Finger-Type Slug Catcher Sizing Calculator
Determine required pipe finger diameter, number of storage fingers, and liquid surge capacity for transient pigging slugs and terrain-induced severe slugging.
Pigging & Multiphase Surge Data
From transient OLGA / multiphase simulation
Standard: 36", 42", 48", 54", 60"
Finger Slug Catcher Dimensions
Required Number of Fingers:
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Total Liquid Storage Volume:
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Volume Capacity per Finger:
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Slug Receiving Buffer Time:
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Gas Superficial Velocity:
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Liquid Separation Adequacy:
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Finger-Type Slug Catcher Design Principles
At onshore gas reception terminals receiving multiphase fluids from long subsea pipelines, slug catchers serve as the primary buffer. Vessel-type slug catchers become prohibitively thick and expensive for pressures above $1,000 ext{ psig}$; therefore, multiple parallel sloped pipe fingers ($36" - 60"$ diameter) are engineered to withstand high design pressures while providing thousands of barrels of liquid surge buffer.
Three Key Sizing Regimes
- Pigging Slugs: The largest liquid surge, created when an inline inspection or cleaning pig pushes the accumulated liquid holdup into the terminal.
- Hydrodynamic / Terrain Slugging: Waves and liquid blockages formed in subsea valleys and riser bases during turndown production.
- Gas Disengagement Velocity: Upper gas zone cross-sectional velocity must stay below $8 - 10 ext{ ft/s}$ to avoid liquid droplet re-entrainment into the gas header.