Compressor Driven Network Flows

Abstract: A typical pipeline network for delivering natural gas requires a tremendous amount of fuel per day to operate the compressor stations driving the gas. Efficient design and operation of these complex networks can substantially reduce airborne emissions, increase safety, and decrease the often multi-million dollar daily operating costs. The goal of this research is to propose and develop effective solution methods for optimization problems arising in gas pipeline networks. This paper addresses the minimization of fuel cost incurred by the compressor stations driving the gas. We present a mathematical model for the steady-state case and discuss a lower bounding scheme based on several model simplifications.