Case Study: Pilot Chemical Company improves piping analysis accuracy with Datacor AFT software

Pilot Chemical Company resolves convergence issues on a fluid 20x more viscous than water with Datacor

Pilot Chemical Company encountered a challenge while using Datacor's AFT software to analyze a piping system for a highly viscous fluid. After the model converged, an engineer noticed an unreasonably high pressure drop in one of the pipes, and the results varied significantly with different initial conditions, which was not physically expected for a valid solution.

The solution from Datacor involved adjusting the software's flow tolerances to be smaller. This change forced the program to iterate further, resulting in a more precise convergence and consistent, physically reasonable results regardless of the starting point. By implementing this fix, Datacor helped Pilot Chemical Company avoid a potentially compromised system design, demonstrating the critical role of engineer oversight when using advanced analysis tools.