Large‐Eddy Simulation of Oil‐Water Annular Flow in Eccentric Vertical Pipes

One of the difficulties related to oil exploration is transporting heavy oil since its high viscosity causes high‐pressure drop and energy consumption. In order to save energy, the core annular flow (CAF) can be applied where a two‐phase annular flow occurs, with peripheral water flowing offering a reduction in energy expenditure. The multiphase flow was studied experimentally in a simple purpose‐built unit. To theoretically handle the CAF, computational fluid dynamics simulations were done with the commercial package Ansys Fluent. The flow was considered turbulent, isothermal, incompressible, and 3D, and both stationary and transient cases were evaluated. The volume‐of‐fluid model was adopted for the multiphase system, and water/oil interface and turbulence phenomena were well predicted.     

Numerical Simulation of Oil‐water Hydrocyclone Using Reynolds‐Stress Model for Eulerian Multiphase Flows

A three‐dimensional oil‐water turbulent flow and oil separation process in a double‐cone liquid‐liquid hydrocyclone (LLHC) is numerically simulated using FLUENT software. The Euler‐Euler approach and Reynolds‐stress model are combined and adopted in this simulation to handle the challenging situation of anisotropic turbulent two‐phase flow with a higher volumetric ratio (over 10%) in the dispersed phase. It is visualized well in the simulation how separation, aggregation and shift of oil and water proceed in the LLHC. The oil separation efficiency is determined based on flow field and phase concentration distribution. The simulation is verified by comparing predicted and measured separation efficiency in the LLHC.     

Numerical Simulation of the Hydrodynamics of Gas/Solid Two‐Phase Flow in a Circulating Fluidized Bed with Different Inlet Configurations

The gas/solid flow characteristics in a circulating fluidized bed with two different inlet configurations were investigated by numerical simulation based on an Eulerian approach. In order to describe the interaction between the gas phase and the solid phase and the influence of the solid phase on the gas turbulence, a source term formulation with a more reasonable physical meaning was introduced. The simulation results were validated by the experimental data; then, the model was employed to examine the effect of the inlet configuration on the gas and solid feeding. The simulation results showed that, using the side feeding system, the distributions of solid flow and concentration were highly variable both over the column cross‐section and along the column height. However, such variations can be improved by using the elbow inlet system where the gas and solid are fed from the bottom.     

Phase Inversion and Associated Phenomena in Oil‐Water Vertical Pipeline Flow

Phase inversion and its associated phenomena are experimentally investigated in co‐current upward and downward oil‐water flow in a vertical stainless steel test section (38 mm I.D.). Oil (ρ_o=828 kg/m³, µ_o=5.5 mPa s) and tap water are used as test fluids. Two inversion routes (w/o to o/w and o/w to w/o) are followed in experiments where either the mixture velocity is kept constant and the dispersed phase fraction is increased (type I experiments), or the continuous phase flow rate is kept constant and that of the dispersed phase is increased (type II experiments). By monitoring phase continuity at the pipe centre and at the wall it was found that phase inversion does not happen simultaneously at all locations in the pipe cross‐section. In type I experiments, the velocity ratios (U_o/U_w) where complete inversion appeared acquired the same constant value in both flow directions, although the phase inversion points, based on input phase fractions, were different. In contrast to previous results in horizontal flows, frictional pressure gradient was found to be minimum at the phase inversion point. The interfacial energies of the two dispersions before and after phase inversion, calculated from the measured drop sizes, were found to be different in contrast to the previously suggested criterion of equal energies for the appearance of the phenomenon. In type II experiments the phase inversion point was found to depend on mixture velocity for low and medium velocities but not for high ones. In all cases studied an ambivalent region, commonly reported for inversion in stirred vessels, was not observed.     

Numerical Simulation of Gas‐Liquid Flow in a Stirred Tank with Swirl Modification

Although the standard k‐? model is most frequently used for turbulence modeling, it often leads to poor results for strongly swirling flows involved in stirred tanks and other processing devices. In this work, a swirling number, R_S, is introduced to modify the standard k‐? model. A Eulerian‐Eulerian model is employed to describe the gas‐liquid, two‐phase flow in a baffled stirred tank with a Rushton impeller. The momentum and the continuity equations are discretized using the finite difference method and solved by the SIMPLE algorithm. The inner‐outer iterative algorithm is used to account for the interaction between the rotating impeller and the static baffles. The predictions, both with and without R_S corrections, are compared with the literature data, which illustrates that the swirling modification could improve the numerical simulation of gas‐liquid turbulent flow in stirred tanks.     

Experimental Investigation on the Holdup Distribution of Oil‐Water Two‐Phase Flow in Horizontal Parallel Tubes

An experimental investigation was conducted to study the holdup distribution of oil and water two‐phase flow in two parallel tubes with unequal tube diameter. Tests were performed using white oil (of viscosity 52 mPa s and density 860 kg/m³) and tap water as liquid phases at room temperature and atmospheric outlet pressure. Measurements were taken of water flow rates from 0.5 to 12.5 m³/h and input oil volume fractions from 3 to 94 %. Results showed that there were different flow pattern maps between the run and bypass tubes when oil‐water two‐phase flow is found in the parallel tubes. At low input fluid flow rates, a large deviation could be found on the average oil holdup between the bypass and the run tubes. However, with increased input oil fraction at constant water flow rate, the holdup at the bypass tube became close to that at the run tube. Furthermore, experimental data showed that there was no significant variation in flow pattern and holdup between the run and main tubes. In order to calculate the holdup in the form of segregated flow, the drift flux model has been used here.     

空气钻井环空气固两相流动数值模拟

气体钻井是以空气、天然气等作为介质携带岩屑的钻井技术,因其机械钻速快,成本低,对储层伤害小,杜绝井漏等特点备受人们关注.基于流体的动力学原理,采用CFD软件,对垂直和倾斜井筒环空气固两相流动进行三维数值模拟研究.模拟发现,对于垂直井筒,空气和岩屑的流速、浓度沿轴向呈对称性分布,最大流速,最大浓度都位于环空的中心区域,越...     

Influence of Gas Injection on the In‐Situ Oil Fraction of an Oil‐Water Flow in Horizontal Pipes

In this work, an experimental study was made on gas injection into an oil‐water flow in horizontal pipes with two unequal pipe diameters. Special attention was given to the influence of gas injection on the average in‐situ oil fraction. Measurements were made for input water flow rates of 1.25–5 m³/h, input oil flow rates of 0–8 m³/h and input gas flow rates of 0–9 m³/h. It was found that gas injection has a considerable influence on the in‐situ oil fraction. In general, a small increase in the rate of air injection leads to greatly decreasing in‐situ oil fractions. The in‐situ oil fraction with gas injection decreases to a greater extent than that without gas injection, at the same input liquid flow rates. At a given input water flow rate, the value of the in‐situ oil fraction in the pipe with the larger diameter is higher than that in the pipe with the smaller diameter. Furthermore, the drift flux models were extended to predict the average in‐situ fractions of the oil phase in the intermittent three‐phase flow regimes. A good agreement is obtained between theory and data, especially for the in‐situ oil fraction range of 0.2–1.0.     

Influence of horizontal return bend on the two‐phase flow pattern in a 6.9 mm diameter tube

The two‐phase flow pattern for air‐water mixtures inside a 6.9 mm U‐tube is reported to have curvature ratios of 3?7.1. At a lower total mass flux of 50 kg/m²·s and a quality of 0.1, or at a larger curvature ratio of 7.1, no influence on the flow patterns is seen. However, if the curvature ratio is reduced to 3, the flow pattern in the recovery region just after the return bend is temporally turned from stratified flow into annular flow. For a quality larger than 0.4, the annular flow pattern prevails in the entire tube. For G = 400 kg/m²·s and x < 0.01, the size of the plug in the downstream is usually larger than that in the upstream due to the coalesce in the return bend. This coalescence phenomenon continues to further increase the total mass flux at the lower quality region. For a total mass flux above 500 kg/m²·s, the bubbly flow pattern in the upstream region may become intermittent.     

Numerical Simulation of the Two‐Phase Fluid Field in a Gas‐Around‐Liquid Spray Nozzle

A new gas‐around‐liquid spray nozzle (GLSN) was designed, and the two‐phase flow fluid field in this nozzle was simulated numerically. Flow characteristics under different structural parameters were obtained by changing the L/D ratio of the premixing chamber, incident angle, and inlet pressures. Increasing the L/D ratio and incident angle improved flow characteristics such as atomization flow, outlet velocity, and turbulence intensity. The nozzle performed optimally at an L/D ratio of 0.5 and incident angle of 60°. The atomization flow decreased with higher gas pressure and increased with higher liquid pressure. The outlet velocity mainly depended on the inlet gas pressure, not on the inlet liquid pressure. These results provide an indication for optimum structures and parameters of the GLSN.     

水力旋流器流动特性的数值模拟研究

本文采用双流体模型以及RSM雷诺应力湍流模型,以油水混合液为介质,对水力旋流器的油水分离过程进行模拟。研究结果表明:旋流腔为预分离段,使油水两相粒子达到径向上的规律性分布,起到主要分离作用的是锥段,使油水两相分别从不同的出口排出。通过改变水力旋流器的入口段角度,分析入口角度变化为旋流器分离效率的影响,结果表明:旋流器的入口角度对分离性能的影响不可忽略,当β=0°和β=45°时分离效率较高,当β=60°时分离效率最低。     

Oil–water two‐phase flow in microchannels: Flow patterns and pressure drop measurements

This paper investigates oil–water two‐phase flows in microchannels of 793 and 667 µm hydraulic diameters made of quartz and glass, respectively. By injecting one fluid at a constant flow rate and the second at variable flow rate, different flow patterns were identified and mapped and the corresponding two‐phase pressure drops were measured. Measurements of the pressure drops were interpreted using the homogeneous and Lockhart–Martinelli models developed for two‐phase flows in pipes. The results show similarity to both liquid–liquid flow in pipes and to gas–liquid flow in microchannels. We find a strong dependence of pressure drop on flow rates, microchannel material, and the first fluid injected into the microchannel.     

Simulation Studies on Growth and Death of Microorganisms Using the Oil‐Degrading Bacteria Petrotoga sp.

Three models were developed to estimate the potential of the selected bacteria Petrotoga sp., a thermophilic anaerobic oil‐degrading microorganism. Fourteen data sets of these bacteria were simulated by a multilayer feed‐forward neural network and an adaptive neuro‐fuzzy interference system. Twelve data sets served for training and two for testing these models. A simplified numerical model was performed assuming two phases in the growth process of oil‐degrading microorganisms, the logarithmic growth phase and the death phase. Comparison between these models in predicting bacterial cell concentration for different data sets indicates little difference between the overall average relative errors of the three methods and that all can be applied for prediction. Effects of salinity concentration, amount of yeast extract, and temperature on bacterial cell concentration were simulated by numerical and neural network models.     

底吹气连铸中间包内气液两相流的数值模拟

以宝钢集团梅山钢厂1台连铸中间包为原型,进行底吹气中间包水模型研究. 实测结果表明,底吹气在中间包内形成"鼓泡流"形式的流动结构;"鼓泡流"的形成一方面能够破坏中间包内"层流"形式的短路流动,增强混合,另一方面能在中间包内形成"气幕挡墙",有利于夹杂物去除. 针对中间包内气-液两相"鼓泡流"特征,建立了底吹气中间包内气-液两相欧拉多流体模型,模型中考虑了气泡的存在对湍流增强的影响,考虑了相间滑移、气泡浮力及湍流分散力. 采用所建立的模型对底吹气中间包内气液两相流动和混合特性进行了模拟和分析,结果与水模型实测结果一致.     

Numerical Simulation of Sterilization Processes for Shear‐Thinning Food in Taylor‐Couette Flow Systems

The performance of the Taylor‐Couette flow apparatus as a heat sterilizer is numerically investigated. The destruction of Clostridium botulinum and thiamine (vitamin B1) was selected as model reaction. When Taylor vortices were formed in the annular space, the heat transfer significantly enhanced as compared to the case without vortex flow. As a result, the equivalent lethality calculated from the temperature field increased, which is regarded as a quantum leap. Conversely, the improvement of heat transfer induced destruction of thiamine. These results suggest that there is a trade‐off relationship between the enhancement of heat transfer and the avoidance of thermal destruction of nutritional components. In conclusion, the Taylor‐Couette flow sterilizer has the potential for process intensification in heat sterilization processes.     

Selected Aspects of Developing a Simulation Model of a Spouted Bed Grain Dryer Based on the Eulerian Multiphase Model

This article discusses the key aspects of developing a simulation model of a spouted bed grain dryer for an analysis of fluid dynamics. The following aspects have been analyzed: selection of computational space, type of geometry and computational grid, configuration of the mathematical model (based on the Eulerian multiphase model) through the selection of “closures,” turbulence modeling, the simulation model's sensitivity to changes in phase and flow parameters, as well as the configuration of numerical parameters. The presented study makes reference to an earlier experiment carried out by the author, and it sums up the author's previous work in the modeling of a spouted bed grain dryer. This article presents a synthetic overview of the problems that are frequently encountered in the process of developing simulation models of a spouted bed grain dryer and proposes several solutions.     

Characterization of Air‐Water Two‐Phase Vertical Flow by Using Electrical Resistance Imaging

The characterization of air‐water two‐phase vertical flow in a 12 m flow loop with 1.5 m of vertical section is studied by using electrical resistance tomography (ERT). By applying a fast data collection to a dual‐plane ERT sensor and an iterative image reconstruction algorithm, relevant information is gathered for implementation of flow characteristics, particularly for flow regime recognition. A cross‐correlation method is also used to interpret the velocity distribution of the gas phase on the cross section. The paper demonstrates that ERT can now be deployed routinely for velocity measurements and this capability will increase as faster measurement systems evolve.