The elimination of severe slugging-experiments and modeling

Severe slugging can occur in a pipeline-riser system operating at low liquid and gas rates. The flow of gas into the riser can be blocked by liquid accumulation at the base of the riser. This can cause formation of liquid slugs of a length equal to or longer than the height of the riser. A cyclic process results in which a period of no liquid production into the separator occurs, followed by a period of very high liquid production. This study is an experimental and theoretical investigation of two methods for eliminating this undesirable phenomenon, using choking and gas lift. Choking was found to effectively eliminate or reduce the severity of the slugging. However, the system pressure might increase to some extent. Gas lift can also eliminate severe slugging. While choking reduces the velocities in the riser, gas lift increases the velocities, approaching annular flow. It was found that a relatively large amount of gas was needed before gas injection would completely stabilize the flow through the riser. However, gas injection reduces the slug length and cycle time, causing a more continuous production and a lower system pressure. Theoretical models for the elimination of severe slugging by gas lift and choking have been developed. The models enable the prediction of the flow behavior in the riser. One model is capable of predicting the unstable flow conditions for severe slugging based on a static force balance. The second method is a simplified transient model based on the assumption of a quasi-equilibrium force balance. This model can be used to estimate the characteristics of the flow, such as slug length and cycle time. The models were tested against new severe slugging data acquired in this study. An excellent agreement between the experimental data and the theoretical models was found.     

上升管中强烈段塞流消除方法试验研究

为了消除上升管中强烈段塞流,采用节流和扰动两种方法进行了试验研究。两种方法都能完全消除强烈段塞流, 能使强烈段塞流的发生范围显著减小。节流程度较小时将导致强烈段塞流压力波动更大、周期更长;但扰动法能使压力波动的幅度变小、周期变短。两种方法都使上游管道的压力显著增大,但扰动法产生的背压比节流法产生的背压小。     

Modeling and simulation of severe slugging in air-water systems including inertial effects

A mathematical model and numerical simulations corresponding to severe slugging in air-water pipeline-riser systems are presented. The mathematical model considers continuity equations for liquid and gas phases, with a simplified momentum equation for the mixture. A drift-flux model, evaluated for the local conditions in the riser, is used as a closure law. In many models appearing in the literature, propagation of pressure waves is neglected both in the pipeline and in the riser. Besides, variations of void fraction in the stratified flow in the pipeline are also neglected and the void fraction obtained from the stationary state is used in the simulations. This paper shows an improvement in a model previously published by the author, including inertial effects. In the riser, inertial terms are taken into account by using the rigid water-hammer approximation. In the pipeline, the local acceleration of the water and gas phases are included in the momentum equations for stratified flow, allowing to calculate the instantaneous values of pressure drop and void fraction. The developed model predicts the location of the liquid accumulation front in the pipeline and the liquid level in the riser, so it is possible to determine which type of severe slugging occurs in the system. A comparison is made with experimental results published in literature including a choke valve and gas injection at the bottom of the riser, showing very good results for slugging cycle and stability maps. Simulations were also made assessing the effect of different strategies to mitigate severe slugging, such as choking, gas injection and increase in separation pressure, showing correct trends.     

强烈段塞流特征参数测量方法试验研究

通过对单个液塞经过管道上某一测压点时的压力信号进行理论分析,指出了压力波动曲线上的特征点与液塞相对于测压点位置之间的对应关系。根据分析结果,采用单压力信号判断法,求得了强烈段塞流的液塞运动速度、液塞长度等特征参数。与利用双平行电导探针相关法求得的结果比较发现,单压力信号判断法具有测量结果准确、不受流动介质物性限制、不干扰流场、简便实用等优点。     

Fluidization and bubbling behavior of potash particles in a deep fluidized bed

Most existing models for predicting bubble size and bubble frequency have been developed for freely bubbling fluidized beds. Accurate prediction of bubbling behavior in deep fluidized beds, however, has been a challenge due to the higher degree of bubble coalescence and break up, high probability of the slugging regime, partial fluidization, and chaotic behavior in the bubbling regime. In this work, the bubbling and fluidization behavior of potash particles was investigated in a deep fluidized bed employing a twin-plane electrical capacitance tomography (ECT) system. Solid volume fraction, average bubble velocity, average bubble diameter, and bubble frequency in both bubbling and slugging regimes were measured at two different bed height ratios (H/D = 3.5 and H/D = 3.78). This work is the first to illustrate a sequential view of bubbles at different superficial gas velocities in a fluidized bed. The results show that both the bubble diameter and rising velocity increased with increasing the superficial gas velocity for the two bed heights, with larger values observed in the deeper bed compared to the shallower one. Predicted values for bubble diameter, bubble rise velocity and bubble frequency from different models are compared with the experimental data obtained from the ECT system in this work. Good agreement has been achieved between the values predicted by the previous models and the experimental data for the bubble diameter and bubble rise velocity with an average absolute deviation of 16% and 15% for the bed height of 49 cm and 13% and 8% for the bed height of 53 cm, respectively.     

Three-dimensional dynamic characterization of square-nosed slugging phenomena in a fluidized bed

Slugging represents one of the major regimes in fluidization, which occurs in small diameter beds with large bed height-to-diameter ratio or in large diameter beds with internals that resemble multiple small diameter fluidized beds. Slug types include round-nosed slug, wall slug and square-nosed slug. Studies of the slugs have been mainly focused on round-nosed or wall slugs known as half slug, typically occurring in Geldart group A particle fluidization. The square-nosed slug typically occurring for Geldart group D particles appears to be regarded as simple in its structure. The Electrical Capacitance Volume Tomography (ECVT) imaging of the square-nosed slugging phenomena conducted in this study reveals otherwise. That is the structure of the square-nosed slug is, in fact, complex, particularly with respect to its dynamic variation in fluidization. More broadly, this study examines experimentally the hydrodynamic characteristics of the square-nosed fluidization regime. Specifically, simultaneous measurements from multiple ECVT sensors provide non-invasive, continuous, 3-dimensional imaging of the entire flow region of the slugging bed and hence enabling the dynamic characterization of the evolution of the slugs. The analysis of the 3D images reconstructed for real-time gas–solid volume fraction profile of the slugging fluidized bed indicates that there are three different zones, namely, the bottom fluidization zone, the gas slug zone, and the solid slug zone, co-existing in the bed. The three zones present different hydrodynamic characteristics during the slug evolution. It is found that varying the gas velocity of the slugging bed mainly varies the maximum length of the gas slug zone, while it only has a minor effect on the lengths of the bottom fluidization zone and solid slug zone. It also has an insignificant effect on the solid volume fraction of the three zones.     

气液混输管线与立管系统严重段塞流数值研究

针对气液混输管线与立管系统严重段塞流问题, 采用严重段塞流形成条件一致的等效原则, 发展了一种将三维管道系统等效为二维管道系统的计算流体力学(CFD)数值模拟方法. 以文献中某下倾管与立管组合系统为对象, 结合其实验工况, 对严重段塞流气液流动过程进行了数值模拟, 获得了其周期、压力波动幅值及喷发时间等关键参数的变化规律, 数值模拟与文献所述实验结果符合. 在此基础上, 建立了立管入口气液折算速度、立管含气率以及立管出口平均速度的理论模型, 获得了这些关键参数随时间的变化规律, 并给出了确定立管内气液流型变化的理论方法, 理论结果与CFD数值模拟结果一致. 建立的CFD方法大幅缩减了严重段塞流数值模拟所需的时间和资源, 推导的理论模型揭示了严重段塞流特性参数之间的关联, 可以对严重段塞流所引发的危害进行快速评估及预测,具有一定的工程应用价值.     

下倾管-立管水气严重段塞流数值模拟

针对海洋油气传输中常见的下倾管-立管系统, 采用Brackbill模型模拟气液相界面间表面张力, VOF方法追踪气液两相运动界面, 提出了管内气液两相流数值模拟方法. 在低气液相进口折算速度下, 数值模拟了该种管型下的严重段塞流动现象, 分析了相关物理参数的变化特性. 结果表明, 在严重段塞流下, 管内流型流态、压力、液塞运动速度、立管出口气液相平均速度、下倾管及立管内含气率等均具有明显周期性特征, 而且一个周期内严重段塞流可分为4个阶段, 进而给出了各阶段中相关参数的变化特性. 数值模拟结果与相关文献中的实验结果吻合良好,表明了该数值模拟方法的有效性.      

Modeling and simulation of severe slugging in air–water pipeline–riser systems

A mathematical model, numerical simulations and stability and flow regime maps corresponding to severe slugging in pipeline–riser systems, are presented. In the simulations air and water were used as flowing fluids. The mathematical model considers continuity equations for liquid and gas phases, with a simplified momentum equation for the mixture, neglecting inertia. A drift-flux model, evaluated for the local conditions in the riser, is used as a closure law. The developed model predicts the location of the liquid accumulation front in the pipeline and the liquid level in the riser, so it is possible to determine which type of severe slugging occurs in the system. The numerical procedure is convergent for different nodalizations. A comparison is made with experimental results corresponding to a catenary riser, showing very good results for slugging cycle and stability and flow regime maps.     

Stability of annular flow and slugging

In this work we propose an effective viscosity criterion for the stabilization of annular gas-liquid and liquid-particle flows and an inertial mechanism which drives waves into slugs in slugging gas-liquid flows. Annular flow is stable when the fluid having the higher effective viscosity occupies the core region and the lower viscosity fluid is in the annulus. The eddy viscosity criterion is shown to be very consistent with published work on annular flow transitions in horizontal and vertical gas-liquid flows. It also applies to a variety of liquid-solid and gas-solid flows. In the second part of the paper we propose a mechanism for explaining the growth of initially small waves and initiation of slugs in gas-liquid flow.