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Aggregation behavior analysis of hydrate particles in the bend pipe based on the population balance model

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Abstract

The hydrate particle aggregation is crucial for the flow safety of oil and gas pipelines. In this paper, coupled with the Eulerian-Eulerian model, k−ε turbulence model and the population balance model considering the hydrate aggregation and breakage, the hydrate aggregation process is studied in the bend, and the change of the average particle size under different hydrate volume fractions is discussed. The results show that the hydrate aggregation process includes two stages in the bend, namely the rapid growth and the dynamic equilibrium. In the rapid growth stage, both the hydrate concentration and particle size in the elbow increase rapidly, and the high concentration and large particle size regions on the inside of the elbow also increase significantly. Furthermore, two types of aggregates are formed on the inside of the elbow. One is a small amount of large-particle aggregates, while the other is the relatively high concentration of medium-size aggregates. Besides, the uniform suspension with a smaller concentration and particle size is distributed on the outside of the elbow, but there are also large-size particles that aggregate and adhere near the wall of pipe. As the hydrate volume fraction increases, the hydrate average particle size increases. High concentration hydrate reaches dynamic equilibrium faster during the flow process.

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Abbreviations

l :

Water phase

s :

Hydrate particle phase

ϕ :

Volume fraction

ρ :

Density, kg/m3

u :

Velocity vector, m/s

τ :

Stress tensor, Pa

P :

Pressure, Pa

∇P S :

Pressure generated by particles collision, Pa

F :

Interphase momentum exchange term, kg/(m · s)2

F d :

Interphase drag force

F t :

Turbulent diffusion force

u r :

Interphase relative velocity, m/s

μ t,m :

Turbulent viscosity, kg/(m · s)

σ d :

Planck diffusion coefficient

k ls :

Momentum transfer coefficient

μ :

Dynamic viscosity, kg/m · s

C D :

Drag coefficient

D :

Hydrate particle size, um

n :

Quantity density

g(D∣D′):

The particle size distribution of the child particles

V :

Settling velocity, m/s

β :

Collision frequency, m3/s

β br (D′):

Breakage frequency, 1/s

G :

Absolute velocity gradient

η :

Kolmogorov microscale

v :

Kinematic viscosity

ε :

Turbulent energy dissipation rate

a :

Aggregation efficiency

H :

Hamek constant

R :

Harmonic radius of the two colliding particles

Ωbr :

Breakage rate

ξ :

Dimensionless eddy size

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Major Program No. U19B200052), Science and Technology Innovation Seedling Project of Sichuan Province, China (No. 2021079), National Natural Science Foundation Young Scientists Fund of China (No. 51904259), Sichuan Outstanding Youth Fund Program, China (No.19JCQN0081) and School-level Key Program of Chengdu Technological University, China (No. 210518).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechatronic Engineering, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu, 610500, China

    Cheng Yu, Lin Wang, Chuanjun Han, Mingjun Du, Xincan Song & Longyao Zhang

  2. School of Intelligent Manufacturing, Chengdu Technological University, Chengdu, 611730, China

    Cheng Yu

  3. School of Oil & Natural Gas Engineering, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu, 610500, China

    Jiaqiang Jing

  4. Shandong Key Laboratory of Oil-Gas Storage and Transportation Safety, China University of Petroleum, Qingdao, 266580, China

    Yuxing Li & Wuchang Wang

Authors
  1. Cheng Yu
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  2. Lin Wang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lin Wang.

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Cheng Yu received the M.E. degree in mechatronics engineering from Southwest Petroleum University, China, in 2017, where she is currently pursuing the Ph.D. degree. Simultaneously, she has been a teacher in Chengdu Technological University. Her research interests include multiphase fluid mechanics, hydrate and fluid computing simulation.

Lin Wang is an Associate Professor of mechatronics engineering, Southwest Petroleum University, China. His research interests include the fluid-solid coupling dynamics, multiphase pipe flow, and oil and gas field gathering and transportation technology.

Chuanjun Han is a Professor of mechatronics engineering, Southwest Petroleum University, China. His research interests include the oil and gas equipment modern design, fluid mechanics, and modern numerical simulation.

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Yu, C., Wang, L., Han, C. et al. Aggregation behavior analysis of hydrate particles in the bend pipe based on the population balance model. J Mech Sci Technol 36, 3477–3486 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-022-0625-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-022-0625-5

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