Optimizing Fluid Flow and Pressure Control in Industrial Operations: A Case Study

Abstract

Solid control of flow and pressure of fluids is core to efficiency, safety and cost effectiveness of industrial processes within industries like petrochemicals, manufacturing and energy. This paper represents an intensive case study of a medium-sized industrial facility and comes up with resolving inefficiencies in the flow management system and pressure control. The work examines possible approaches to the optimization of fluid transport based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, real-time deployment of sensors and system reconfiguration, in order to mitigate system losses.
As the results show, the actual improvements in flow-rate stability and energy consumption by flow are impressive, even when insignificant design alterations are made like valve repositioning, changes in diameter of pipes, refined integration of control logic. The figures after the implementation depict that pressure fluctuations have dropped by 22 percent and there is a 15 percent increase in the uptake of pump energy consumption. Another issue presented in the paper is the practicality of the economic and operational aspects of upgrading the current systems with automation technology so that they may be smarter in controlling the pressure. The results can also be used to contribute to the upcoming body of knowledge of this topic, that is, process optimization, and also provide some practical recommendations to engineering professionals who want to optimize the performance of a system without investing a significant amount of capital.