Application of CFD for designing conventional three phase oilfield separator

Ghaffarkhah, Ahmadreza; Shahrabi, Mohammadjavad Ameri; Moraveji, Mostafa Keshavarz; Eslami, Hooman

doi:10.1016/j.ejpe.2016.06.003

Cited by 32 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…To validate the accuracy of analyses described in the preceding section which were based on the underlying importance of the capillary or viscous forces, a simulation was also conducted with the help of CFD (Ghaffarkhah et al, 2017;Jafari et al, 2008;Kantzas, 2016a, 2016b;Moraveji et al, 2017;Nadimi et al, 2016;Xia et al, 2017). To do so, three micromodels with three different permeability layers, as shown in Figure 1, have been considered to investigate the impact of micromodel heterogeneity on the paths that the fluid chooses to flow.…”

Section: Cfd Simulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental and CFD studies on determination of injection and production wells location considering reservoir heterogeneity and capillary number

Ahmadi

Ghandi

Riazi

et al. 2019

Oil Gas Sci. Technol. – Rev. IFP Energies nouvelles

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The in-depth knowledge of reservoir heterogeneity is imperative for identifying the location of production and injection wells. The present study aimed at experimentally investigating the process of water flooding in the viscous oil-saturated glass micromodels, which contain layers with different permeability where the fractures were placed in different locations. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations of flooding were also conducted to study the impact of different water flow rates and wettability states. The results showed that the fractures, which have a deviation with the trend of maximum pressure gradient line, would widen the water path and vice versa. The performance of injection wells would increase the recovery factor by 18% if these would be located in the zones with high permeability for low flow rates of water. With changes in wettability state from water to oil wet conditions, the oil production will increase by 11%. Computational Fluid Dynamics results also indicated that an increase in the capillary number from 0.8 × 10−6 to 1.6 × 10−5, would cause the recovery factor to decrease as much as 14.34% while further increase from 1.6 × 10−5 to 2.24 × 10−5, the oil production will increase by 9.5%. Comparison between the obtained oil recoveries indicates that the maximum oil recoveries will happen when the injector well is located in the zone where ascending permeability, capillary number greater than 4.81 × 10−6 and also fracture with the most deviation with pressure gradient line (i.e. angular pattern) are gathered in an area between the injection and production wells.

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Section: Cfd Simulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental and CFD studies on determination of injection and production wells location considering reservoir heterogeneity and capillary number

Ahmadi

Ghandi

Riazi

et al. 2019

Oil Gas Sci. Technol. – Rev. IFP Energies nouvelles

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…For example, the E-L approach deals with the continuous fluid phase as a continuum by solving Navier-Stokes equation, while the dispersed phase is solved by following lots of droplets through the flow-field as a function of both space and time. However, the E-E approach considers the several phases as continuous that are interacted with each other, Ghaffarkhah et al (2017). In the E-E approach, the volume for one phase cannot be filled by the other phases, phase-to-volume fractions are continuous functions of space and time.…”

Section: Computational Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Separation phenomenon within two different three-phase horizontal gravity separators were investigated by means of CFD technique. It was showed that in comparison with semi-empirical approaches CFD can offer powerful guidelines, Ghaffarkhah et al (2017). Using an in-house CFD code it was reported that both physical and chemical phenomenon are important in various zones of a three-phase separator, Hansen et al (1991).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Numerical Analysis of a Two-Phase Flow (Oil and Gas) in a Horizontal Separator used in Petroleum Projects

Yayla

Kamal

Bayraktar

2019

JAFM

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In the present paper, two-phase three-dimensional turbulent flow simulations are carried out by applying computational fluid dynamics (CFD) technique to the internal flow of a horizontal separator that is used in petroleum industry. Two different geometries are considered; the separator with a straight plate at the top and the separator with the straight plate on the side of the separator. Effects of the location, distance between the inlet of the separator and the diverter plate and inlet velocity on the separation efficiency are investigated by employing the standard k-ε turbulence model. For these purposes, three different distances between the straight diverter plate and the inlet to the separator (0.1 m, 0.15 m and 0.2 m) and four different velocities (0.25 m/s, 0.5 m/s, 0.75 m/s, and 1 m/s) are taken into account by means of Euler mixture model. It is revealed that the maximum separation efficiency is 99.772% when the mixture enters the separator from the top with the inlet velocity of 0.25 m/s and the plate is located 0.2 m away from the inlet section of the separator. An inverse correlation is detected between the inlet velocity and the efficiency of the separation since increasing the inlet velocity decreases the efficiency of the separation.

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“…An inappropriate design of a three-phase separator can lead to problems, reducing equipment efficiency. Thus, a TPS failure can make the entire oil processing plant stop (Ghaffarkhah et al, 2017). TPS operation is based on gravity force, so the fluid with a higher density will settle on the bottom of the separator, and the fluid with lower density will flow to the top of the separator.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the semiempirical method, vessel dimensions are calculated to allow the phases reaching equilibrium. Although some useful design considerations can be provided by this approach, very important information, which may affect the separator performance, are usually disregarded (Ghaffarkhah et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Use of Factorial Design to Evaluate Systematic Changes in the Operating Conditions of a Three-Phase Separator Using Simulation as a Tool

Araújo

Nascimento

Cavalcanti

et al. 2018

BJPG

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This work aims to use factorial designs to evaluate changes in the operating conditions of a three-phase separator. It performs experiments using a Hysys simulation software. It evaluates the influences of temperature, working pressure, and type of separator for light and heavy oils. To find the best operating conditions theoretically, higher oil flow rate (outlet stream) and smaller amount of water in the oil stream are used as reference goals. After performing simulations, the data is analyzed, and one can observe that the effect type of separator does not have a statistically significant influence in the results. The best operating condition occurs with the temperature at 30 o C and the pressure at 9 bar, lowest and highest levels suited, respectively.

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Application of CFD for designing conventional three phase oilfield separator

Cited by 32 publications

References 9 publications

Experimental and CFD studies on determination of injection and production wells location considering reservoir heterogeneity and capillary number

Experimental and CFD studies on determination of injection and production wells location considering reservoir heterogeneity and capillary number

Numerical Analysis of a Two-Phase Flow (Oil and Gas) in a Horizontal Separator used in Petroleum Projects

The Use of Factorial Design to Evaluate Systematic Changes in the Operating Conditions of a Three-Phase Separator Using Simulation as a Tool

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