Monitoring sand particle concentration in multiphase flow using acoustic emission technology

Multiphase flow is the simultaneous flow of two or several phases through a system such as a pipe. This common phenomenon can be found in the petroleum and chemical engineering industrial fields. Transport of sand particles in multiphase production has attracted considerable attention given sand pro...

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Main Author: El-Alej, Mohamed Essid
Other Authors: Mba, David
Language:en
Published: Cranfield University 2014
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk/handle/1826/8500
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spelling ndltd-CRANFIELD1-oai-dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk-1826-85002014-06-05T03:39:39ZMonitoring sand particle concentration in multiphase flow using acoustic emission technologyEl-Alej, Mohamed EssidMultiphase flowacoustic emissionpipeline monitoringsand monitoringsand minimum transport condition (MTC)Multiphase flow is the simultaneous flow of two or several phases through a system such as a pipe. This common phenomenon can be found in the petroleum and chemical engineering industrial fields. Transport of sand particles in multiphase production has attracted considerable attention given sand production is a common problem especially to the oil and gas industry. The sand production causes loss of pipe wall thickness which can lead to expensive failures and loss of production time. Build-up of sand in the system can result in blockage and further hamper production. Monitoring of multiphase flow is a process that has been established over several decades. This thesis reports an assessment of the application of Acoustic Emission (AE) technology as an alternative online technique to monitoring of sand particles under multiphase flow conditions in a horizontal pipe. The research was conducted on a purpose built test rig with the purpose of establishing a relation between AE activity and sand concentration under different multiphase flow conditions. The investigation consisted of five experimental tests. The initial experiment was performed to provide a basis for the application of AE technology to detect sand particle impact prior to performing tests in multiphase flow conditions. Further investigations are reported on two phase air-sand, water-sand and air- water-sand three-phase flows in a horizontal pipe for different superficial gas velocities (VSG), superficial liquid velocities (VSL) and sand concentrations (SC). The experimental findings clearly showed a correlation exists between AE energy levels and multiphase flow parameters, such as superficial liquid velocity (VSL), superficial gas velocity (VSG), sand concentration and sand minimum transport condition (MTC).Cranfield UniversityMba, David2014-06-04T13:29:05Z2014-06-04T13:29:05Z2014-01Thesis or dissertationDoctoralPhDhttp://dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk/handle/1826/8500en© Cranfield University 2014. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written permission of the copyright owner.
collection NDLTD
language en
sources NDLTD
topic Multiphase flow
acoustic emission
pipeline monitoring
sand monitoring
sand minimum transport condition (MTC)
spellingShingle Multiphase flow
acoustic emission
pipeline monitoring
sand monitoring
sand minimum transport condition (MTC)
El-Alej, Mohamed Essid
Monitoring sand particle concentration in multiphase flow using acoustic emission technology
description Multiphase flow is the simultaneous flow of two or several phases through a system such as a pipe. This common phenomenon can be found in the petroleum and chemical engineering industrial fields. Transport of sand particles in multiphase production has attracted considerable attention given sand production is a common problem especially to the oil and gas industry. The sand production causes loss of pipe wall thickness which can lead to expensive failures and loss of production time. Build-up of sand in the system can result in blockage and further hamper production. Monitoring of multiphase flow is a process that has been established over several decades. This thesis reports an assessment of the application of Acoustic Emission (AE) technology as an alternative online technique to monitoring of sand particles under multiphase flow conditions in a horizontal pipe. The research was conducted on a purpose built test rig with the purpose of establishing a relation between AE activity and sand concentration under different multiphase flow conditions. The investigation consisted of five experimental tests. The initial experiment was performed to provide a basis for the application of AE technology to detect sand particle impact prior to performing tests in multiphase flow conditions. Further investigations are reported on two phase air-sand, water-sand and air- water-sand three-phase flows in a horizontal pipe for different superficial gas velocities (VSG), superficial liquid velocities (VSL) and sand concentrations (SC). The experimental findings clearly showed a correlation exists between AE energy levels and multiphase flow parameters, such as superficial liquid velocity (VSL), superficial gas velocity (VSG), sand concentration and sand minimum transport condition (MTC).
author2 Mba, David
author_facet Mba, David
El-Alej, Mohamed Essid
author El-Alej, Mohamed Essid
author_sort El-Alej, Mohamed Essid
title Monitoring sand particle concentration in multiphase flow using acoustic emission technology
title_short Monitoring sand particle concentration in multiphase flow using acoustic emission technology
title_full Monitoring sand particle concentration in multiphase flow using acoustic emission technology
title_fullStr Monitoring sand particle concentration in multiphase flow using acoustic emission technology
title_full_unstemmed Monitoring sand particle concentration in multiphase flow using acoustic emission technology
title_sort monitoring sand particle concentration in multiphase flow using acoustic emission technology
publisher Cranfield University
publishDate 2014
url http://dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk/handle/1826/8500
work_keys_str_mv AT elalejmohamedessid monitoringsandparticleconcentrationinmultiphaseflowusingacousticemissiontechnology
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