Pressure increase due to thermal expansion of a trapped liquid

faq378-1339
Posted: 25 May 07
The calculation of pressure increase due to thermal expansion of a liquid fully filling, without any gas
bubbles or pockets, a metallic enclosure, may be treated as follows.
The phenomena to be considered are:
1)thermal expansion of liquid due to the change of its bulk temperature
2)thermal expansion of the vessel or pipe, assumed in the following as having the same temperature
as the fluid
3)compressibility of liquid under the increase in pressure due to the constrained volume
4)increase in volume of the vessel under the increased pressure of the fluid.
The corresponding contributions to the relative change in volume V/V of fluid or of the containing
space may be evaluated as follows:
1)fT
2)vT
3)P
4)PD/tE
where:
-f is the volumetric coefficient of thermal expansion of the fluid
-v is the volumetric coefficient of thermal expansion of the vessel (= three times the linear one)
-T is the change in temperature
- is the compressibility factor of the fluid, or the relative change in volume per unit change in
pressure
-P is the change in pressure of the fluid (it is what we seek)
-D,t and E are respectively the diameter, the thickness and the elastic modulus of the vessel (or pipe)
By equating the change in volume of the fluid to the change in volume of the vessel one gets:
fT-P=vT+PD/tE
or
P=(f-v)T/(+D/tE)
Let's take as an example water as the entrapped fluid and carbon steel for the container, at
temperatures not far from room temperature.
We have:
f=210x10-6 C-1
v=36x10-6 C-1
=4x10-4 MPa-1
E=2x105 MPa
D/t will of course widely vary according to the dimensions and design pressure of the container; we
may assume a variation between 100 for a light vessel or pipe and 10 for a quite heavy vessel, the
value of 0 corresponding to an infinitely rigid container.
With these figures we get (per degree C of change in temperature):
P=0.19 MPa =~ 2 bar for the light container
P=0.39 MPa =~ 4 bar for the heavy container
P=0.44 MPa =~ 4.4 bar for the rigid container

Thermal expansion relief valves

By ckbadmin | November 29, 2013
1 Comment
Liquid filled systems that can be isolated and subjected to heat input from any source will require
thermal expansion relief valves due to the increase in pressure. This is because liquid have a high
coefficient of expansion. Sources of input can be solar radiation, heat tracing, rise in ambient
temperature, or process heat. Theoretical pressure rise for most liquid filled systems is assumed to
be between 5 to 15 bar for each degree centigrade of temperature increase, even though this is not
the case practically and therefore calculation of pressure rise for application of thermal relief valve
can end up being over conservative. Therefore, very careful judgement is needed to figure out if
thermal relief is needed or not.
Some of the points that need to be considered for this judgement are as follows:
Will the isolated piping or equipment be used continuously and thus unlikely to be isolated
without being depressurised and drained? Most process equipment and piping is in this
category.

What is the character of liquid? Does the line contain two phase flow where thermal relief is
not required?

What is the volume of the system?

Is there any means of thermal relief or liquid escape?

Is the liquids boiling point higher than the maximum ambient temperature?

Is the release safety or environmental impact?

Is the section the cold side of heat exchangers where blockage can occur and therefore may
need thermal relief?

Will the section have liquid filled above 95% of its volume? If the section has liquid volume
below 95%, thermal relief is not required.

Is it cryogenic piping which can be blocked? Thermal relief valves are normally required
here.

Is the section process plant piping where thermal relief is not required?

Is the section transport piping section which is not generally shut in for operation or
emergency reasons where thermal relief is not required ?
The set pressure for thermal relief valve can be 110% of the maximum allowable working pressure.
Codes such as ASME B31.3 can be checked before setting the pressures. But in general set
pressure of thermal relief should be determined by the design pressure of the system which it is
protecting.

In major cases, where only liquid expansion is a concern and when there is no flashing across the
valve, liquid relief can be accommodated with 15 x 25 mm or 20 x 25 mm valve size. The standard
thermal relief valve size for piping systems is 25 x 25 mm, flanged, with a minimum orifice area of

0.71 cm2. For larger systems, where there are concerns of flashing, the relief through the valve
needs to be calculated before sizing the valve.
The basic equation for calculating the pressure increase due to thermal expansion in a piping system
is as follows:

Where:
P = Pressure increase, psi (kPa)
T = Temperature increase, F (C)
= Coefficient of cubic expansion for the liquid, in3/(in3 F) [m3/(m3 C)]
= Coefficient of linear expansion for the metal wall, in /(in -F) [m/(m-C)]
K = Compressibility of the liquid, in3/(in3 psi) [m3/(m3 kPa)]
E = Modulus of elasticity for the metal wall, psi (kPa)
R= Inside radius of the pipe, in (m)
h= Wall thickness, in (m)
= Poissons ratio, usually 0.3
q= Liquid leakage rate, in3/s (m3/s)
t= Elapsed time for leakage, sec
v= Pipe volume, in3 (m3)
Above equation accounts for the following:
1.
Thermal expansion of the liquid
2.
Thermal expansion of the pipe
3.
Leakage out of the trapped section of piping.
Typical values for the variables in the above equation are as follows:
K, in3 / (in3 - psi) [m3 / (m3 - kPa)]

, in3 / (in3 - oF) [m3 / (m3 - C)]

Propane

0.189 x 10-4 (2.74 x 10-6)

0.119 x 10-2 (2.14 x 10-3)

Butane

0.123 x 10-4 (1.78 x 10-6)

0.085 x 10-2 (1.53 x 10-3)

Gasoline

0.052 x 10-4 (0.75 x 10-6)

0.060 x 10-2 (1.08 x 10-3)

Diesel

0.044 x 10-4 (0.64 x 10-6)

0.050 x 10-2 (9.0 x 10-4)

Water

0.034 x 10-4 (0.49 x 10-6)

0.024 x 10-2 (4.3 x 10-4)

E, psi [kPa]

, in / (in - F) [m / (m - C)]

Carbon Steel (CS)

30 x 106 (207 x 106)

6.0 x 10-6 (1.08 x 10-5)

Stainless Steel (SS)

28 x 106 (193 x 106)

9.0 x 10-6 (1.62 x 10-5)

CALCULATING THERMAL RELIEF FLOW RATES

SUMMARY
For long sections of pipe, the thermal expansion of trapped liquid can be significant. It is often
required that the increase in volume of the fluid be determined in order to select suitable thermal
relief valves to protect the integrity of the pipework. This article details how to calculate the
required relief flow rate to prevent over pressure due to thermal expansion.

DEFINITIONS
Ce

: Coefficient of thermal expansion (volumetric)

: Thermal relief flow rate

: Time over which expansion occurs

T0

: Liquid initial temperature

T1

: Liquid final temperature

V0

: Liquid volume at initial temperature

: Liquid volume change due to thermal expansion

INTRODUCTION
When a volume of liquid is isolated in a section of piping, consideration needs to be given to
volume change due to thermal expansion. The liquid volume will generally expand at a greater
rate than the volume of the piping, and therefore the pressure in the pipe will rise rapidly.
Thermal relief valves or check valves may be used to alleviate the pressure built up in the line.
For small sections of pipe the thermal relief rate is generally small and therefore the calculation
of the volume is not necessary as a small relief valve or check valve will have sufficient capacity
to prevent pressure build up. For larger pipelines consideration needs to be given to the volume
of liquid that will need to be relieved under the highest expected heating conditions to ensure that
the thermal relief valve is adequately sized.

HEATING RATE
The thermal relief rate will predominately be governed by the heat transfer rate to the locked in
fluid. Typical sources of heat transfer to the blocked in pipe may be listed as follows:

The sun

Ambient temperature

Hot nearby process units e.g. furnace or reactor

Heat tracing

Once the heat transfer rate to the fluid has been calculated, the temperature change of the fluid
for the duration of time the fluid is blocked in and exposed to the heat source may be determined.

The temperature change of the fluid can then be used to calculate the thermal relief rate as
described in the following section.

CALCULATION OF THERMAL RELIEF RATE

The volume change of a liquid for a given temperature changes is calculated as follows:

V=Ce(T1T0)V0
To convert the calculated volume into a flow rate divide the volume by the expected time for
expansion.

Q=tV
This calculated flow rate may be conservatively taken as the required capacity of a thermal relief
valve as it is the thermal expansion rate at maximum expected heat transfer into the trapped
fluid.

COEFFICIENT OF THERMAL EXPANSION

Estimating the Coefficient of Thermal Expansion
When a thermal expansion coefficient is not readily available in the literature, it may be
estimated from density data at two different temperature points as shown below.

Ce=t1t00/11
To ensure the accuracy of this estimate it is recommended that the two data points cover the
range of temperatures at over which the volume change will occur. Alternatively if expansion
over a large temperature range is being considered, the range can be discretised and the
expansion coefficient and subsequent volume expansion of fluid be calculated for each
temperature interval.

Typical Values of Coefficient of Thermal Expansion

Substance

Reference
Temperature

Acetic Acid

Expansion Coefficient Reference Temperature

Expansion
Coefficient

1/C

20

1.07103

68

5.9410

Acetone

20

1.43103

68

7.9410

Aniline

20

8.50104

68

4.7210

Benzene

20

1.21103

68

6.7210

Bromine

20

1.12103

68

6.2210

Carbon
Disulphide

20

1.19103

68

6.6110

Carbon
Tetrachloride

20

1.22103

68

6.7810

Chloroform

20

1.27103

68

7.0610

Ethanol

20

1.12103

68

6.2210

Ether

20

1.63103

68

9.0610

Ethyl Bromide

20

1.41103

68

7.8310

Ethylene Glycol

20

5.70104

68

3.1710

Gasoline

20

9.50104

68

5.2810

Glycerol

20

4.90104

68

2.7210

Jet Fuel,
Kerosene

20

9.90104

68

5.5010

Mercury

20

1.82104

68

1.0110

1/F
4

Substance

Reference
Temperature

Acetic Acid

Expansion Coefficient Reference Temperature

Expansion
Coefficient

1/C

20

1.07103

68

5.9410

Methanol

20

1.18103

68

6.5610

Methyl iodide

20

1.20103

68

6.6710

Pentane (n)

20

1.58103

68

8.7810

Sulphuric Acid

20

5.60104

68

3.1110

Toluene

20

1.07103

68

5.9410

Turpentine

20

9.60104

68

5.3310

Xylene (m)

20

9.90104

68

5.5010

Water

20

2.07104

68

1.1510

Water

40

3.85104

104

2.1410

Water

60

5.22104

140

2.9010

Water

80

6.40104

176

3.5610

Substance

Reference
Temperature

Expansion Coefficient

1/C

Reference
Temperature
F

1/F
4

Expansion Coefficient

1/F