Browsing by Subject "multiphase"
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Item An Experimental Examination of a Progressing Cavity Pump Operating at Very High Gas Volume Fractions(2012-07-16) Glier, Michael W.The progressing cavity pump is a type of positive displacement pump that is capable of moving nearly any fluid. This type of pump transports fluids in a series of discrete cavities formed by the helical geometries of its rigid rotor and elastomeric stator. With appropriate materials for the rotor and stator, this pump can move combinations of liquids, suspended solids, and gasses equally well. Because of its versatility, the progressing cavity pump is widely used in the oil industry to transport mixtures of oil, water, and sediment; this investigation was prompted by a desire to extend the use of progressing cavity pumps to wet gas pumping applications. One of the progressing cavity pump's limitations is that the friction between the rotor and stator can generate enough heat to damage the rotor if the pump is not lubricated and cooled by the process fluid. Conventional wisdom dictates that this type of pump will overheat if it pumps only gas, with no liquid in the process fluid. If a progressing cavity pump is used to boost the output from a wet gas well, it could potentially be damaged if the well's output is too dry for an extended period of time. This project seeks to determine how a progressing cavity pump behaves when operating at gas volume fractions between 0.90 and 0.98. A progressing cavity pump manufactured by seepex, model no. BN 130-12, is tested at half and full speed using air-water mixtures with gas volume fractions of 0.90, 0.92, 0.94, 0.96, and 0.98. The pump's inlet and outlet conditions are controlled to produce suction pressures of 15, 30, and 45 psi and outlet pressures 0, 30, 60, 90, 120, and 150 psi higher than the inlet pressure. A series of thermocouples, pressure transducers, and turbine flow meters measures the pump's inlet and outlet conditions, the flow rates of water and air entering the pump, and pressures and temperatures at four positions within the pump's stator. Over all test conditions, the maximum recorded temperature of the pump stator did not exceed the maximum safe rubber temperature specified by the manufacturer. The pump?s flow rate is independent of both the fluid's gas volume fraction and the pressure difference across the pump, but it increases slightly with the pump's suction pressure. The pump's mechanical load, however, is dependent only on the pressure difference across the pump and increases linearly with that parameter. Pressure measurements within the stator demonstrated that the leakage between the pump's cavities increases with the fluids gas volume fraction, indicating that liquid inside the pump improves its sealing capability. However, those same measurements failed to detect any appreciable leakage between the two pressure taps nearest the pump's inlet. This last observation suggests that the pump could be shortened by as much as 25 percent without losing any performance in the range of tested conditions; shortening the pump should increase its efficiency by decreasing its frictional mechanical load.Item Design and Construction of a High Pressure System for Evaluating Multiphase Twin-Screw Pumps(2013-08-26) Hatch, Theodore IsaacTwin-screw pumps are currently sold by manufacturers without adequate data predicting the pump behavior when pumping multiphase mixtures. In light of the fact that pump behavior is known to change significantly under these conditions, a new closed-loop test facility has been designed and constructed to allow for testing of twin-screw pumps at high gas volume fractions. With minimal modification, the test facility can accommodate high pressure flows and oil-based liquids for testing. The closed-loop test facility supplies air and water to the inlet of an MR-200 twin-screw pump of which the performance characteristics are desired. The flow of air and water can be regulated to give the desired inlet pressure, outlet pressure, and gas volume fraction. The resulting mixture is driven to the test pump by its inlet suction. It then passes through the pump to a gravity separator, where it is separated into discrete liquid and gas phases. Inlet pressures up to seventy-five psig can be used, and with minimal modification, up to three-hundred psig. Total flow rates of up to six-hundred-fifty gallons per minute can be accommodated. A two-hundred horsepower electric motor provides the mechanical power for the pump. The test facility includes instrumentation and data acquisition equipment to monitor the pressures and temperatures at various points in the flow loop, as well as the flow rate and motor voltage of the pump. The closed-loop facility is validated by comparing the volumetric efficiency, mechanical efficiency, and pump effectiveness results to a previous open-loop facility that was also used to test the same twin-screw pump. Suggestions are given to replace an air valve to allow for more precise control of the air supply and to add a pulsation dampener that will moderate pressure oscillations. High pressure piping and tubing must be added for testing at higher inlet pressures.Item Flow assurance and multiphase pumping(2009-05-15) Nikhar, Hemant G.A robust understanding and planning of production enhancement and flow assurance is required as petroleum E&P activities are targeting deepwaters and long distances. Different flow assurance issues and their solutions are put together in this work. The use of multiphase pumps as a flow assurance solution is emphasized. Multiphase pumping aids flow assurance in different ways. However, the problem causing most concern is sand erosion. This work involved a detection-based sand monitoring method. Our objectives are to investigate the reliability of an acoustic sand detector and analyze the feasibility of gel injection as a method to mitigate sand erosion. Use of a sand detector coupled with twin-screw pumps is studied under varying flow conditions. The feasibility of gel injection to reduce slip and transport produced solids through twin-screw pump is investigated. A unique full-scale laboratory with multiphase pumps was utilized to carry out the experimental tests. The test results indicate that acoustic sand detection works in a narrow window around the calibration signature. An empirical correlation for predicting the twin-screw pump performance with viscous fluids was developed. It shows good agreement in the practical operational limits ? 50% to 100% speed. The results indicate that viscous gel injection should be an effective erosion mitigation approach as it reduces slip, the principle cause of erosive wear. To correlate the performance of viscous fluid injection to hydroabrasive wear, further experimental investigation is needed.Item Numerical modeling of multiphase plumes: a comparative study between two-fluid and mixed-fluid integral models(Texas A&M University, 2005-11-01) Bhaumik, TirtharajUnderstanding the physics of multiphase plumes and their simulation through numerical modeling has been an important area of research in recent times in the area of environmental fluid mechanics. The two renowned numerical modeling types that are commonly used by researchers today to simulate multiphase plumes in nature are the mixed-fluid and the two-fluid integral models. In the present study, a detailed review was performed to study and analyze the two modeling approaches for the case of a double plume (upward moving inner plume with downward moving annular outer plume) with the objective of ascertaining which of these models represent the prototype physics in the integral plume model equations with a higher degree of completeness and accuracy. A graphical user interface was designed to facilitate running the models. By comparison to laboratory scale experimental data and through sensitivity analyses, a rigorous effort was made to determine the most appropriate choice of initial conditions needed at the start of the model computation and at the peeling locations and to obtain the most consistent values of the different model parameters that are necessary for calibration of the two models. Consequently, with these selected sets of initial conditions and model parameters, the models were run and their outputs compared against each other for three different case studies with ambient conditions typical of real environmental data. The dispersed phases considered were air bubbles in two cases and liquid CO2 droplets for the third case, with water as the continuous phase in all cases. The entrainment coefficient was found to be the most important parameter that affected the model results. In all the three case studies conducted, the mixed-fluid model was found to predict about 30% higher values for the peel heights and the DMPR (Depth of Maximum Plume Rise) than the two-fluid model.Item Studies into the Initial Conditions, Flow Rate, and Containment System of Oil Field Leaks in Deep Water(2013-07-22) Holder, RachelOil well blow outs are investigated to determine methods to quickly and accurately respond to an emergency situation. Flow rate is needed to guide containment and dispersal operations. The Stratified Integral Multiphase Plume, SIMP, model was used to investigate the range of initial conditions available to integral modeling. Sensitivity to initial conditions is modest, but without experimental data at the appropriate scale the most accurate condition is unable to be determined. Flow rates are difficult to directly measure in blow out situations, so another method must be determined; therefore, sensitivity of several parameters to flow rate was also evaluated. Methane concentration in the first intrusion can be used in conjunction with velocity and trap height measurements to determine flow rate using an integral model. Plume width and temperature were determined to have little sensitivity. Separately, a containment dome was tested in the laboratory to determine if a full scale dome can be used to contain an oil leak in the field. The dome was found to have satisfactory entrapment in the designed position.