New method for the transient simulation of natural gas pipeline networks based on the fracture-dimension-reduction algorithm

The transient simulation technology of natural gas pipeline networks plays an increasingly prominent role in the scheduling management of natural gas pipeline network system. The increasingly large and complex natural gas pipeline network requires more strictly on the calculation efficiency of transient simulation. To this end, this paper proposes a new method for the transient simulation of natural gas pipeline networks based on fracture-dimension-reduction algorithm. Firstly, a pipeline network model is abstracted into a station model, inter-station pipeline network model and connection node model. Secondly, the pressure at the connection node connecting the station and the inter-station pipeline network is used as the basic variable to solve the general solution of the flow rate at the connection node, reconstruct the simulation model of the inter-station pipeline network, and reduce the equation set dimension of the inter-station pipeline network model. Thirdly, the transient simulation model of the natural gas pipeline network system is constructed based on the reconstructed simulation model of the inter-station pipeline network. Finally, the calculation accuracy and efficiency of the proposed algorithm are compared and analyzed for the two working conditions of slow change of compressor speed and rapid shutdown of the compressor. And the following research results are obtained. First, the fracture-dimension-reduction algorithm has a high calculation accuracy, and the relative error of compressor outlet pressure and user pressure is less than 0.1%. Second, the calculation efficiency of the new fracture-dimension-reduction algorithm is high, and compared with the nonlinear equations solving method, the speed-up ratios under the two conditions are high up to 17.3 and 12.2 respectively. Third, the speed-up ratio of the fracture-dimension-reduction algorithm is linearly related to the equation set dimension of the transient simulation model of the pipeline network system. The larger the equation set dimension, the higher the speed-up ratio, which means the more complex the pipeline network model, the more remarkable the calculation speed-up effect. In conclusion, this new method improves the calculation speed while keeping the calculation accuracy, which is of great theoretical value and reference significance for improving the calculation efficiency of the transient simulation of complex natural gas pipeline network systems. (c) 2023 Sichuan Petroleum Administration. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communication Co. Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).