Eventos Anais de eventos
ENCIT 2018
Brazilian Congress of Thermal Sciences and Engineering
Experimental analysis of the start-up flow of viscous and viscoplastic fluids in pipelines
Submission Author:
Lucas Garcia Pereira , PR
Co-Authors:
Lucas Garcia Pereira, Airton David Filho, Diogo Elias da Vinha Andrade, Tainan Gabardo, Cezar Otaviano Ribeiro Negrao
Presenter: Lucas Garcia Pereira
doi://10.26678/ABCM.ENCIT2018.CIT18-0596
Abstract
Waxy oils can cause many problems to the petroleum industry, such as production losses and pump overload. This happens due to wax crystallization in the oil, which may generate a gelled structure during production shutdowns. To restart the flow, the non-Newtonian gel requires higher pressures than the usual, which are not easily predicted by mathematical models. According to the literature, the restart pressures are influenced by the gel’s yield stress and high viscosity. The objective of this paper is to better understand these parameters by studying them separately, utilizing two simpler fluids, glycerin and a water-based carbomer gel (Carbopol®). These fluids were submitted to a series of tests performed in an experimental rig, which consists of a long thermally-controlled helical pipe. The measured results will allow the correlation of the mentioned effects with the start-up pressures exhibited by the gelled waxy oil, providing a better overall comprehension of the start-up flow phenomena.
Keywords
glycerin, CARBOPOL, experimental rig, Flow start-up, Non-Newtonian fluid
