Modeling droplet dispersion in a turbulent tubing flow at a high droplet holdup

• Published in: Chemical engineering research & design Vol. 168; pp. 71 - 83
• Main Authors: Eskin, Dmitry, Ma, Shouxiang Mark, Taylor, Shawn, Abdallah, Wael
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Rugby Elsevier Ltd 01.04.2021; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Breakup; Computational fluid dynamics; Dispersion; Droplet breakup; Droplets; Emulsion; Fluid dynamics; Granular materials; Granular media; Heat transfer; Kinetic theory; Modeling; Modelling; Population balance; Simulation; Studies; Tubing; Turbulence; Turbulent flow; Turbulence; Emulsion; Tubing; Modeling; Population balance; Droplet breakup
• ISSN: 0263-8762; 1744-3563
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cherd.2021.01.026

•Dense emulsion formation in turbulent pipe flow was studied by an engineering code.•A droplet breakup model employed is valid for droplet holdups up to 30%.•Effects of different emulsion flow parameters on droplet dispersion were analyzed.•An evaluation of production logging tool measurement error was illustrated. Modeling emulsion formation in a turbulent tubing flow is required for different petroleum technology applications, such as surface oil/water separation or evaluation of accuracy of subsurface performance of specific logging equipment. Dispersion of noncoalescing droplets in a turbulent tubing flow at droplet holdups reaching 30% is modeled. An in-house developed engineering code based on the advection-diffusion population balance approach is employed for simulations. A model of droplet breakup, recently proposed and validated for high-dispersed phase volume fractions, is incorporated into the code. This model assumes that the droplet breakup process is driven by droplet fluctuations. According to the model, the mean-square droplet fluctuation velocity is calculated using the kinetic theory of granular media. This developed model is used to study dispersion of water in a turbulent oil flow through a tubing under realistic conditions. One of the important results is an explicit demonstration of a decrease in the droplet size reduction rate with an increase in the water holdup. An evolution of mean droplet sizes along the production tubing under different flow conditions is illustrated. The simulation tool developed is a significant step toward the ultimate goal: an ability to characterize water in oil emulsion prior to multiphase production logging.