Cooldown of Large Pipes During the Commissioning Phase of

Cryogenic Facilities

Nicolas F. Ponchaut, Ph.D.

Harri K. Kytmaa, Ph.D., P.E.
Exponent, Inc.
Natick, MA

AIChE Spring National Meeting, March 2010

10th Topical Conference on Natural Gas Utilization
San Antonio, Texas, March 21-25, 2010

Abstract
During day to day operations of LNG receiving terminals, process pipes are at uniform cryogenic
temperatures (around 260F) and experience relatively low thermal stresses. However, since such
facilities are built at ambient conditions, fast temperature changes and high local temperature
differenceswilloccurduringtheinitialcooldown.Pipedesignanditscooldownschedulethereforeneed
particularattentiontoensurepipeintegrityandtominimizeleaks.

During cooldown, pipes experience large tensile stresses when they first encounter LNG. As a bigger
fractionoftheircircumferenceiscooleddown,pipeswilltendtodeformandmove.Pipemotioncan
result in large forces that must be minimized by designing support strategies that can accommodate
suchpipemotion.

This paper addresses the magnitude of the stresses that can be expected during a cooldown for
different pipe sizes. Cooldown strategies such as shock cooling with cryogenic liquid and precooling
withvaporarealsodiscussed.

Introduction
Mostmaterialsshrinkwhentheyarecooleddown.Whenasteelpipeoffinitelengthisfreetomove,it
becomesshorterasitstemperatureisuniformlydecreased,andaslongasthetemperatureinthepipe
isuniform,thisthermalcontractiondoesnotproduceanythermalstresses.

However, if the pipe ends are constrained, tensile stresses will be generated when the pipe is cooled
down. These thermally induced stresses increase as the pipe temperature drops. Similarly, if a pipe
cools down unevenly around the pipe circumference, warm portions of the pipe wall prevent cold
portionsfromshrinkingfreely.Asaresult,largethermalstressescanbegeneratedinbothwarmand
coldregions.

During facility cooldown, the pipes are brought from ambient temperatures down to operating
temperatures(typically260FforLNGfacilities).Inpractice,thefirstintroductionofLNGinthepipes
creates significant temperature differentials (see Figure 1). As the LNG liquid front travels along the
pipe,thebottomcoldportionofthepipethatcomesincontactwithLNGcoolsdownmuchfasterthan
thetopwarmportionofthepipeincontactwithonlyvapor.Largetemperaturedifferentialswithin
thepipecrosssectionformandcanleadtosubstantialthermalstresses,bothtensileandcompressive.
A carefully planned cooldown procedure is therefore critical to ensure a safe facility commissioning,
includingprecoolingstrategieswitheitherLNGorLN2vapors.

WarmPortion

ColdPortion
LNGFront WarmPortion

Figure1:LNGfrontarrivalinapipe.

Thermal Stresses in Pipes

WhenLNGisfirstintroducedinthepipes,thewetportionofthepipecoolsdownfirst.WhentheLNG
frontmovesinthepipe,itfirstwetsasmallfractionofthebottomofthepipe,andrapidlycoolsdown
thiswettedsurface.Whenthewettedportionofthepipeisatthesixoclockpositionandonlymakes
upasmallfractionofthecircumference,thecontractionofthecoldwallwillberesistedbythewarmer
relativelyuniformtemperatureportion.Aconsequenceofthesmallfractionthatiscoldisthatthepipe
willnotbendrightawayandthelocaltemperaturedropatthebottomofthepipeleadstoamaximum
localthermaltensilestressthatisgivenby:

(1)

whereEisYoungsmodulus, isthethermalexpansioncoefficient,andT0andTLNGaretheinitialpipe
temperature and the LNG temperature, respectively. This therefore leads to tensile stresses around
28,400psiforaStainlessSteel304Lpipeatatemperature,T0,of160FpriortoLNGfrontarrival(100F
abovetheLNGtemperature).Atlowtemperatures,theyieldstrengthofStainlessSteel304Lisaround
32,500 psi (Shibata, et al. 2008). With a temperature differential of 100F, thermal stresses are
thereforeclosetoreachingtheyieldstrengthofthematerial.

Table1:MaximumpredictedstresswhenLNGisintroducedinapipeataninitialtemperaturesof60F,32F,
10F,60F,and160F.Onlytheinitialtemperatureof160Fwillleadtothermalstressesbelowyield.

Pipeinitialtemperature,T0 60F 32F 10F 60F 160F

Toptobottomtemp.differential 320F 292F 250F 200F 100F
Maximumtensilestress,max 90,700psi 82,800psi 70,900psi 56,700psi 28,400psi
%ofyieldstress 279% 255% 218% 174% 87%

AstheLNG levelrisesin thepipe,agrowingportionofthe circumference coolsdownandthetensile

stressatthebottomofthepipedecreasesaccordingly.

Equation1isthereforethemaximumtensilethermalstressthatcanbeencounteredbyapipeduring
cooldown.Thisstressisindependentofpipesizeandlength,ofthesupports,andofthefacilitylayout
butdoesnottakeintoconsiderationoverconstrainedconditionsonmorecomplexpipeconfigurations.

Thelargertheinitialfractionoftheinnerpipecircumferencethatiswetted,thesmallerwillthehighest
tensile stress be. Also, unwetted parts of the pipe wall will cool by conduction, which can result in
smallertensilestresses,particularlywithsmalldiameterpipes.

TemperatureProfiles

PipestressanalysissoftwareproductssuchasCAEPIPE,1CAESARII2andothersconsiderpipesasbeam
elementsandaredesignedtoquantifywallstressesbasedonthepipeweightandhowitissupported.
Thesesoftwaretoolsalsoquantifythermalstressesbyassigningauniformtemperaturetoentirepipe
segments.Thesepipestructuralanalysissoftwarepackagesarenotdesignedtoaccommodatecomplex
temperatureprofilesacrossthepipecrosssectionsuchasstepwisetemperaturedistributionsortime
varyingconditionsexperiencedduringthecooldownofLNGterminals.

Inthesectionbelow,wequantifythethermalstressesassociatedwithastepwiseandwithalinearpipe
temperaturedistribution.

Stepwisedistribution

In the stepwise temperature profile, the wetted portion of the pipe perimeter is at LNG temperature
while the rest of the pipe wall is at the temperature that preceded the arrival of liquid. Figure 2
illustrates this temperature distribution. For a pipe that is allowed to expand or contract freely in its

1
http://www.sstusa.com
2
http://www.coade.com
axial direction, but that is not allowed to bow by virtue of regularly spaced supports, the thermal
stressesaregivenby:

1 (tension) (2)

(compression) (3)

where 0isdefinedbytheLNGlevelasshowninFigure2.Whentheliquidfrontfirstarrivesandcools
downonlyanarrowportionofthefloorofthepipe(i.e.small0),Equations2reducestoEquation1.

Figure2:Stepwisetemperaturedistributioninapipecrosssection.

Lineardistribution

Under certain circumstances where thermal conduction in the pipe smoothes out the temperature
distribution, the temperature profile assumes more of a linear character, and temperature gradually
changes from LNG temperature at the bottom of the pipe to the pipe temperature prior to the LNG
frontarrival(T0),atthetopasillustratedinFigure3.Forapipethatisallowedtoexpandorcontract
freely in its axial direction, but that is not allowed to bow by virtue of regularly spaced supports, the
thermalstressesaregivenby

(4)

where y is the height above the pipe equator and D is the pipe diameter. In this case, the thermal
stressesvarylinearlywiththeelevation,y,andareonlyindirectlydependentontheLNGlevelinsidethe
pipe.Themaximumtensilestress(aty=D/2)isexactlyhalfofthevalueinEquation1.

Figure3:Lineartemperaturedistributioninapipecrosssection.

Itisusefultorecognizethattheseresultsareindependentofthepipesupportspacingandofthepipe
thicknessaslongasthepipeispreventedfrombowingorliftingoffatsupports.However,thesetwo
temperaturedistributionsleadtosignificantlydifferentresultsasseeninFigure4anditisimportantto
choosetheappropriatetemperaturedistributionwithinthepipewhenperformingthestressanalysis.

Figure4:Stressdistributioninapipewithatoptemperatureof160F(100FhigherthantheLNGtemperature),
andabottomtemperatureof260F.
LargeversusSmallPipes

When large pipes (typically over 24inch diameter) are carefully cooled down with LNG, the liquid
behindthewettingfronttypicallyflowalongthebottomofthepipecrosssection.Thetemperatureof
the bottom wetted portion of the pipe drops first. Conduction around the circumference will slowly
cooltheunwettedportionofthepipewallaswell.However,thisprocessisslowparticularlyforlarge
pipes.Astepwisetemperatureprofilethereforebestrepresentstheperiodafterthefirstarrivalofthe
LNGfrontinlargepipes.

Insmallpipes,theconductionwithinthepipecircumferencewillbefasterincoolingtheunwettedpipe
wall.Astepwisetemperatureprofilewouldtendtooverpredictthethermallyinducedstresses,anda
lineartemperatureprofileisoftenmoreappropriate.

Whatdifferentiatesthelargepipesfromthesmallpipesisthecharacteristictimeassociatedwithheat
transfer along the circumference of the pipe. Table 2 summarizes the circumferential heat transfer
characteristictimesforvariousSS304Lpipesizes.Thecharacteristictimeisthemeasureofhowlongit
takesforthecoldpipebottom(260Fatthe6oclockposition)tohaveaninfluenceontheunwetted
initiallywarm(60F)pipewallatthe12oclockposition.

Table2:Characteristictimesassociatedwithcircumferentialconductionin304LStainlessSteel3

PipeDiameter CharacteristicTime

in 2sec

1in 30sec

4in 8min

8in 35min

12in 1hr20min

24in 5hr15min

36in 11hr45min

For36inchpipe,thecharacteristictimeassociatedwithcircumferentialconductionisontheorderof12
hours. This means that circumferential conduction will not tend to smooth out the stepwise
temperature profile. However, if the pipe diameter is reduced, the characteristic time is reduced as
well,andthecircumferentialconductionplaysamoreimportantrole.Forainchdiameterpipe,the
characteristic time associated with circumferential conduction is on the order of 2 seconds, which

3
Thecharacteristictimeisdefinedas / 4 ,where,c,andkarethedensity,heatcapacityand
conductivityof304LStainlessSteel.
means that temperature differentials between the top and the bottom of the pipes are reduced very
quickly and a stepwise temperature profile is not appropriate. For example, in the calculations
presentedbyLiaoetal.forapipediameterof13.5mm,thecharacteristictimeis9seconds(Liao,etal.
2005).Thetemperatureprofilewithinthepipecrosssectionisthereforereportedtobenearlylinear.

UnconstrainedandCantileveredPipe

Whenthepipeisallowedtobowfreelyinresponsetothetemperatureprofilewithinthepipe,asisthe
casewiththecantileveredendofapipethatisonlysupportedatoneend,thebowingdeformationwill
relieve some of its thermal stresses, resulting in lesser stresses than the ones experienced by
constrained pipes. For an unconstrained pipe, a stepwise temperature distribution leads to the
followingthermalstressatthebottomandatthetopofthepipe:

1 sin (5)

sin (6)

Notethatwhentheliquidfrontfirstarrivesandcoolsdownonlyasmallportionofthepipeperimeter
(verysmallvalueof0),Equations1and5areequivalent.

However, in the case of a linear temperature profile with the same top to bottom temperature
differential,thepipewillbendinsuchawaythatallthethermalstressesarerelievedandthereareno
resultingthermalstresses(i.e.=0).TheseresultsareillustratedinFigure5.

Figure5:Stressdistributioninanunconstrainedorcantileveredpipewithaninitialtemperatureof160F(100F
higherthantheLNGtemperature).
Thereisafundamentaldifferenceinthestressesassociatedwithastepwisetemperaturedistributionas
compared to a linear temperature distribution. It is therefore critical to consider the temperature
distributionsothatthermalstressesarenotunderestimated.

PipeandLNGWeightInfluenceonthePipeStresses

Theequationsintroducedaboveonlypresentthethermalinducedstresses.Inparticular,theydonot
includethestressesresultingfromtheweightoftheLNGandofthepipeitself.Furthermore,theydo
notincludethethermalstressesassociatedwithaxialpipecontractionwhenitisconstrained,sincepipe
supports are normally designed to allow axial motion. LNG receiving terminals, like most facilities
dealingwithhightemperaturedifferencesmakeuseofexpansionloopstoreduceandminimizethermal
stresses.

Duringthecooldown,theweightandthereductionofthepipelengthareexpectedtocontributevery
littletothestressstateinthepipes.Fora304LStainlessSteel,36inchpipe(inchthick,9.5inchof
foamglassinsulation),supportedevery25feetandwithaninitialtemperatureof160F,whenLNGfills
half the pipe crosssection, the maximum thermal stresses are on the order of 14,200 psi while the
weightcontributionisonlyabout800psi.Inotherwords,theweightcontributestoonly5.6%ofthe
totalpipestressesduringcooldown.

PipeThicknessInfluence

Alltheresultspresentedaboveareindependentofthepipethickness.Inpractice,aslongasthepipe
wallsarerelativelythin,theirthicknesshasverylimitedinfluenceonthethermallyinducedstresses.

Theresultspresentedhereareforuniformtemperaturethroughthepipewall.Forthistobetrue,the
thicknessmustbesuchthatthetemperatureequilibratesquicklyacrossthewall.Table3summarizes
thecharacteristictimeassociatedwithheatconductionacrossthewallofa304LStainlessSteelpipeof
variousthicknesses.

Thesecharacteristictimesarerelativelysmall.Andfora36inchpipewithainchwallthickness,the
temperaturebecomesuniformacrossthewallinmuchlessthanaminute.Duringthecommissioning
phaseofanLNGreceivingterminal,pipescanremainpartiallyfilledforhoursandthewalltemperature
isessentiallyconstantacrossitsthickness.

Table3:Characteristictimesassociatedwithconductionacrossthewallsof304LStainlessSteelpipes4

PipeThickness CharacteristicTime

in 0.8sec

in 3.5sec

in 7.5sec

in 13sec

in 30sec

1in 53sec

Vapor Precooling followed by LNG

The initial pipe thermal stresses during cooldown are influenced by the pipe temperature before the
firstarrivalofLNG,T0,bytheYoungsmodulus,E,andbythethermalexpansioncoefficient, ,ofthe
pipematerial.
One strategy to reduce thermally induced tensile stresses involves precooling the pipes with either
LiquidNitrogenorwithLNGvaporspriortotheintroductionofLNG.Theadvantageofusingvaporin
theinitialstagesofthecooldownisthatboththetopandbottomofthepipewillcooldownuniformly.
Thepipescanthereforebecooledtotemperaturesbelow160Fwithoutintroducinganylocalthermal
stresses related to top to bottom temperature differentials. Vapors have lower heat capacity than
liquids, which can make the cooling process slow. However, the heat transfer from vapors can be
increasedusinghighervaporflowrates.
Oncethevaporprecoolingphaseiscompleted,itisimportantthatLNGbeintroducedwithaslittledelay
as possible to avoid pipe reheating. Pipes in LNG receiving terminals are typically well insulated, but
evenwithgoodinsulation,pipescooleddownto160Fwilltypicallyreheatataratearound3to10F
perhour.AccordingtoEquation(1),a10Fpipetemperatureincreaseresultsinanadditional2,850psi
oftensilestresswhentheLNGfrontarrives.Itisthereforecriticaltominimizethetimespentbetween
coolingphases.
OnceLNGisintroducedinthepipes,itwillcreatealiquidfront.AstheLNGtravelsthroughthepipes,a
portionoftheliquidvaporizesandflowsaheadoftheliquidfront.Thisvaporizednaturalgaswillassist
in the cooling process if the vapor flow rate is sufficiently large. A high LNG flow rate has therefore
severalbenefits.First,itreducesthetimeittakesfortheliquidfronttoreacheverypartofthefacility,

4
Inthiscase,thecharacteristictimeisdefinedas / 4 ,wherewisthepipethickness,andwhere,c,
andkarethedensity,heatcapacityandconductivityof304LStainlessSteel.
thereby minimizing the reheating duration. In addition, the vapor flow rate ahead of the liquid front
assistsincoolingdownthepipesevenmorepriortotheLNGfrontarrival.

References

Liao,Jun,KunYuan,RenweiMei,JamesF.Klausner,andJacobChung."CryogenicChilldownModelfor
StratifiedFlowinsideaPipe."ProceedingsofHT2005.ASMESummerHeatTransferConference.San
Francisco,California,USA,2005.

Shibata,K.,T.Ogata,A.Nyilas,T.Yuri,H.Fujii,andS.Ohmiya."ComparisonofStrengthandSerrationat
CryogenicTemperaturesamong304L,316Land310SSteels."AdvancesinCryogenicEngineering
Materials:TransactionsoftheInternationalCryogenicMaterialsConference,ICMC54(2008).

Biography of the Speaker

Dr. Harri Kytmaa is Corporate Vice President and the Director of the Thermal
Science Practice at Exponent. He specializes in mechanical engineering and
the analysis of thermo-fluid phenomena, and performs research in cryogenic
fluid mechanics, heat transfer and phase change phenomena. He has worked
on numerous LNG projects with the industry in the US and internationally and
has published extensively in this area. He is currently a member of the ISO
TC67, WG10 working group that is developing a guidance document on the
major hazards associated with the planning and design of onshore LNG
facilities and associated marine activities. Dr. Kytmaa has held several
positions, including that of Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.