Abstract:
In oil and gas production operations, the scale formation of inorganic salts is an ordinary problem that directly affects the efficiency and life cycle of the components involved. The combined analysis of thermodynamics, kinetics, and fluid dynamics of multiphase flow to draw meaningful conclusions about the deposition and pressure drop imposed by scale formation is essential to understanding such complex phenomena. In this sense, the Tube Blocking Test (TBT) experiment involves pumping a supersaturated brine solution through a capillary tube with a pressure transductor that monitors the pressure drop over time. This work uses an Euler-Lagrange approach to model the particle deposition in a capillary tube, replicating the TBT experiment. The model considers the calcium carbonate crystals dispersed particles in a fluid. The simulation is performed through coupling the Finite Volume Method (CFD), that deals with the flow field, with the Discrete Element Method (DEM), that computes the particles interactions. The particles interact with each other and with the tube surfaces by contact, friction, and adhesion forces. To calculate the input parameters, a thermodynamic and kinetic simulation is run to predict solids concentration, the particle size distribution, and the polymorphic distribution. In the sequence, the CFD-DEM processes the particles’ transport and deposition. The simulation results are the shape of the deposited particles, the adhered mass, the pressure drop imposed by the solids, and the fluid velocity and pressure fields.
Referência:
SILVA, João Vitor Faidiga; POLETTO, Vinicius Gustavo; NEUBAUER, Thiago Machado; DE LAI, Fernando Cesar; JUNQUEIRA, Silvio Luiz de Mello; LOURENÇO, Vitória Silva; ALDEIA, Wagner; ZOTELLE, Ayrton Carvalho; PINHEIRO, Helga Elizabeth; CASTRO, Bruno Barbosa; MARTINS, André Leibsohn. CFD-DEM simulation of scale formation in capillary tubes based on the tube blocking test. In: BRAZIIAN CONGRESS OF THERMAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, ENCIT2024, 20., 2024, Foz do Iguaçu. Proceedings… 8 p.
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