1-D Modeling of Hydrate Depressurization in Porous Media

A thermal, three-phase, one-dimensional numerical model is developed to simulate two regimes of gas production from sediments containing methane hydrates by depressurization: the dissociation-controlled regime and the flow-controlled regime. A parameter namely dissociation-flow time-scale ratio, R, is defined and employed to identify the two regimes. The numerical model uses a finite-difference scheme; it is implicit in water and gas saturations, pressure and temperature, and explicit in hydrate saturation. The model shows that laboratory-scale experiments are often dissociation-controlled, but the field-scale processes are typically flow-controlled. Gas production from a linear reservoir is more sensitive to the heat transfer coefficient with the surrounding than the longitudinal heat conduction coefficient, in 1-D simulations. Gas production is not very sensitive to the well temperature boundary condition. This model can be used to fit laboratory-scale experimental data, but the dissociation rate constant, the multiphase flow parameters and the heat transfer parameters are uncertain and should be measured experimentally.     

深海天然气水合物机械?热联合开采方法研究综述

天然气水合物由于储量大、污染低等优点, 已成为我国非常重要的战略能源, 世界各国也加快了天然气水合物的勘探和开发工作. 经济高效的开采方法以及相关的灾害控制和环境保护是对天然气水合物进行商业化开采必须要解决好的两个关键问题. 目前, 注热法和降压法的联合使用被认为是最为有效的天然气水合物开采方法. 在降压法和注热法中, 天然气水合物开采涉及传热、相变、渗流和变形等物理过程和效应, 而传热最慢且相变会消耗大量的热量, 无法直接采用常规的单纯依靠渗流原理的油气开采方案来开采天然气水合物. 我国南海的天然气水合物主要赋存于粉砂质黏土和粉细砂等类型的沉积物中, 胶结性差且埋深较浅. 常规的开采方法还不适合我国南海的水合物开采, 需要考虑新型的开采方式, 这其中提高沉积层中的热传导效率是天然气水合物开采的关键. 郑哲敏提出了机械?热联合开采的新概念方法, 利用无穷无尽表层海水的热量, 基于对流传热的原理和管道输送技术, 并兼顾类似采煤挖掘可能导致的深海浅软地层安全问题. 天然气水合物机械?热联合开采法是一种新的概念模式, 具有开采可控、高效且能有效降低地层安全性风险的优点. 本文针对该新方法的能量、装备、经济可行性进行综合评估, 阐述了针对核心问题管道含相变气液固多相流动、地层安全方面的研究进展, 展望了未来推广应用的空间.      

Self-similar problem of decomposition of gas hydrates in a porous medium upon depression and heating

We consider the specifics of decomposition of gas hydrates under thermal and depressive action on a porous medium completely filled with a solid hydrate in the initial condition. The existence of volumetric-expansion zones, in which the hydrate coexists in equilibrium with water and gas, is shown to be possible in high-permeable porous media. The self-similar problems of hydrate decomposition upon depression and heating are studied. Ii is shown that there are solutions according to which hydrate decomposition can occur both on the surface of phase transitions and in the volumetric region. We note that, in the first case, decomposition is possible without heat supply to a medium and even with heat removal. Institute of Mechanics of Multiphase Systems, Siberian Division, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tyumen' 625000. Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 39, No. 3, pp. 111–118, May–June, 1998.     

Flow regimes with temperature extrema is the motion of a gas through a porous medium

Self-similar solutions are obtained for the problem of the motion of a heated gas through a porous medium with allowance for heat transfer between the gas and the solid phase in accordance with Newton's law. It is shown that there exist flow regimes in which the gas temperature increases with distance in the direction of motion.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 4, pp. 71–77, July–August, 1987.     

Linear problem of the dissociation of the hydrates of a gas in a porous medium

Self-similar solutions are obtained for the linearized equations of the flow of a gas in porous regions with a moving interface that describe the dissociation of gas hydrates when the pressure is reduced.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 1, pp. 174–177, January–February, 1980.     

Investigation of the flow and heat transfer of viscous reacting fluids in long tubes

Heat transfer and resistance in the case of laminar flow of inert gases and liquids in a circular tube were considered in [1–4], the justification of the use of boundary-layer type equations for investigating two-dimensional flows in tubes being provided in [4]. The flow of strongly viscous, chemically reacting fluids in an infinite tube has been investigated analytically and numerically in the case of a constant pressure gradient or constant flow rate of the fluid [5–8]. An analytic analysis of the flow of viscous reacting fluids in tubes of finite length was made in [9, 10]. However, by virtue of the averaging of the unknown functions over the volume of the tube in these investigations, the allowance for the finite length of the tube reduced to an analysis of the influence of the time the fluid remains in the tube on the thermal regime of the flow, and the details of the flow and the heat transfer in the initial section of the tube were not taken into account. In [11], the development of chemical reactions in displacement reactors were studied under the condition that a Poiseuille velocity profile is realized and the viscosity does not depend on the temperature or the concentration of the reactant; in [12], a study was made of the regimes of an adiabatic reactor of finite length, and in [13] of the flow regimes of reacting fluids in long tubes in the case of a constant flow rate. The aim of the present paper is to analyze analytically and numerically in the two-dimensional formulation the approach to the regimes of thermal and hydrodynamic stabilization in the case of the flow of viscous inert fluids and details of the flow of strongly viscous reacting fluids.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 1, pp. 17–25, January–February, 1930.     

Subsonic Radiation Gas Dynamics in a Laser Plasma Generator Channel

The radiation gasdynamic processes in the channel of an air laser plasma generator operating at atmospheric pressure are analyzed. In the multigroup approximation a numerical radiation gasdynamic model is formulated on the basis of the equations of motion of a viscous heat-conducting gas and the selective thermal radiation transport equation. Laminar and turbulent subsonic generator operation regimes are considered.For the purpose of approximately describing the turbulent gas and plasma mixing the Navier-Stokes equations averaged after Reynolds and the k-ε turbulence model are used. The problem is solved in the time-dependent two-dimensional axisymmetric formulation.Strong radiation-gasdynamic interaction regimes are investigated. In these regimes the energy losses due to radiation from the high-temperature region of the laser plasma and the absorption of its thermal self-radiation by the surrounding plasma and gas layers (radiation reabsorption) appreciably affect the gasdynamic flow structure. Two methods of integrating the selective thermal radiation transport equation in the generator channel are discussed. In one of these the thermal radiation transport is calculated inside the heated volume and in the other the radiation heat fluxes are calculated on the surfaces bounding the volume. The results of calculating the spectral and integral radiation heat fluxes on the inner surface of the generator are given.__________Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Academii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 3, 2005, pp. 126–143.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Surzhikov.     

Effect of Evaporation of Liquid Droplets on the Distribution of Parameters in a Two–Species Laminar Flow

A calculation model was developed, and the heat– and mass–transfer characteristics in a laminar air—vapor—droplet flow moving in a round tube were studied numerically. The distributions of parameters of the two–phase flow over the tube radius were obtained for varied initial concentrations of the gas phase. The calculated heat and mass transfer is compared to experimental data and calculations of other authors. It is shown that evaporation of droplets in a vapor—gas flow leads to a more intense heat release as compared to a one–species vapor—droplet flow and one–phase vapor flow     

Interference between a blunt edge shock layer and an impinging inclined shock at low Reynolds numbers

The interference between the shock layer on a cylinder modeling the leading edge of an air intake and an impinging plane inclined shock is investigated experimentally and numerically for a Reynolds number Re₀=32. The low-pressure wind tunnel experiments made it possible to visualize the flow and determine the local heat transfer in the presence of interference. The corresponding flow regimes were calculated numerically within the framework of the system of Navier-Stokes equations by the through-calculation method. The principal properties of the distribution of the flow characteristics for a low value of the Reynolds number were obtained for various types of interference and the differences with respect to the previously investigated interference regimes for high Reynolds numbers were examined.Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 1, pp. 166–171, January–February, 1993.     

Investigation of isothermal flow of a mixture of gas and particles in a channel of variable section

Isothermal flow of a gas with particles is investigated analytically, which makes it possible to analyze all possible flow regimes in channels of different shapes. It is shown that in a channel of constant section there are two possibilities: either an equilibrium regime is established with constant flow parameters, or the gas reaches the velocity of sound, and then further flow in the channel is impossible (blocking of the channel). In a contracting nozzle, blocking also occurs if the channel is sufficiently long. In an expanding nozzle when there are particles in the gas with a velocity lower than the gas velocity, it is possible to have flow regimes with transition through the velocity of sound: a subsonic flow goes over into a supersonic flow and, conversely, it is also possible to have a flow in which there is blocking of the channel, which is quite different from the flow of a pure gas in an expanding nozzle and is due to the influence of interphase friction on the flow. The variation of the pressure along the flow can be nonmonotonic with points of local maximum or minimum which do not coincide with the singular point at which the gas velocity reaches the velocity of sound. In the case of nonequilibrium gas flows with particles in a Laval nozzle, the velocity of the gas may become equal to the isothermal velocity of sound not only in the exit section of the nozzle or in its expanding part, as noted in [4–6], but also at the minimal section, since it is possible to have flows for which the velocities of the phases are equalized at this section.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 6, pp. 61–68, October–December, 1981.     

Sonic annular jet in a counterstreaming supersonic flow

When sonic annular jets encounter a supersonic flow, two interaction regimes are possible with open or closed central separation regions. When the flow regimes change, there is an abrupt change in the separation of the shock wave from the nozzle and of the pressure in the central separation region, and hysteresis is also observed. The flow regimes with open central separation region are stationary and can be calculated numerically on the basis of Euler's equations fairly accurately.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 5, pp. 175–180, September–October, 1979.     

The effect of heat transfer on unsteady periodic motion of a gas in tubes

The one-dimensional unsteady motion of a gas in a straight tube is described with the aid of the equations of continuity, of motion, of state, and of energy; in addition, friction and thermal flow are assumed to be quasistationary. Solution of the linearized equations shows that when heat transfer is taken into account, entropie waves of pressure and velocity appear in the gas. As the result of heat transfer changes also occur in the propagation constants for ordinary waves; there is, compared with an adiabatic process, an increase in the distribution of friction.Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Mekhaniki i Tekhnicheskoi Fiziki, No. 1, pp. 68–72, January–February, 1971.     

Heat and mass transport in nonisothermal turbulent flow when there is a screen formed by a gas of a different nature

We obtain a limiting relative law for heat and mass transport when there is a gas screen in a turbulent boundary layer, which makes it possible to take into account the effect of nonisothermal flow on the turbulent heat and mass transport beyond the region where the foreign gas is injected. The theoretical results are compared with experimental data on the intensity of burn-up of a graphite surface in an air flow when helium is injected through a tangential slit. The experimental data were obtained from the diffusion region of the burn-up.Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Mekhaniki i Tekhnicheskoi Fiziki, No. 5, pp. 152–156, September–October, 1971.     

Multiphase flow model developed for simulating gas hydrate transport in horizontal pipe

The hydrate formation or dissociation in deep subsea flow lines is a challenging problem in oil and gas transport systems. The study of multiphase flows is complex while necessary due to the phase changes (i.e., liquid, solid, and gas) that occur with increasing the temperature and decreasing the pressure. A one-dimensional multiphase flow model coupled with a transient hydrate kinetic model is developed to study the characteristics of the multiphase flows for the hydrates formed by the phase changes in the pipes. The multiphase flow model is derived from a multi-fluid model, while has been widely used in modelling multiphase flows. The heat convection between the fluid and the ambient through the pipe wall is considered in the energy balance equation. The developed multiphase flow model is used to simulate the procedure of the hydrate transport. The results show that the formation of the hydrates can cause hold-up oscillations of water and gas.     

Effect of decomposition of a gas hydrate on the gas recovery from a reservoir containing hydrate and gas in the free state

The problem of gas recovery in the process of methane hydrate dissociation in a reservoir saturated with gas-hydrate mixture is considered. The mathematical model of hydrate decomposition into gas and water is generalized to include the negative temperature interval and takes ice formation into account. The solution of the problem is represented in the self-similar approximation. It is shown that there exists a transition hydrate decomposition regime in which water and ice are formed simultaneously. A comparative analysis of the recovery is carried out on the basis of relations derived for the masses of recovered gas in different hydrate dissociation regimes. It is shown that an anomalous increase in the recovered gas volumes is observed in the transition hydrate dissociation regime.__________Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Academii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 1, 2005, pp. 132–142. Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Tsypkin.     

Axisymmetric nonstationary flow around an obstable in a cylindrical tube

Questions associated with the interaction between a gas stream and a body in a launching tube, especially the high-speed propulsion of a body by a gas stream [1], have become of great interest in recent years. Partial destruction of the body and the formation of a gap between the body and the launching tube, through which the working gas will flow, inevitably occurs at high velocities. In this case it is possible to consider the ejection of a free body which does not come into contact with the walls of the launching tube as it is accelerated. An analogous problem occurs in the transportation of containers in a tube under the effect of a compressed gas [2], as well as in a gas-dynamic analysis of piston apparatus with different kinds of gas flow through the orifice inmoving or fixed pistons. The interaction between the gas stream and the body or the obstacle in the launching tube must be known for a theoretical investigation of all these problems. The solution is obtained by numerical integration of the nonstationary gas-dynamic equations by means of a through-computation difference scheme [3]. Values of the blockage factors are found for different freestream Mach numbers, for which the reflected shock stands off at infinity upstream. A comparison is given with the one-dimensional approximation obtained under the assumption that the body being streamlined is replaced by two jumps of a strong discontinuity on which the mass, momentum, and energy conservation conditions are satisfied. The results obtained are used in the problem of ejection of a free body from a launching tube under the effect of an unsteady gas flow.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 4, pp. 81–86, July–August, 1978.     

Mathematical modeling of gas desorption from a gas hydrate

In gas-gashydrate reservoirs the gas is in the free and bound states. The amount of gas bound in the hydrate depends on the thermodynamic conditions. Therefore, when these conditions are varied it is possible for gas to be released from the hydrate in the desorption regime up to total dissociation of the hydrate into gas and water. Below, the problem of extraction of free and bound gas in the desorption regime is considered.Ufa. Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 5, pp. 118–125, September–October, 1996.     

Three-dimensional thin viscous shock layer in the absence of planes of symmetry in the flow

The basic laws of viscous homogeneous gas flow at high supersonic speeds past smooth blunt bodies with a permeable surface are investigated within the framework of the thin viscous shock layer model. An efficient numerical method of solving these equations, which makes it possible to consider cases of flow past bodies at angles of attack and slip, when there are no planes of symmetry in the flow, is proposed. Some results of calculating the flow past a triaxial ellipsoid with an axial ratio of 103n73 at angles of attack =0–45° and slip angles =0–45° over a broad interval of Reynolds numbers are presented as an example. The effect of the principal determining parameters of the problem on the flow structure in the shock layer and the surface friction and heat transfer coefficients is analyzed. An expression for calculating the heat fluxes to the impermeable surface of smooth blunt bodies in a supersonic homogeneous viscous gas flow over a broad interval of Reynolds numbers is proposed on the basis of the solutions obtained and the results of other authors.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 2, pp. 150–158, March–April, 1989.     

Second approximation in the problem of the strong viscous interaction on slender three-dimensional bodies

We consider the hypersonic flow of a perfect gas past a slender three-dimensional body in a regime of strong viscous interaction. We give equations which make it possible to reduce the problem of determining the aerodynamic characteristics of a body which is not axisymmetric to the problem of computing the flow past an equivalent body of rotation at zero angle of incidence. The second approximation for the heat transfer and drag coefficients is found by the method of external and internal combinations of asymptotic expansions. The region in which this method can be applied and the accuracy of the asymptotic theory are estimated by comparison with exact numerical computations.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti, i Gaza, No. 5, pp. 107–113, September–October, 1970.     

Theoretical study of the limiting regimes of hydrate formation during contact of gas and water

This paper presents a mathematical model and analytical solutions of the problem of the growth of a hydrate layer during contact of gas and water for two limiting regimes of gas hydrate formation determined by mass transfer and heat transfer. Critical values are obtained for thermal parameters and parameters that determine the flow properties of the hydrate layer (diffusion coefficient and permeability), on which the hydrate formation regime depends.