efficient Network Simulation (DIMENS) method was proposed based on the ‘Divide-and-Conquer Approach’ ideal, and its computational speed was obviously high. However, only continuity/momentum Equations of the simple pipeline network composed of pipelines were studied in our previous work. In this paper, the DIMENS method is extended to the continuity/momentum and energy Equations coupled with the complex pipeline network, which includes pipelines and non-pipeline components. The extended DIMENS method can be used to solve more complex engineering problems than before. To extend the DIMENS method, two key issues are addressed in this paper. One is that the non-pipeline components are appropriately solved as the multi-component interconnection nodes; the other is that the procedures of solving the energy Equation are designed based on the gas flow direction in the pipeline. To validate the accuracy and efficiency of the present method, an example of a complex pipeline network is provided. From the result, it can be concluded that the accuracy of the proposed method is equivalent to that of the Stoner Pipeline Simulator (SPS), which includes commercially available simulation core codes, while the efficiency of the present method is over two times higher than that of the SPS.

GPU-accelerated hydraulic simulations of large-scale natural gas pipeline networks based on a two-level parallel process

“…For a brief and clear description, a network that includes only the pipeline, the supply and the demand, are studied. The mathematical model of complex networks, which also includes a compressor and a valve can be found in the study [17,18].…”

“…According to our previous study, the hydraulic governing equations of a gas pipeline, incorporating the continuity equation and momentum equation, is written as a general formula [17,18] as follows:…”

“…The results show that the calculation speed of the slow transient simulation is accelerated and the computation accuracy of the fast transient simulation is high. What is more, the Decoupled Implicit Method for Efficient Network Simulation (DIMENS) method was proposed in our previous study [17,18]. DIMENS is a rapid method for the hydraulic simulation of natural gas pipeline networks.…”

“…However, to the best of authors' knowledge, it is hard to see any literature focusing on the GPU-accelerated simulations of natural gas pipeline networks due to the lack of suitable parallel algorithm. Fortunately, the DIMENS method in our previous work [17,18] is a highly parallel algorithm. The core idea of this method is that the pipelines are first decoupled and then solved independently, thus the parallel solution process is very suitable for GPU computing.…”

Mathematical Modeling of Fluid Flow and Heat Transfer in Petroleum Industries and Geothermal Applications

“…Their results indicate that multifractal theory can better quantitatively characterize the heterogeneity of pore structures. Wang et al [10] extend their Decoupled Implicit Method for Efficient Network Simulation (DIMENS), which was based on the 'Divide-and-Conquer Approach' ideal, to the continuity/momentum and energy equations coupled with the complex pipeline network. Their results indicate that the accuracy of the proposed method is equivalent to that of the Stoner Pipeline Simulator (SPS), used in commercially available simulation core codes, while the new method is more efficient than that of the SPS.…”