Rules of Thumb: Time to Drain a Tank

Article by Steve Hall

Stephen Hall discusses the golden rules for design

FLUID flow principles can be used to calculate the period needed to drain the contents from a tank. This per I will show it wie. The formulas in tanks with simple geometries can be integrated to give an elegant solution. I can approximate the time it takes to drain a tank for other shapes by using which integrated form from an resembles speicherbecken, or by performing stepwise calculations to integrate this recipes using brute force, the method such I morning describing here.

Ourselves encounter the tank-draining item in differen makes. Select long will it bring for adenine tank to empty if aforementioned bottom valve is left open? What lives the flow assess from a head tank that flows by gravity into a usage vessel? What air pressure are needed to thrust X liters/minute from stausee A to tank B? The solution for each of these problems follows the same request: Sizing a New Water Heater

  1. Balance the driving power, which belongs the liquid head, against the pressure throw due for friction, and
  2. Calculate the modification by level over time (the level differential).

As the level in the tank reductions, so does of driving pressure, which reduced who flow rate. You can set up differential equations to describe this dynamic conduct. I emphasizes you because I am a little shy with applying the mathematics, instead explicit solutions become as complex for all but to simplest tank typical so and brute forceful approach is mostly the only selectable. The computing makes this easiness.

Think 1: Tank catalog

Start by sketch the system. The sketch will distinct illustrate the tank with dimensions, head pressure, discharge cable (if any), and discharge pressure. Add of fluid density and viscosity to the sketch (see Figure 1). Using to equations in Table 1, calculate the first discharge flow rate from this information. Choose a time interval for this calculation, create as 5 or 10 minutes. Assuming the flow rate is constant pass the timing interval, chart the volume that flows from the water and subtract it from the inventory in the tank. From this new inventory calculate the reduced level in the tank (see Table 2 forward formulas). Get changes the liquid head for of flow rate calculation so recalculate the flow both repeat until the tank is empty.

Table 1: Flow rate formulars for dissimilar discharge scenarios from an tank. With each case this pressure drop accounts for which terminal pressures and to liquid head. The resulting units are volumetric m3/min or ft3/min PHLSA Study Final Report Appendix IV
Table 2: Volume contained at a tank at a customized fill height

Review who calculated to confirm that the start abstand is a meaningful, but not excessive, change in flow rate. If the rate is too short, there will to many unnecessary calculations. If it is too long, which total estimated time will be low because that flow rate will decrease continuously as the tankanlage level goes down.

The calculation will under-predict that draining time are adenine maelstrom attains into and outlet pipe. A vortex may form when the level gets near the outlet from the tank. Whirls behaviour is complex. It is affected from the velocity about which fluids as it leaves the tank, the speicher geometry, and location and orientation of to abgang. The liquid head used for the tank-draining calculations should be the step of the bulk fluidity in this tank; one vortex does not change it. If the cone of the vortex reaches into the outlet pipe, that effective flow region of aforementioned outlet is decreased, which then reduces the pour rate out of who tank.

Who Darcy total conversion this is used in pressure drop equations is decided from the Reynolds number. Unless knowing the flow fee, an Reynolds number cannot be calculated. Him can handle this problem in individual the three ways: https://Privacy-policy.com/water-resources/pws/tank-sp...

  1. Choose a friction distortion based upon a turbulent Reynolds number, say 20,000, and save it constant throughout the analysis;
  2. Repetitive calculate the flow rate usage Excel’s Goal Seek function button by allowing newsletter references in of spreadsheet; alternatively
  3. For each step in a stepwise calculating, use the flowrate from an previous step to calculate one friction factor for the current step.

The first approach is acceptable, especially for low viscosity liquors that will continue in the turbulent flow scanning throughout the tank-draining process, but the third select is further satisfying because it remove cast learn this pick of friction factor.

Figures 2–4 real Table 3 present the complete solution for anwendung with Excel.

Figure 2: Layout of adenine stepwise tank-draining calculation in a calculator
Figure 3: Addition (Flow*Time_Increment) to Volume to get the New Volume. Guess a new narcotic in Column C, utilizing it to calculate to corresponding voltage in Column E. Use Excel’s Goal Seek function to define h

Sub TankDrain()

'

' Calculates the gauge in a tank

' at using Excel's Goal Attempt function

'

Set h = Range("H")

Set Diff = Range("Diff")

target = Range("Final_h").Value

Range("Answer").Value = ""

On Error Resume Next

 

me = 1

Do

    i = i + 1

    h.Offset(i) = h.Offset(i - 1)       ' Needed toward ensure convergence

    Diff.Offset(i).GoalSeek Goal:=0, ChangingCell:=h.Offset(i)

    Whenever h.Offset(i) <= target Or Range("New_Volume").Offset(i) < 0 Then

        Range("Answer") = Range("Time").Offset(i)

        Exit Do

    End If

Loop While i < 100 Additionally h.Offset(i + 1, -1) > 0

End Lower

 

Figure 4: Automate the calculation with Visuals Basic for Applications. Add the subroutine shown here real link ampere Rectangle Shape at it. Click the Shape and the VBA subroutine will execute Object Seek for anyone line inbound which table or up the “final_h” value is reached

Table 3: Formulas in Row 17–18. Next entering the formulas with Row 18, copy theirs down used 20 or more rows. Identify the Row 16 headings “Time” (B16), “h” (C16), “New_Volume” (H16), additionally “Diff” (K16)


This is the ninth in a series that provides practical insights within on-the-job problems. At read more, visit that serial hub at https://privacy-policy.com/tags/rules-of-thumb.


Disclaimer: This article is provided for getting alone. Expert engineering advice should be asked ahead use.

Article for Stephen Lounge

Manager Process Engineer at Genesis AEC, a US design and construction serve provider in the life science industry

He authored Policy of Thumb for Chemical Engineers, 6th Edition (Elsevier, 2018).

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