Influence of separator control on the characteristics of severe slugging flow

Due to the special structure of offshore multiphase pipes, it is easy for severe slugging to occur in the riser at low gas-liquid velocity. Violent pressure fluctuations and dramatic changes of flow rate are the main characteristics of severe slugging, leading to the risk of serious damage. In this...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPetroleum science Vol. 11; no. 2; pp. 300 - 307
Main Authors Luo, Xiaoming, He, Limin, Liu, Xinye, Lü, Yuling
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Beijing China University of Petroleum (Beijing) 01.06.2014
College of Pipeline and Civil Engineering, China University of Petroleum, Qingdao, Shandong 266580, China
Subjects
Blowing
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Economics and Management
Energy Policy
Fluctuation
Industrial and Production Engineering
Industrial Chemistry/Chemical Engineering
Liquid levels
Mineral Resources
Natural gas
Offshore drilling rigs
Risers
Risk
Separators
分离器
压力控制
压力波动
正常运行
段塞流
液面控制
特性
相对速度
separator control
Multiphase flow
severe slugging
riser
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Summary:Due to the special structure of offshore multiphase pipes, it is easy for severe slugging to occur in the riser at low gas-liquid velocity. Violent pressure fluctuations and dramatic changes of flow rate are the main characteristics of severe slugging, leading to the risk of serious damage. In this paper, the separator control is adopted to accurately control the separator liquid level and pressure under severe slugging flow conditions. This indicates that the separator liquid level control alone does not have a significant impact on the upstream flow, but it is beneficial for normal operation and pressure control of the separator. As the separator pressure increases, the peak pressure in the riser apparently diminishes, and the amplitude of pressure fluctuation gradually decreases, which means that severe slugging is inhibited. During the slug blowing out, the gas/liquid slipping in the riser intensifies. The long gas plug quickly flows through the riser, and then tends to morph into short and slowly flowing gas bubbles. The elimination effect of the pressure control strategy on severe slugging is related to the relative rate of the superficial gas/liquid flow.
Bibliography:Due to the special structure of offshore multiphase pipes, it is easy for severe slugging to occur in the riser at low gas-liquid velocity. Violent pressure fluctuations and dramatic changes of flow rate are the main characteristics of severe slugging, leading to the risk of serious damage. In this paper, the separator control is adopted to accurately control the separator liquid level and pressure under severe slugging flow conditions. This indicates that the separator liquid level control alone does not have a significant impact on the upstream flow, but it is beneficial for normal operation and pressure control of the separator. As the separator pressure increases, the peak pressure in the riser apparently diminishes, and the amplitude of pressure fluctuation gradually decreases, which means that severe slugging is inhibited. During the slug blowing out, the gas/liquid slipping in the riser intensifies. The long gas plug quickly flows through the riser, and then tends to morph into short and slowly flowing gas bubbles. The elimination effect of the pressure control strategy on severe slugging is related to the relative rate of the superficial gas/liquid flow.
Multiphase flow, severe slugging, separator control, riser
11-4995/TE
ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
ISSN:1672-5107
1995-8226
DOI:10.1007/s12182-014-0344-3