The objective is to develop models and other tools that can be used to help understand, predict and prevent a broad class of flow assurance problems. Our overall goal is to develop generic methods to describe complex fluid systems in tools that can be incorporated into scaleable and robust multiphase flow assurance models needed by the petroleum industry for developing new production solutions for oil fields with complex well fluids.
The classes of fluids to be addressed in the FACE Centre are suspensions, emulsions and heavy crudes. Collectively, these are referred to as “complex fluids”. The challenge of the FACE Centre is to address Flow Assurance in Multiphase Systems, so that the models and other tools developed in this project must be capable of describing multiphase flows in which one or more of the phases is a complex fluid.
Lattice Boltzmann simulation of a two-phase flow.
2D Lattice Boltzmann simulation.
In the simulation example shown, we demostrate the breakup of a single droplet into smaller ones. The right wall is moving upwards and the left downwards. Fluid is injected asymetrically.
The large initial droplet is stretched in the shear to form a filamnet. This is unstable due to capillary forces and generate smaller drops, that may later coalesce. Such simulation can be extended to 3D where the instability is even more efficient.
2D simulation of emulsion stability.
Both cases are in zero g, and with no walls (periodic boundaries). These cases can also be studied with moving walls and with gravity, to understand more of the rheological properties of oil/water emulsions for complex fluids containing surfactants.
Published August 27, 2010
Institutt for Energiteknikk, P. O. Box 40, NO-2027 Kjeller, Norway. Phone: +47 63 80 60 00. E-mail: firmapost@ife.no