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    10 views17 pages

    Fluid Flow Modelling of Gravity Separators

    Uploaded by

    Johansen Hasugian
    dadsa

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
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    1 ‘ne major research task of the ISEP program (Improved Separator Efficiency and Performance) consists of separator fluid dynamics studies, Ref.[1). The objective of these studies was to develop a separator fiuid flow simulation computer code. The code can be used to analyze the performance of 364 Fluid Flow Modelling of Gravity Separators. E.WM. Hansen, H-Heitmann, B.Laksé, A Ellingsen, O.Ostby* T.B.Morrow, F.T.Dodget Abstract A computer code (FLOSS; FLOw Simulator for Separators) is being developed to im- prove separator effeciency and performance. The code can be used to analyze the fluid flow behaviour and the separator performance of oil, gas and water in two or three-phase grav- ity separators. It may also be used to identify improved separator configuration for both steady-state and transient operation. The fiuid flow behaviour of a three-phase separator shows that different physical and chemical phenomena are important in different zones (or regions). FLOSS is a highly modular code and is composed of a nucleus module that solves the time-dependent partial-differential equations of homogenous or multi-phase fuid motion numerically in finite difference form. Fluid flow simulations may be performed in zonal or in total separator geometry, in two- or three-dimensions, Supporting experiments are being performed to provide information about the fuld flow behaviour in different zones of a separator, and to provide data for validation of the com- puter code predictions. ‘The data is conducted in a transparent model separator of a size representative of a small oil/water/gas separator. The fluid flow and oil/water separation phenomena are investigated. The effects of an inlet momentum breaker and baffle plate on the fluid flow behaviour in the separator model are demonstrated through the use of dye ‘tracer measurements and fiow visualization. ‘The experimental program included further batch tests, inlet flow characterization tests, hydrodynamics tests, and oil-water separation tests. ‘This paper present numerical simulations of fluid flow behaviour in a model separator and zonal behaviour of liquid-liquid separation performed by FLOSS. The numerical simulations are compared with the experimental results. Introduction two and three-phase separators, and to identify improved separator configurations for both steady state and transient operation. “All from SINTER NORWAY ‘All from Southwest Research Inst., TEXAS © 1991 Elsevier Science Publishers 365 Separator sizing must satisfy several criteria for good operation during the lifetime of the producing fie @ Provide sufficient time to allow the immiscible gas, oil and water phases to separate by gravity © Provide sufficient time to allow for the coalescence and breaking of emulsion droplets at the oil-water interface # Provide sufficient volume in the gas space to accommodate rises in liquid level that result fzom a surge in liquid flow rate @ Provide for the removal of solids that settle to the bottom of the separator ¢# Allow for variation in the flow rates of gas, oil and water into the separator without adversely affecting separation efficiency Separator equipment based on gravity settling used for offshore gas/oil/water processing is of considerable size and weight. The multi-phase fluid flow behaviour through such equipment is complex and difficult to predict and optimal design is difficult to achieve, Ref.2]. Current designing methods is rather simple with respect to fluid flow behaviour in the vessel, the methods are well summarized by Ref. [9] and [4]. More elaborated design procedures have been developed and published in the past, Ref. (5] and (6). This paper discusses two elements of the fluid dynamics studies, (1) the approach adopted for modelling two-phase flows inside a separator vessel, (2) the experimental approach which was conducted to investigate the factors that influence gas-oil-water separation determining the hy- draulic performance of a separator ‘The research program ISEP, was carried out jointly by SINTEF Group’s Center for Petroleum Process Technology, and Southwest Research Institute. The objective of this program was de- ‘veloping and demonstrating the technology required for the realization of a new generation of efficent, compact, low maintenance ges/oil/water separator. 2 Two-Phase Flow Modelling Considerations 2.1 Computer Simulation ‘The computer technology, the hardware, has grown considerably during the past and taken over to bbe the most powerful tool in science, education and engineering. Numerical schemes, the software, has been developed along with the hardware and shown up to be flexible, accurate and fast in simulations. Computer based simulations have become more and more important for modelling and design of industrial processes and its components, Ref.(7]. Especially dealing with complicated physical problems in 3-dimensional environments, no other methods have shown up to be so powerful to model and simulate the actual process going on. The computer simulations are powerful both to execute and find a solution of a complicated mathematical model of the physics and also the time involved to get an answer. Running problems in different scaling are also easy to perform as 366 long as the physical modelling reflects the scale, Different numerical techniques which can provide cost-effective solutions for a range of engineering problems are rapidly developing. In the ISEP-project, a numerical separator flow simulator, FLOSS, being developed to simulate the fluid flow behaviour inside 3-dimensional gas/oil/water separators. 2.2 Separator Modelling The mathematical and numerical modelling for separators reported in this paper is two-fold. First we discuss, briefly and in general terms, two different modelling principles for two- and multi-phese flow systems, and then we finalize this section with the separator based on gravity settling. ‘The modelling principles in the separator flow simulator is based on the philosophy that a mathe- matical model can be established for the physical problems under investigation. The mathemat model is cast into a numerical model for computer simulation and validated through experimental data. ‘The mathematical model itself consists of balance equations based on the conservation principles along with auxiliary equations. The conservation principles for mass, momentum and energy for the flow system may be applied. The auxiliary equations involve equations of state, interface balance laws, and boundary transfer laws. In two-phase flows there is always some relative motion between the phases. Such flow problems should be modeled in terms of two velocity fields. A general transient two-phase flow problem can be modeled by using a two-fluid (two-field) model, or a drift-flux model, Ref. (8],{9] and [10]. Tn the two-fluid flow model each phase is considered separately, and the model formulated in terms of two sets of conservation equations. In the drift-flux model the whole flow field is considered in a mixture momentum equation and the relative motion between the phases is governed by a kinematic equation. ‘The separators under investigation are gas/oil/water separators. In general, for the use in offshore oil process, the separators are huge pressurized vessels, The separating system in an offshore oil process is going on in separators in a serial line system, with separators working at different pressure stages. The multi-phase fluid flow, from the oil wells, is running into the separators and the stream is separated into its different. components to some extent on each separator stage. In each separator, working at a fixed pressure, the inlet multi-phase fluid flow coming into the vessel as a high momentum jet hitting some sort of a momentum breaker and the liquid is splashing into the liquid pool in lower part of the vessel and the gas together with Liquid drops is flowing in the upper part of the vessel. Inside the liquid pool, near the inlet, the multi-phase fluid is flowing as a dispersion with low horizontal velocity. The released gas is rising, and the oil and water will separate underway to the outlet. In the upper part of the vessel the oil and water particles together with condensed gas will fall down to the liquid interface as the multi-phase fluid is flowing to the outlet. Both the upper and the lower part of the vesse] may be equipped with internal devices to enhance the separation process. With all the difficult physics going on, which has been described above, the only fruitful way to. understand the overall fluid flow system inside a separator may be to simulate the whole process or parts of it in a fully two-/multi-phase flow model in two or three dimensions. For the simulation of fluid flow and phase separation behaviour inside a gravity separator, it is helpful to characterize 367 the flow in different regimes or zones, see figure 1. The modelling effort in this program has been concerned with zones 2 and 3, which are the inlet and momentum breaker zone and the bulk liquid flow zone. 2.3 FLOw Simulator for Separators (FLOSS) FLOSS - FLOw Simulator for Separators, Ref. [II], is a software package of *state-of-the-art” in computer codes which meet the requirements in modelling and simulation of distributed multi- phase flow systems encountered in separation devices. In the nucleus domain, FLOSS contains the two general purpose fluid flow and heat transfer codes, HYDR-3D and KAMELEON, Ref. [12] and (13). These codes have been further developed within the ISEP project to handle two-phase flow systems. Two general modelling principles for two-phase flow, a drift-flux model and a two- field model, have been incorporated into HYDR-3D and KAMELEON, respectively. FLOSS was configured to run on a VAX-computer and all the codes are written in FORTRAN with special attention to VAX-FORTRAN. All the codes, particularly the nucleus codes, are written in @ modular form and may easily be updated through modelling extension in the future. 3 Experimental Procedures 3.1 Separator Test Facility A transparent model of a horizontal separator is used for fluid flow studies in which air, water and ‘amodel oil are circulated. The model is rectangular in cross-section rather than cylindrical, and is constructed from clear plastic to facilitate the use of flow visualization and laser-Doppler velocity measurement. The dimensions of the horizontal separator model are: height, 0.46 m; width, 0.46 1m; length, 1.83 m. The separator model operates at atmospheric pressure. Figure 2 is a sketch of the separator facility. ‘The stream of liquid and gas impinges upon a hemispherical momentum breaker (0.15 m diameter) mounted opposite the inlet. The purpose of the momentum breaker is to allow free gas to break out of the liquid jet, and to prevent the jet from mixing directly with the fluid undergoing gravity separation. The liquid flow is deflected backwards by the momentum breaker onto the back wall of the separa- tor. A deflector plate beneath the inlet skims the flow off the back wall and directs it towards the baffle plate. The bafite plate is perforated with 173 holes, each 6.4 mm in diameter, and arranged in a regular pattern with 25 mm between centers. The open atea provided by the perforations is only 4 % of the cross-sectional area of the baflle plate. Thus, the baflle plate provides resistance to fluid flow, and functions as a manifold to distribute the flow relatively uniformly over its surface. For all the tests, deionized water was used to simulate formation water and air to simulate gas. Mixtures of Exxsol D80 (a solvent) and mineral oil were used to simulate oil; the densities of the mixtures varied slightly about 800 kg/m* and the viscosities varied over a range from about 2-10-*Pa-s to 10-10-*Pa-s. 368 ces outet ave on [aly te vow ne OI se, Me ose seis water on Gitte butter Figure 1. Typical Flow Zones of a Gravity Separator. 35.2 Dian, ry At NU at od Dinensiont in cx Figure 2. Schematic View of °“**H"" ‘i FranperetSoartor LE Model Arrangement. | 3OS$0-- = | tot ooo eee Oo 286 sont + 16% open area | J 45.7 View Be 369 3.2 Physical Effect Experiments ‘The physical effect experiments were designed to provide data for use in developing the com- puter models to simulate the physical phenomena that occur in separators. These experiments investigated the gas and liquid flow behaviour in zone 2, the inlet momentum breaker zone of the separator, and the transient (batch) separation of a uniform dispersion of water in model oil carried out in a laboratory beaker. ‘The inlet momentum breaker zone experiments measured the impact pressure and fluid velocity distribution over the surface of a flat, vertical momentum breaker. The flat-plate momentum breaker was installed 26.9 cm downstream from the separator inlet. The batch separation tests measured the droplet size distribution and the rates of sedimentation and coalescence as deter- mined from visual records of the experiments recorded with a high speed video tape recorder. Batch separation teste involved agitating a mixture of oil and water to form a uniform dispersion, then removing the agitation to allow the dispersion to settle naturally. Batch sedimentation and coalescence experiments ate an aitractive method for studying the separation behaviour of water- in-oil and oil-in-water emulsions because the experiments are simple and inexpensive to perform. When the percentage of water in the mixture exceeds about 20 % by volume, two “interfaces” become visible as the mixture settles. One is 2 sedimentation” interface between the settling dispersion and the bulk oil phase (in which only a small amount of dispersed water remained). ‘The other is a “coalescence” interface between the dispersion and the bulk water phase (which contained @ small amount of dispersed oil). As time goes on, the thickness of the dispersion layer grows smaller and the two interfaces approach each other. Figure 3 shows the resulis of typical batch separation test, performed in a batch settling system consisting of a 40 % water-in-oil dispersion. Both the sedimentation and the coalescence interfaces are traced as a function of time. 3.3. Hydrodynamic Tests Experiments were also designed to provide detailed experimental data about the flow conditions inside a separator for comparison with the FLOSS code predictions. These experiments were performed in the transparent separator model. The first set of experiments were performed for one fluid (homogeneous) ow condition (total flow rate, and liquid level) with water flowing through the transparent separator model. These experiments used a laser-Doppler velocimeter to measure detailed velocity distribution data in zone 3, the bulk liquid flow zone between the separator inlet and the separator outlet. Another experiment measured the residence time distribution of a tracer injected at the water inlet for the same flow condition 3.3.1 Velocity Measurements When water was flowing through the transparent separator model, a laser beam of light could pass completely through the separator. This allowed using a laser- Doppler velocimeter to measure the instantaneous velocity components in two directions (horizontal and vertical). The Doppler shifted signals were analyzed with a frequency spectrum analyzer to give the mean and r.m.s. values of the frequency shift. These values were converted to mean velocities and r.m.s. turbulence levels using the calibration curve for frequency shift versus velocity. Several different methods were tried unsuccessfully for the measurement of mean velocity and level with oil and water flowing through the transparent separator model. The fluids were too cloudy 370 8 Setting wos sonpistad Soin ee eon Interface Lecation (mm) & Coaleseence Interface o 1020 30 40508070 Time (seconds) Figure 3. Batch Settling Test. Experimental result. \ a ‘ aN. \ : \ \ > \ \ : \ 1 : “rs! Btametar (mteron) tater). se oress es coer m Figure 4. Batch Setting, Local Drop Size Distribution in Two Different Heights, 1525 em and z=.0425 em. — 0s,----10s, 505. 371 due to small droplets entrained in the fluid streams to use the laser-Doppler technique. A novel “pulsewire” anemometer technique was tried, but found to be unreliable due to the high level of turbulence in the separator model. The magnitude of the velocity was too low to drive a turbine flow meter or to allow measuring the "velocity pressure” sensed by a Pitot-static tube. 8.8.2 Tracer Methods Chemical tracer methods have been used previously to diagnose problems with liquid separation equipment. Ref. [14] discussed the use of tracers and models to investigate the hydraulic perfor- mance of separators. Ref. [15] presented the results of a study using liquid dyes and wax spheres as tracers to determine the hydraulic characteristics of gravity separators. Ref. [16] used a ra- Gioactive tracer in field studies to measure the residence time distribution in oil-water separators. One technique used in tracer studies is to inject a small amount of a tracer chemical instanta- neously into the fluid stream at the separator inlet, and then to collect samples of fluid from the separator outlet. The dye concentration results are analyzed as a function of time to determine the “hydraulic” response of the separator to a "delta” function input signal. ‘The tracer concentration time history leads to a residence time distribution, which is a measure of the duration of time spent by the tracer chemical in the separator. 8.8.8 Residence Time Distribution The theoretical residence time, t,, for a separator vessel is defined as the liquid volume, V, of a particular phase contained in the separator divided by the volumetric flow rate of that phase, Q. &=ViQ If the fluid flow velocity was uniform and constant throughout the separator (without regions of recirculation or short-circuiting), then the time required for a chemical tracer injected instanta- neously at the inlet to reach the outlet would be equal to the theoretical residence time.In general, the fluid velocity field in a separator is not uniform, and chemical tracer is present in the separator outlet stream both before and after the theoretical residence time. Therefore, another measure of, residence time is needed to characterize the hydraulic performance of the vessel. 3.3.4 Tracer Experiments The experiments reported in this paper were performed with air and water only flowing through the transparent separator model. They were designed to provide baseline data for hydraulic performance in the absence of liquid phase separation. A water soluble dye, Rhodamine WT was diluted with water and injected from a syringe into the separator inlet stream. A peristaltic pump was used to draw a continuous stream of fluid from a location close to the separator water outlet. ‘The fluid stream was directed into 1 cc plastic cuvettes at selected time intervals. The dye concentration in the cuvette sample was measured with a spectrofiuorometer. For this series of tests, the inlet liquid flow rate was 0.00252 m/s, and the volume of fluid retained in the separator model was about, 0.212 m? of water. The "theoretical" residence time for a parcel of fluid entering the separator was approximately 84 seconds, 372 4 Results 4.1 Settling in Liquid/Liquid Dispersions In the HYDR-3D code a drift-flux model for two-phase flow was developed, verified and validated for simulating settling in liquid/liquid dispersions. The model was extended to handle a drop size distribution in settling, The droplets may be divided, in the current version of the model, into ten groups. This number may be easily extended by changing a parameter in the code. The droplet diameters and the occurrence, i.e. number of drops in each group divided by the total amount of droplets, are given as input for a simulation. For each computational cell, for each time step, velocity is simulated for each droplet size group. Together with the total water fraction also the volume fractions for each group are updated according to the respective velocities. Dropsize measurements in batch experiments gave an average drop diameter about 500 um. ‘The height of the batch settling chamber was 0.2 m, and the simulations have been performed in a batch settling system consisting of a 20 % water-in-oil dispersion. In the numerical simulations, the initial drop size distribution is the same for all cells and the droplet size distribution for the basis simulation is shown in figure 4 at t=0 s. In two different locations, in figure 4, the local drop size distributions are presented at time 0, 10 and 50 seconds. ‘The two different plates in figure 4 show the occurrence ratios for drops at a height 15.25 cm and 4.25 cm, respectively. In the upper location it is shown that after 50 seconds the water fraction in this cell is zero, so no ‘curve exists for this time, Already during the first ten seconds all drops bigger than 440 jm have passed this location. During the first period, just above the final interface, the picture has not changed much. This is realistic because the drops flowing to the cell below are replaced by drops of the same size from the cell above until all the drops of thal size have passed that location. At the end of the simulation only small drops remain, as shown before. To show the effect of changing the initial drop size distribution, two other numerical simulations have been run. The numerical results are presented in figures 5.a) - £). Transient locations of the sedimentation and coalescence interfaces are compared with experimental data in figures 5.b,

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