Influence of heat transfer on two-phase flow behavior in onshore oil pipelines

• Main Authors: Oldrich Joel Romero, Hugo Candiá Saad, Isabela Braga Pereira, Mao Ilich Romero
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidad Nacional de Colombia 2016-01-01
• Series: Ingeniería e Investigación
• Subjects: Heat exchange; oil pipeline; two-phase flow; pressure drop; Pipesim.
• Online Access: https://revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/ingeinv/article/view/51570
• ISSN: 0120-5609; 2248-8723

Computational tools for simulation of multiphase flow in oil pipelines are of great importance for the determination of the technical feasibility of the production in oilfields. The present article presents the mathematical and numerical modeling of the oil biphasic flow in a partially submerged onshore pipeline. The biphasic behavior of the heavy oil of 13,2ºAPI is translated by the Dukler correlation. The oil’s viscosity is regarded as dependent on the temperature and on the API density of the oil by means of the Hossain correlation. The pipeline, of 3,600m and 4 inches (10.16cm) in diameter, transports the oil from a collecting station to a storage center and consists of three sections. The first and third sections are above ground and are in contact with the external environment. The intermediate section is sitting on the river bed and is the critical part of the pipeline, once high heat losses are observed. The influence on the type of pipe insulation in the pressure and temperature gradients was analyzed with the aid of commercial 1D software Pipesim®. The results, of this 1D and non-isothermal problem with prescribed outlet pressure, show that the use of isolation when appropriately designed in terms of material quality and thickness is of utmost importance to maintain the heat transfer at low levels, in order to ensure the movement of fluids in long sections without compromising the system operation.