• Login
    View Item 
    •   Home
    • University of Alaska Fairbanks
    • UAF Graduate School
    • Engineering
    • View Item
    •   Home
    • University of Alaska Fairbanks
    • UAF Graduate School
    • Engineering
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Browse

    All of Scholarworks@UACommunitiesPublication DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsTypeThis CollectionPublication DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsType

    My Account

    Login

    First Time Submitters, Register Here

    Register

    Statistics

    Display statistics

    Experimental study of multiphase flow of viscous oil, gas and sand in horizontal pipes

    • CSV
    • RefMan
    • EndNote
    • BibTex
    • RefWorks
    Thumbnail
    Name:
    Hulsurkar_P_2017.pdf
    Size:
    15.90Mb
    Format:
    PDF
    Download
    Author
    Hulsurkar, Panav
    Chair
    Awoleke, Obadare
    Committee
    Ahmadi, Mohabbat
    Patil, Shirish
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/11122/7611
    Abstract
    The oil and gas industry relies on multiphase flow models and correlations to predict the behavior of fluids through wells and pipelines. Significant amount of research has been performed on the multiphase flow of different types of liquids with gases to extend the applicability of existing models to field-specific fluid conditions. Heavy oil and gas flow research commenced in the past decade and new correlations have been developed that define their flow behavior/regimes. This study aims to plant a foot in the quite deficient area of multiphase flow research that focuses on a sufficiently common situation faced by many heavy oil producing fields: the presence of sand in wells and pipelines. This study will be the first recorded attempt to understand the multiphase flow of heavy oil, gas, and sand. A 1.5" diameter multiphase flow loop facility capable of handling solids was designed and constructed for the study. Data logging instruments were calibrated and installed to be able to withstand the erosive effects of sand. The flow loop was leak and pressure tested with water and air. Three oils of 150, 196 and 218 cP viscosities were utilized to gather 49 single phase liquid, 227 two-phase liquid- air and 87 three-phase liquid, air and solid multiphase flow data points which included differential and absolute pressures, fluid flow rates, temperatures, liquid and composite liquid- solid hold- up data and photo and videotaping of the observed flow regimes. Validation of the setup was performed using single phase flow of oil and two-phase flow of oil and air. Sand was added in three different concentrations to the 218 cP oil and three-phase oil, gas and sand multiphase flow tests were performed. Flow patterns were identified and flow pattern maps were created using acquired data. No change was observed on flow pattern transitions by changing oil viscosities. Liquid hold- up and differential pressures were compared to observe the effect of changing oil viscosity and the presence of sand in varying concentrations on the two-phase flow of oil and gas and the three-phase flow of oil, gas and sand respectively. An increase in differential pressures was observed with increasing viscosities and the addition of sand. No changes in hold-up were seen with changing oil viscosities rather flow patterns impacted liquid hold-up significantly. The slug flow pattern was analyzed. Composite liquid-solid hold-up in slug flow were physically measured and predicted. Liquid slug lengths were predicted and compared with observed lengths using photo and videography techniques. Differential pressures and liquid hold-up were compared with existing multiphase flow models in the PIPESIM multiphase flow simulator to test model predictions against observed flow data. The dependence of differential pressure gradients and liquid hold-up on dimensionless variables was realized by performing normalized linear regressions to identify the most significant dimensionless groups and the results were given a mathematical form by proposing correlations for differential pressure and hold-up predictions. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first attempt at systematically measuring pressure drop and liquid hold up during the three-phase flow of oil, gas and sand.
    Description
    Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2017
    Date
    2017-05
    Type
    Thesis
    Collections
    Engineering

    entitlement

     
    ABOUT US|HELP|BROWSE|ADVANCED SEARCH

    The University of Alaska Fairbanks is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and educational institution and is a part of the University of Alaska system.

    ©UAF 2013 - 2023 | Questions? ua-scholarworks@alaska.edu | Last modified: September 25, 2019

    Open Repository is a service operated by 
    Atmire NV
     

    Export search results

    The export option will allow you to export the current search results of the entered query to a file. Different formats are available for download. To export the items, click on the button corresponding with the preferred download format.

    By default, clicking on the export buttons will result in a download of the allowed maximum amount of items.

    To select a subset of the search results, click "Selective Export" button and make a selection of the items you want to export. The amount of items that can be exported at once is similarly restricted as the full export.

    After making a selection, click one of the export format buttons. The amount of items that will be exported is indicated in the bubble next to export format.