Close Coupled Flares for installation on an FPSO
Using the process data, site conditions and any limitations specified, Argo engineers will undertake the following in order to offer the most appropriate and economic flare design:
- Analyse the various process cases to determine the design defining conditions
- Evaluate the most suitable flare tip design
- Hydraulically design the flare tip and generate radiation isopleths and noise predictions using FLARESIM
- Advise the generated flare tip back pressure
- Advise on purge reduction devices and recommended minimum purge rates
- Advise on an appropriate ignition system, recommended number of pilot burners and their respective gas consumption
- Advise on flame detection
- Advise of any requirement for a smoke suppression medium
- Advise the overall flare tip elevation / boom length to meet the required radiation criteria
- Advise on suitable materials of construction for the flare tip
Whilst the maximum flow condition dictates the capacity of the flare tip, the available tip pressure drop will define whether the flare tip is of a sonic or subsonic design and therefore have a greater influence on the actual flare tip design and its construction. For subsonic utility pipe flares stable flaring is typically limited to flare discharge velocity of the order of 0.5 Mach with excursions up to 0.7 Mach when combined with suitable flame retention devices. Sonic flares on the other hand are designed to operate with much higher pressure drop and are able to utilise the additional gas momentum to increase the smokeless operating range by inducing a larger volume of air into the combustion zone.