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A Study of Surface Wetting in Oil-Water Flow in Inclined Pipeline

Rashedi, Ahmadreza
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1448364959

Abstract Details

2016, Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, Mechanical Engineering (Engineering and Technology).
Corrosion of steel parts is an important problem in the oil and gas industry, both for upstream (from well to refinery environments) and downstream (refinery environment) applications. Water is always present in the reservoir and is carried through the pipelines together with the produced hydrocarbon fluids. In order to transport the oil from the well to the refinery environment, carbon steel pipeline is often the preferred choice of material as it is the most cost-effective and available option. Transportation of oil becomes problematic due to the presence of water in carbon steel pipelines since it causes corrosion. However, corrosion only occurs when liquid water is in direct contact with the steel surface - this scenario is commonly known as water wetting. Several studies have been performed on water wetting in horizontal and inclined pipe flow, and several models have been proposed to estimate the occurrence of water wetting. However, there is still some degree of discrepancy between modeling outcomes, suggesting that the state of understanding of the mechanisms involved is not well defined. Moreover, the available experimental data on water wetting, particularly in inclined oil-water pipe flow, is still scarce and somewhat contradictory, which renders development of physical models difficult. In this research, a comprehensive database of new experimental results was developed. Phase wetting measurements were performed in a 4-inch Internal Diameter flow loop, investigating the effect of pipe inclination, mixture velocity of oil and water and water cut (concentration of water in oil). In addition, the experiments were repeated in a carbon steel and in a polyvinyl chloride test section in order to study the wetting characteristics of the surface. A new phase wetting measurement probe was developed and validated in the flow loop. Based on impedance measurement, this probe showed exceptional capabilities for differentiating oil and water wetting with a great level of confidence. Several phase wetting maps, plotting the water cut versus the mixture velocity, were developed horizontal, 10º, 45º, 80º and 90º inclination. The experimental conditions were then simulated using two published wetting models developed from Brauner and Tang. Gaps between predicted and experimental results helped identify several parameters which needed to be taken into account: the local concentration of water at the bottom of the pipe and the hydrophilicity characteristics of the wetted surface. This study contributed to the development and validation of a new water wetting model which showed very good agreement with the experimental results.
Marc Singer (Advisor)
Srdjan Nesic (Committee Member)
Sarah Hormozi (Committee Member)
Katherine Cimatu (Committee Member)
150 p.
Engineering; Fluid Dynamics; Mechanical Engineering
Water Wetting; Two phase flow; liquid- liquid; Turbulent flow

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Rashedi, A. (2016). A Study of Surface Wetting in Oil-Water Flow in Inclined Pipeline [Master's thesis, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1448364959

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Rashedi, Ahmadreza. A Study of Surface Wetting in Oil-Water Flow in Inclined Pipeline. 2016. Ohio University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1448364959.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Rashedi, Ahmadreza. "A Study of Surface Wetting in Oil-Water Flow in Inclined Pipeline." Master's thesis, Ohio University, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1448364959

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ohiou1448364959
470
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This open access ETD is published by Ohio University and OhioLINK.