Numerical Analysis of Heavy Oil-Water Flow and Leak Detection in Vertical Pipeline

João Victor Nunes de Sousa, Cristiane Holanda Sodré, Antonio Gilson Barbosa de Lima, Severino Rodrigues de Farias Neto

Department of Chemical Engineering, Center of Sciences and Technology, Federal University of Campina Grande, Campina Grande, Brazil.
Department of Chemical Engineering, Technology Center, Federal University of Alagoas, Maceió, Brazil.
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Center of Sciences and Technology, Federal University of Campina Grande, Campina Grande, Brazil.
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Center of Sciences and Technology,Federal University of Campina Grande, Campina Grande, Brazil.

DOI: 10.4236/aces.2013.31002                

Abstract

Pipeline is a conventional, efficient and economic way for oil transportations. The use of a good system for detecting and locating leaks in pipeline contribute significantly to operational safety and cost saving in petroleum industry. This paper aims to study the heavy oil-water flow in vertical ducts including leakage. A transient numerical analysis, using the ANSYS-CFX^? 11.0 commercial software is performed. The mathematical modeling considers the effect of drag and gravitational forces between the phases and turbulent flow. Mass flow rate of the phases in the leaking orifice, the pressure drop as a function of the time and the velocity distributions are presented and discussed. We can conclude that volumetric fraction of phases and fluid mixture velocity affect pressure drop and mass flow rate at the leak hole.

Keywords

Heavy Oil; Multiphase Flow; Leakage; Numerical Simulation

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

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