A numerical blowdown simulation incorporating cubic equations of state

The development of a numerical simulation, based on cubic equations of stat e for blowdown of vessels containing high pressure hydrocarbons is describe d. The model's performance is evaluated by comparison with experimental dat a relating to the blowdown of a condensable hydrocarbon mixture in a full s ized vessel at a starting pressure of 118 bar. Typical output data includin g lime-temperature profiles for the vapour and liquid phases as well as the wetted and unwetted walls are reported. These are shown to be within +/- 5 K of experimental data. In general, it is found that the choice of the cub ic equation of state has little effect on the data. (C) 1999 Elsevier Scien ce Ltd. All rights reserved.