CFD Analysis of Electric Submersible Pumps (ESP) Handling Two-Phase Mixtures

Caridad, José; Kenyery, Frank

doi:10.1115/1.1725156

Cited by 53 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Coupled with a modified k-ε turbulence model by considering the viscosity of the liquid phase and the compressibility of the gas phase, the gas/liquid distributions versus different attack angles were obtained. Caridad et al [108,109] studied ESP impeller performance handling water/air mixtures using CFD simulation. Applying two fluid models in 3D CFD simulations, the pressure and velocity fields, as well as the gas phase distributions ( Figure 13) were obtained.…”

Section: Three-dimension Computational Fluid Dynamics (Cfd)mentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Review of Experiments and Modeling of Gas-Liquid Flow in Electrical Submersible Pumps

Zhu

Zhang

2018

Energies

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As the second most widely used artificial lift method in petroleum production (and first in produced amount), electrical submersible pump (ESP) maintains or increases flow rate by converting kinetic energy to hydraulic pressure of hydrocarbon fluids. To facilitate its optimal working conditions, an ESP has to be operated within a narrow application window. Issues like gas involvement, changing production rate and high oil viscosity, greatly impede ESP boosting pressure. Previous experimental studies showed that the presence of gas would cause ESP hydraulic head degradation. The flow behaviors inside ESPs under gassy conditions, such as pressure surging and gas pockets, further deteriorate ESP pressure boosting ability. Therefore, it is important to know what parameters govern the gas-liquid flow structure inside a rotating ESP and how it can be modeled. This paper presents a comprehensive review on the key factors that affect ESP performance under gassy flow conditions. Furthermore, the empirical and mechanistic models for predicting ESP pressure increment are discussed. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD)-based modeling approach for studying the multiphase flow in a rotating ESP is explained as well. The closure relationships that are critical to both mechanistic and numerical models are reviewed, which are helpful for further development of more accurate models for predicting ESP gas-liquid flow behaviors.

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Section: Three-dimension Computational Fluid Dynamics (Cfd)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The final design was achieved with the stage Figure 13. Typical multiphase CFD simulation results of gas/liquid flow in ESPs [108].…”

Section: Three-dimension Computational Fluid Dynamics (Cfd)mentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review of Experiments and Modeling of Gas-Liquid Flow in Electrical Submersible Pumps

Zhu

Zhang

2018

Energies

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“…This model has a wide range of applications, as it can be seen in Refs. [53] and [54], in the first paper, a two-fluid model was used to provide a fundamental understanding of the hydrodynamics mechanism of a pipeline flow, which was capable of handling three phase systems exliibiting low-liquid loading.…”

Section: Computational Model Configurationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of Two Different Vertical Column Photobioreactors for the Cultivation of Nannochloropsis sp.

Pupo-Roncallo¹,

Freites

Castillo

et al. 2012

Journal of Energy Resources Technology

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A photobioreactor (PBR) for microalgae culture is a highly efficient system for biomass production. In the present study, the performance of an airlift (ALR) (with a centric-tube column) and a bubble column (BC) photobioreactors were compared considering Nannochloropsis sp. growth. The experiments were carried out keeping average light intensity, temperature, volume culture, and CO2 supply constant, while cell concentration and pH level were measured and examined. Furthermore, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation in CFX. ANSYS 11.0, was developed using a multiphase flow model with an Eulerian approach to evaluate the hydrodynamic behavior of both systems. The results showed that a higher cell concentration (375 x 10^ cell/ml) was obtained in the airlift PBR yielding a better growth rate than the bubble column PBR. In terms of hydrodynamic performance, the existence of the centric-tube in the airlift system shows a welldeflned flow pattern, better light distribution cycle, and more effective mixing. These hydrodynamic characteristic of the airlift PBR may allow a better yield for the microalgae biomass production.

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“…Many scholars have studied the flow characteristics in gas-liquid two-phase flow pumps. Caridad [4] pointed out that the accumulation of gas-phase on the blade surface caused the performance…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Numerical Investigation on Bubble Distribution of a Multistage Centrifugal Pump Based on a Population Balance Model

et al. 2020

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This work aimed to study the bubble distribution in a multiphase pump. A Euler-Euler inhomogeneous two-phase flow model coupled with a discrete particle population balance model (PBM) was used to simulate the whole flow channel of a three-stage gas-liquid two-phase centrifugal pump. Comparison of the computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulation results with experimental data shows that the model can accurately predict the performance of the pump under various operating conditions. In addition, the liquid phase velocity distribution, gas-phase distribution, and pressure distribution of the second stage impeller at a 0.5 span of blade height under three typical working conditions were compared. Results show that the region with high local gas volume fraction (LGVF) mainly appears on the suction surface (SS) of the blade. With the increase in inlet gas volume fraction (IGVF), vortices and low velocity recirculation regions are generated at the impeller outlet and SS of the blade, the area with high LGVF increases, and gas–liquid separation occurs at the SS of the blade. The liquid phase flows out of the impeller at high velocity along the pressure surface of the blade, and the limited pressurization of fluid mainly happens at the impeller outlet. The average bubble size at the impeller outlet is the smallest while that at the impeller inlet is the largest. Under low IGVF conditions, bubbles tend to break into smaller ones, and the broken bubbles mainly concentrate at the blade pressure surface (PS) and the impeller outlet. Bubbles tend to coalesce into larger ones under high IGVF conditions. With the increase in IGVF, the bubble aggregation zone diffuses from the blade SS to the PS.

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CFD Analysis of Electric Submersible Pumps (ESP) Handling Two-Phase Mixtures

Cited by 53 publications

References 11 publications

A Review of Experiments and Modeling of Gas-Liquid Flow in Electrical Submersible Pumps

A Review of Experiments and Modeling of Gas-Liquid Flow in Electrical Submersible Pumps

Comparison of Two Different Vertical Column Photobioreactors for the Cultivation of Nannochloropsis sp.

Numerical Investigation on Bubble Distribution of a Multistage Centrifugal Pump Based on a Population Balance Model

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