2019 EJRNL PP MARIELLA LEPORINI 1.pdf
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Terbatas Suharsiyah
» ITB
Terbatas Suharsiyah
» ITB
An inherent problem with both oil and natural gas production is the deposition of sand particles in
pipeline, which could lead to problems such as excessive pressure drops, equipment failure, pipeline
erosion, and production decline. The characterization of sand particles transport and sedimentation in
different flow systems such as sandemultiphase mixtures is vital to predict the sand transport velocity
and entrainment processes in oil and gas transportation pipelines. However, it seems that no model
exists able to accurately characterize the sand transport and deposition in multiphase pipeline. In fact, in
the last decade several researchers tried to extend the modeling of liquid-solid flow to gas-liquid-solid
flow, but no significant results have been obtained, especially in slug flow condition due to the
complexity of the phenomenon. In order to develop and validate a mathematical model properly
formulated for the calculation of the sand critical deposition velocity in gas-liquid flow, more and more
experimental data are necessary. This paper presents a preliminary experimental study of three phase
flows (air-water-sand) inside a horizontal pipe and the application of the sand-liquid models present in
literature. Significant observations were made during the experimental study from which several conclusions were drawn. Different sand flow regimes were established by physical observation and data
analysis: fully dispersed solid flow, moving dunes and stationary bed. The critical deposition velocities
were determined at different sand concentrations. It was concluded that sand transport characteristics
and the critical deposition velocity are strongly dependent on the gas-liquid flow regime and on sand
concentration