Comparative analysis of FRP and seamless steel pipe on crude oil transportation performance

Oil transportation with traditional seamless steel pipe consumes more energy and produces corrosion problem easily. It is suggested that Fiberglass Reinforced Plastics replace seamless steel pipe when conveying crude oil of high viscosity. Temperature fields within a period of time of both kinds of pipeline were numerically simulated by means of Fluent software, and temperature drop and pressure drop were simulated by PIPEPHASE software. Analog results indicate that FRP offers a better thermal insulation property when transporting highly viscous crude and FRP requires smaller initial pressure when conveying the same medium, which is more energy-saving. © 2014, Journal of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Research. All rights reserved.