Dynamic modeling of capsule separator for control of hydraulic capsule pipelines

Hydraulic capsule pipelines concepts are novel as compared to existing comm ercial pipeline systems. The complexity of such novel systems places greate r demands on sensing, automation, and control strategy design for such syst ems as compared to existing commercial pipeline systems. These issues, as w ell as hydraulic design automation and control strategies, are reported. A novel capsule separator design has also been proposed to ensure reliable fu nctioning of 'booster' stations for such pipelines. Detailed dynamic modeli ng of the proposed capsule separator is performed for generating design and control guidelines. Validation of the overall hydraulic capsule pipeline d esign and control, and limited validation of the proposed capsule separator subsystem, are provided using a prototype hardware computer controlled pip eline model.