Experimental study and modeling of flow of inverse emulsion in pipes

• Grant number: 10/08688-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: August 01, 2010
• End date: May 31, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Mechanical Engineering - Transport Phenomena
• Principal Investigator: Paulo Seleghim Júnior
• Grantee: Iara Hernandez Rodriguez
• Host Institution: Escola de Engenharia de São Carlos (EESC). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

In oil production, a main concern is the large energy loss involved in the displacement of multiphase mixtures over long distances and high costs, especially under offshore production conditions. The high demand of oil in the current global scenario and the challenges imposed by the discoveries of the pre-salt consider the reduction of energy loss in pipelines. Despite its common occurrence and importance, liquid-liquid flows have not been studied with the same intensity as gas-liquid flow. A drag reduction in oil in water dispersed flow under turbulent conditions without the addition of any drag reduction agent has been reported by some researchers and it has attracted attention recently in area, mainly because there is not yet a satisfactory understanding about the physics behind this phenomenon. A non-Newtonian behavior of the turbulent dispersion is one of the theories adopted by researchers, which implies the flow of a homogeneous mixture. However, this theory does not explain the slip ratio between the phases higher than one reported in the literature. Additionally, a non-uniform distribution of droplets in the cross section area of the pipe has also been reported. Recently, it was suggested that pipe wettability could affect the drag reduction in oleophobic- hydrophilic pipes when water is the dominant phase. However, this theory has not yet an experimental proof. This research aims to study and quantify the role of wettability effect in the phenomenon of drag reduction. The focus of this study will be on oil-water flow in oleophobic- hydrophilic and oleophilic-hydrophobic pipes, respectively. The understanding of the phenomenon of drag reduction and a mathematical modeling will enable the development of a methodology for the optimized design of directional wells where there is a common occurrence of inverse emulsion. The experiments will be conducted in the Thermal-Fluids Engineering Laboratory (NETeF) of Department of Mechanical Engineering of Engineering School of Sao Carlos (USP). (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

RIANO, ADRIANA BONILLA; RODRIGUEZ, IARA H.; BANNWART, ANTONIO C.; RODRIGUEZ, OSCAR M. H.. Film thickness measurement in oil-water pipe flow using image processing technique. EXPERIMENTAL THERMAL AND FLUID SCIENCE, v. 68, p. 330-338, NOV 2015. (10/08688-3)

RODRIGUEZ, I. H.; VELASCO PENA, H. F.; BONILLA RIANO, A.; HENKES, R. A. W. M.; RODRIGUEZ, O. M. H.. Experiments with a Wire-Mesh Sensor for stratified and dispersed oil-brine pipe flow. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MULTIPHASE FLOW, v. 70, p. 113-125, APR 2015. (10/08688-3)

RODRIGUEZ, OSCAR M. H.; RODRIGUEZ, IARA H.; ANSONI, JONAS L.. An experimental and numerical study on the wall lubrication force in dispersed liquid-liquid flow. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MULTIPHASE FLOW, v. 120, NOV 2019. (10/08688-3, 13/07375-0)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

RODRIGUEZ, Iara Hernandez. Experimental study and modeling of flow of inverse emulsion in pipes. 2014. Doctoral Thesis - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Escola de Engenharia de São Carlos (EESC/SBD) São Carlos.