Predicting pressure gradients in heavy oil—water pipelines

McKibben, M.; Gillies, Randall G.; Shook, C. A.

doi:10.1002/cjce.5450780418

Cited by 31 publications

(105 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…The very low pressure gradients showed that the second regime must also be different from stratified flow. The second regime occurred at higher velocities (typically above 0.1 m/s) and are discussed elsewhere (McKibben et al, 2000) in connection with flow in pipeline gathering systems. There was no visual evidence of a lubricating water layer at the pipe wall in either regime.…”

Section: Continuous Injectionmentioning

confidence: 98%

A laboratory investigation of horizontal well heavy oil—water flows

2000

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Experimental simulations of model well‐bore flows in laboratory pipelines show that frictional energy losses (i.e., pressure drops) are reduced when water is present with heavy oil. The reduction has been shown to increase with the water fraction. The mixtures are not oil in water emulsions in the classical sense of the term. At the low axial velocities which characterize wellbore flows, the flow regime is inherently intermittent. Using a variety of methods the structure of the flow has been examined to identify the flow regime and the cause of the reduced pressure gradients. It has been found that the water travels as large slugs and that oil is invariably present at the wall when the mixture flows through a steel pipe. The evidence suggests that a significant fraction of the oil is transported within the water slugs. A tentative flow regime boundary between the regions of intermittent and continuous water‐assisted flow is proposed in terms of the mixture Froude number and the injected water fraction.

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Section: Continuous Injectionmentioning

confidence: 98%

A laboratory investigation of horizontal well heavy oil—water flows

2000

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“…This is because the relative velocity of this layer is negligible compared to the average mixture velocity (Joseph et al 1999;McKibben et al 2000McKibben et al , 2016Shook et al 2002;Schaan et al 2002;Vuong et al 2009). This wall coating layer can produce a large equivalent hydrodynamic roughness value: The typical equivalent roughness of a commercial steel pipe is about 0.045 mm, while the hydrodynamic roughness (inferred from pressure loss measurements) of a pipeline with a viscous oil layer on the pipe wall can be greater than 1 mm (Brauer 1963;Shook et al 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These oil reserves are asphaltic, dense, and highly viscous, with bitumen being more dense and viscous than heavy oil (Saniere et al 2004). Densities of these oils are nearly the same as that of water, whereas their viscosities are higher than that of water by orders of magnitude (McKibben et al 2000). Therefore, the production of these non-conventional oils requires extraordinary techniques that are not needed to recover traditional petroleum deposits.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is more economical when compared with other technologies, such as heating, solvent dilution, emulsification, and partial upgrading (Nunez et al 1998;Saniere et al 2004). In LPF, a thin water annulus prevents continuous contact between the pipe wall and the viscous oil core, resulting in much lower energy requirements than would be needed to transport the viscous oil alone in the pipeline (Arney et al 1993;Joseph et al 1999;McKibben et al 2000;Rodriguez et al 2009;de Andrade et al 2012). The water could be naturally present in the oil or could be injected for the purpose of producing LPF.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Frictional pressure losses in a fouled pipe are much higher (say, 8-15 times) than those measured in an unfouled pipe (Arney et al 1996), but still orders of magnitude lower than those would be expected for transporting only heavy oil or bitumen. It has been found in repeated tests that the formation of this wall coating is practically unavoidable in the industrial application of LPF technology (McKibben et al 2000(McKibben et al , 2016. Different degrees of wall fouling occur depending on the conditions of LPF, e.g., water cut, oil viscosity, and superficial velocity (Joseph et al 1999;Schaan et al 2002;Rodriguez et al 2009;Vuong et al 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A parametric study of the hydrodynamic roughness produced by a wall coating layer of heavy oil

Rushd

Sanders

2017

Pet. Sci.

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In water-lubricated pipeline transportation of heavy oil and bitumen, a thin oil film typically coats the pipe wall. A detailed study of the hydrodynamic effects of this fouling layer is critical to the design and operation of oil-water pipelines, as it can increase the pipeline pressure loss (and pumping power requirements) by 15 times or more. In this study, a parametric investigation of the hydrodynamic effects caused by the wall coating of viscous oil was conducted. A custom-built rectangular flow cell was used. A validated CFD-based procedure was used to determine the hydrodynamic roughness from the measured pressure losses. A similar procedure was followed for a set of pipe loop tests. The effects of the thickness of the oil coating layer, the oil viscosity, and water flow rate on the hydrodynamic roughness were evaluated. Oil viscosities from 3 to 21300 Pa s were tested. The results show that the equivalent hydrodynamic roughness produced by a wall coating layer of viscous oil is dependent on the coating thickness but essentially independent of oil viscosity. A new correlation was developed using these data to predict the hydrodynamic roughness for flow conditions in which a viscous oil coating is produced on the pipe wall.Keywords Pipeline transportation Á Heavy oil Á Wall fouling Á Lubricated pipe flow Á CFD simulation List of symbols

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Characterization of liquid‐liquid flows in horizontal pipes

Shi

Yeung

2016

AIChE Journal

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Diverse flow regimes have been encountered in liquid‐liquid flows. Some degree of consistency in the observed flow patterns is shown in reported studies, while inconsistency exits when physical properties of the two phases concerned are wide enough. An attempt was made in this study to investigate the mechanisms behind flow patterns of liquid‐liquid flows in horizontal pipes. A literature review on flow patterns of liquid‐liquid flows in horizontal pipes was conducted. The ratio of the gravitational force to viscous force was proposed to characterize liquid‐liquid flows in horizontal pipes into gravitational force dominant, viscous force dominant, and gravitational force and viscous force comparable flow featured with different basic flow regimes. Comparisons of the proposed characterization criterion with the literature data show good agreement. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 63: 1132–1143, 2017

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Predicting pressure gradients in heavy oil—water pipelines

Cited by 31 publications

References 4 publications

A laboratory investigation of horizontal well heavy oil—water flows

A laboratory investigation of horizontal well heavy oil—water flows

A parametric study of the hydrodynamic roughness produced by a wall coating layer of heavy oil

Characterization of liquid‐liquid flows in horizontal pipes

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