Computational Fluid Dynamics Study for Flow of Natural Gas through High-pressure Supersonic Nozzles: Part 1. Real Gas Effects and Shockwave

Abstract

Abstract The computational fluid dynamics technique was used to study the behavior of high-pressure natural gas in supersonic nozzles. Although many applications of gas flow produce insignificant errors when the gas is assumed ideal, our results indicate significant variation of gas properties. This article illustrates natural gas behavior when it is considered to be real and how erroneous the properties may become when the gas is assumed to be ideal. The article also presents the influences of properties related to the flow of natural gas through supersonic nozzles. Using a quite accurate equation of state model, real gas effects are studied and compared with the perfect gas case. The results show a significant variation in gas properties estimation. Location of shockwave is also analyzed. The comparison of results for two gases (methane and nitrogen) indicated that shockwave position can significantly change when the gas is considered as real rather than perfect.