gFLARE

State-of-the-art
flare system and depressurisation modelling

Operating companies and EPCs alike are facing challenges in driving down the capital cost of flare systems while ensuring that they still comply with the relevant safety standards.

A step-change in capabilities for flare system design …

gFLARE brings next generation capabilities for flare system design and operational analysis. Dynamics, 2-D and 3-D wall temperature modelling, the ability to include upstream process and a host of other features make it possible to address these challenges.

Challenges

Click for brochure

gFLARE – key features

full steady-state capabilities
dynamic modelling
wall temperature modelling
hydrate and ice formation
depressuing models

Click on the graphic to enlarge

Some of the key challenges facing flare system designers are:

eliminating flare system overdesign resulting from the use of unrepresentative peak relief loads
determining the potential for staggered relief of units in order to reduce peak flare load
understanding where and to what extent low temperatures will occur in order to minimise the need for high-cost alloy materials
determining the propensity for hydrate and ice formation in wet relief flows
understanding the extent to which high temperature fluid can propagate within the flare network in order to optimise the number and location of expansion loops.

All of these challenges have to be addressed while ensuring that key system constraints are met at all times.

Solutions

gFLARE uses high-fidelity dynamic flare models to address all these challenges within one comprehensive framework. With gFLARE you can:

perform all standard steady-state flare design calculations
use dynamic simulation to determine the effects of flare network holdups ('packing')
establish the scope for reducing total flare load via staged relief
combine the flare system and upstream process
determine where and when hydrate and ice formation may occur
perform full 2-D and 3-D metal temperature modelling for critical areas of piping and equipment
calculate directly quantities of operational interest such as remaining flare margin.

Flare system with integrated process vessel for dynamics

… full large-scale steady-state analysis

… detailed metal temperature modelling

… relief flow dynamics

… vessel pressure

Benefits

reduce capital cost of new designs
determine accurate safety limits
reduce weight for offshore equipment
determine suitability of existing assets for new service
determine the capacity of existing systems and their ability to handle additional loads with little or no capital investment
provide operations advisory information and decision support
enhance engineering workflow by eliminating unnecessary iteration between software tools
ensure consistency between process and flare calculations.

The gFLARE product

gFLARE takes full advantage of PSE's powerful gPROMS modelling and solution engine and includes:

State-of-the-art API 521-compliant flare system models
Multiflash® physical properties for accurate predictions of thermodynamic behaviour
Hydrates and ice formation models
Equilibrium process vessels for upstream process representation.

The product is undergoing a phased release. If you would like to be kept updated on developments as they happen, please fill in the request form here.

Depressurisation

PSE can also provide:

Depressurisation models including detailed 3-dimensional, 3-phase non-equilibrium high-pressure vessel under blowdown conditions

These are currently provided as part of PSE's depressurisation service.