Rotating Cylinder Pipe Velocity to Rotation Rate Calculator
This tool correlates Rotating Cylinder Electrodes (RCE) rotation rate to pipe velocity. Commonly, labs that evaluate pipeline corrosion inhibitors do so in the laboratory. The rotation rate of the RCE should be tuned to match the representative pipe velocity. Users are encouraged to review the Study of Mass Transport Limited Corrosion with Rotating Cylinder Electrodes support article to learn the origin of the equations and relationships used in this calculator. NOTE: This tools has been provided free or charge to the greater corrosion community. We have taken care to carefully code the utility; however, we make no claim to the accuracy of the results. Users in need of analytical certainty must derive their own equations and calcaulte their own values.
This tool provides three different computed outputs and a reference table, as follows:
- Calculator : Calculate RCE Rotation Rate from Pipe Velocity
- Calculator : Calculate Pipe Velocity from Pipe ID and Rotation Rate
- Calculator : Calculate RCE Rotation Rates from a Select List of Pipe Velocity for Common Schedule 40 Pipe Sizes
- Reference Table : Hydrodynamic Computations
Pine Research specifies maximum rotation rates for all rotating electrodes.
The maximum rotation rate of the 15 mm OD RCE (E9 Series) is 4000 RPM.
The maximum rotation rate of the 12 mm OD RCE (QC012 Series) is 2000 RPM.
Never exceed the specified maximum rotation rate.
How to Use this Calculator
- Choose the RCE electrode in the Rotating Cylinder Electrode (RCE) Selection section.
- Enter the system variables in the System Specific Variables section.
- Open Calculators , , or to view results.
- Click the Start Over button at any point to reset all selections and input variables.Start Over
Rotating Cylinder Electrode (RCE) Selection
To begin, select the Rotating Cylinder Electrode (RCE) you plan to use, for which this tool will compute values linking pipe velocity and rotation rate. After selecting an RCE, the table will display the dimensions of the cylinder inserts used with the selected shaft, whose values are used in the calculators.
System Specific Variables
Please provide values for the following variables. We provide you with some common values for each variable (for water) in the Notes column. You may enter values with scientific notation using the format 1.2e-6 for 1.2 × 10-6, for example.
Click the Water Defaults button to automatically fill in the values below for pure water. Water Defaults
This calculator allows you to input a desired pipe velocity and compute the RCE rotation rates necessary to achieve it, as a function of some common Schedule 40 Pipe Types. First, select your RCE. Then, provide System Specific Variables. Finally, enter the desired velocity (choose any unit, the others will be calculated for you) and press the Compute button to generate the data in the table below.
This calculator allows you to input a specific Pipe Type (pipe ID) and RCE rotation rate to calcualte the pipe velocity. First, select your RCE. Then, provide System Specific Variables. Finally, enter the specific pipe inner diameter (ID) in cm and the RCE rotation rate in RPM and press the Compute button to generate the data in the table below.
Computation Output
The table below shows RCE rotation rates, for the selected RCE, required to achieve the pipe velocity across several common Schedule 40 Type Pipes. The Rotation Rates are a function of the RCE diameter, System Specific Variables, and Pipe Velocity as described in our support article, Study of Mass Transport Limited Corrosion with Rotating Cylinder Electrodes.
The table below shows the computed hydrodynamic values for the selected RCE electrode, based on the RCE diameter, System Specific Variables you provided above.