Two-Phase Flow (Oil and Water) in Ducts with the Elliptical Cross-Section: Modeling and Simulation

Abstract

In the oil industry, pipelines (circular ducts) are widely used for the transportation of oil and yours derived. Because of their advantages, such as low operating cost and increased safety during transportation, pipelines have become indispensable for transporting oil in large quantities and for long distances. As an alternative to this problem, the transport of oil and water can be accomplished using ducts with an elliptical cross-section. Thus, this work has the objective of studying the flow of oil and water in cylindrical ducts with an elliptical cross-section by using the Ansys CFX software. Results of the velocity, pressure and volumetric fraction distributions of the oil and water phases are presented and analyzed. By applying the same inlet velocity to oil and water, revealed that the elliptical duct, with aspect ratio equal to 5.0, has a pressure drop less (84.2%) than the pressure drop obtained for one duct of circular cross-section (aspect ratio equal to 1.0).