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Thermal performance of natural gas hydrate wellbore with different insulation materials

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Abstract

Huge amounts of gas hydrate exist in offshore deepwater reservoirs, whose exploration and productions depend on the development of cost-effective transport solutions. The control of temperature field in the near wellbore region is critical for preventing the regeneration of hydrate during transportation of the produced fluid. To simulate the transient process, this study develops a 2D heat transfer model for the wellbore area based on the finite difference method. The model is validated with the steady-state temperature profile and the results of numerical simulation. Four different insulation materials are employed in the simulation, and their corresponding thermal performances are evaluated and compared. It is shown that the soil on the seabed can give a certain insulation to the produced fluid in the wellbore and enhanced insulation can be obtained by adding an insulation layer. Furthermore, the model clearly illustrates that, using the micro phase change materials (MPCM) as the insulation layer, which has high energy storage potentials, the wellbore can significantly extend the fluid holding time during the shut-in process.

Graphical abstract

Temperature field of the gas hydrate wellbore with different insulation materials is analyzed by established mathematical heat transfer model.

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Abbreviations

\(\rho\) :

Density, \(\mathrm{k}\mathrm{g}/{m}^{3}\)

\({c}_{p}\) :

Specific heat, \(\mathrm{J}/(\mathrm{k}\mathrm{g}\cdot ^\circ{\rm C})\)  

T:

Temperature, \(^\circ{\rm C}\)  

\(v\) :

Average velocity of produced fluid, \(\mathrm{m}/\mathrm{s}\)

s:

Space coordinate in longitudinal direction, m

h:

Convective thermal conductivity, \(\mathrm{W}/({m}^{2} \cdot ^\circ{\rm C} )\)  

r:

Space coordinate in radial direction, m

t:

Time, s

k:

Thermal conductivity coefficient, \(\mathrm{W}/(\mathrm{m} \cdot ^\circ{\rm C})\)  

\({L}_{p}\) :

Wellbore length, m

\({m}_{0}\) :

Mass flow rate, \(\mathrm{k}\mathrm{g}/\mathrm{s}\)

\(A\) :

Wellbore cross-sectional area, \({m}^{2}\)

\(L\) :

Latent heat of melting, \(\mathrm{J}/\mathrm{k}\mathrm{g}\)

\(H\) :

Enthalpy, \(\mathrm{J}/\mathrm{k}\mathrm{g}\)

N:

Total number of layers of wellbore

\(\varphi\) :

Volume fraction of MPCM particles or HGB particles %

\(Nu\) :

Nusselt number

\(Re\) :

Reynolds number

\(Pr\) :

Prandtl number

\(Ra\) :

Rayleigh number

\(\mu\) :

Dynamic viscosity, \(\mathrm{P}\mathrm{a} \cdot \mathrm{s}\)  

\(\beta\) :

Thermal expansion coefficient, \(1/\mathrm{K}\)

\(\alpha\) :

Thermal diffusivity, \({m}^{2}/s\)

\(\nu\) :

Kinematic viscosity, \({m}^{2}/s\)

\(U\) :

Overall heat transfer coefficient, \(\mathrm{W}/(\mathrm{m} \cdot ^\circ{\rm C})\)  

HGB:

Hollow glass beads

MPCM:

Micro phase change material

PP:

Polypropylene

N:

Total number of coated layers

i:

Index of layers

I:

Index of insulation layer

g:

Fluid of produced gas

s:

Solid

l:

Liquid

in:

Inlet

M:

Matrix of composite material

m:

Phase change process

p:

Embedded particles in composite materials

o:

External

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Funding

This work is supported by the Hainan Science and Technology Major Project (Grant No. ZDKJ2020011) and Scientific Research Start-up Fund of Hainan University (Grant No. KYQDCZR7-21032).

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Author notes

  1. Hui Wang and Binhui Zheng contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, People’s Republic of China

    Hui Wang, Binhui Zheng, Taohong Xu, Yihui Yuan, Tao Liu, Chunxin Ma & Ning Wang

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  1. Hui Wang
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Correspondence to Ning Wang.

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Wang, H., Zheng, B., Xu, T. et al. Thermal performance of natural gas hydrate wellbore with different insulation materials. Adv Compos Hybrid Mater 5, 1319–1334 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42114-021-00288-z

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