Novel Simulator for Design and Analysis of Wax Removal Treatment from Well Flow Lines Using Thermochemical Fluids

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed Qamruzzaman ◽  
Dhirendra Chandra Roy ◽  
Ravi Raman

Abstract Treatment of well flow lines with thermochemical/exothermic fluid has shown good results for wax removal compared to conventional hot oil, hot water or solvent treatments. However, the technique has not gained widespread use due to lack sufficient scientific publications that can give more insights over its use and help in designing a safe and effective treatment. This paper presents a novel transient mathematical model for design and analysis of thermochemical treatment for well flow lines by taking into account the chemical kinetics, heat transfer, fusion of wax and associated two-phase flow. The governing equations have been solved using tools of computational fluid dynamics and heat transfer (CFD - HT). The resulting simulator can be used to prepare an optimum thermochemical plan by analysing the effects of important factors including wax details, deposition profile, heat loss, formulation composition and injection strategy. Simulation results with the developed model indicate that entire filling of flowline with thermochemical fluid is not necessary for complete wax removal. Injection of a small thermochemical spacer in the flow line followed by its displacement with crude oil can be suffice in case of short flowlines of onshore fields. Selection of initial reactant concentration and pH has to be done judiciously based on the maximum allowed temperature in the flowline and the desired extent of chemical utilization. A sensitivity analysis has shown the existence of an optimum range of injection rate below which wax removal efficiency is compromised by excessive heat loss and above which it is reduced by insufficient residence time. The major limitation of this technique is encountered for large flowlines where a possibility of re-solidification of removed wax deposits exist due to excessive heat loss. Flowlines of length less than 5 km are found to be ideal candidates as in that case, sufficiently high temperatures can be maintained throughout the journey of thermochemical spacer in the flowline which will prevent re-solidification. The simulator has been validated with field implementation results of two well flow lines where the designed jobs have been successful in removing the entire wax deposits as predicted by the simulator.

2018 ◽  
Vol 63 (11) ◽  
pp. 1062-1070
Author(s):  
Xiaoyan Liu ◽  
Hui Jiang ◽  
Fanbin Meng ◽  
Zhenyu Lu ◽  
Yang Liu ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Tanzeen Sultana ◽  
Graham L. Morrison ◽  
Siddarth Bhardwaj ◽  
Gary Rosengarten

Concentrating solar thermal systems offer a promising method for large scale solar energy collection. It is feasible to use concentrating solar thermal systems for rooftop applications such as domestic hot water, industrial process heat and solar air conditioning for commercial, industrial and institutional buildings. This paper describes the thermal performance of a new low-cost solar thermal micro-concentrating collector (MCT), which uses linear Fresnel reflector technology and is designed to operate at temperatures up to 220°C. The modules of this collector system are approximately 3 meters long by 1 meter wide and 0.3 meters high. The objective of the study is to optimize the design to maximise the overall thermal efficiency. The absorber is contained in a sealed enclosure to minimise convective losses. The main heat losses are due to natural convection inside the enclosure and radiation heat transfer from the absorber tube. In this paper we present the results of a computational investigation of radiation and convection heat transfer in order to understand the heat loss mechanisms. A computational model for the prototype collector has been developed using ANSYS-CFX, a commercial computational fluid dynamics software package. Radiation and convection heat loss has been investigated as a function of absorber temperature. Preliminary ray trace simulation has been performed using SolTRACE and optical efficiency has been evaluated. Finally, the MCT collector efficiency is also evaluated.


Author(s):  
Xiaoyan Liu ◽  
Hui Jiang ◽  
Zhenyu Lu ◽  
Fanbin Meng ◽  
Haiqian Zhao ◽  
...  

Abstract This paper focuses on the numerical study of the melting process of the wax when using the “stuffy pipeline” operation to remove the wax. Transient two dimensional heat transfer analysis was performed by using the enthalpy-porosity and Volume of Fluid (VOF) methods in ANSYS FLUENT. This study aimed at revealing the phase change heat transfer characteristics of wax melting process. The effects of water temperature, the thickness of the wax layer and wax layer composition on the melting process were investigated. The results show that when the “stuffy pipeline” operation is adopted, the operation time should be controlled wisely, the effect of wax removal does not increase over time. Moreover, the thickness of the wax layer is smaller, and the effect of wax removal is greatly reduced. The composition of wax layer has a significant influence on the melting process. When the wax is distributed in a single or double layer, the liquid contours of wax varies greatly.


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Kamil Abdul Hussien

Abstract-The present work investigates the enhancement of heat transfer by using different number of circular fins (8, 10, 12, 16, and 20) in double tube counter flow heat exchanger experimentally. The fins are made of copper with dimensions 66 mm OD, 22 mm ID and 1 mm thickness. Each fin has three of 14 mm diameter perforations located at 120o from each to another. The fins are fixed on a straight smooth copper tube of 1 m length, 19.9 mm ID and 22.2 mm OD. The tube is inserted inside the insulated PVC tube of 100 mm ID. The cold water is pumped around the finned copper tube, inside the PVC, at mass flow rates range (0.01019 - 0.0219) kg/s. The Reynold's number of hot water ranges (640 - 1921). The experiment results are obtained using six double tube heat exchanger (1 smooth tube and the other 5 are finned one). The results, illustrated that the heat transfer coefficient proportionally with the number of fin. The results also showed that the enhancement ratio of heat transfer for finned tube is higher than for smooth tube with (9.2, 10.2, 11.1, 12.1 13.1) times for number of fins (8, 10, 12, 16 and 20) respectively.


Metals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 456
Author(s):  
Dongsheng Qian ◽  
Chengfei Ma ◽  
Feng Wang

Hot rolling is an essential process for the shape-forming of bearing steel. It plays a significant role in the formation and distribution of flow lines. In this work, the effect of flow lines is investigated by analyzing the microstructure and mechanical anisotropy of hot-rolled bearing steel. It was found that carbides rich with Cr and Mn elements are distributed unevenly along the flow-line direction of the hot-rolled bearing steel. Moreover, the mechanical characterization indicates that ultimate tensile strength and yield strength do not have any significant difference in two directions. Nevertheless, an ultrahigh section shrinkage of 57.51% is obtained in the 0° sample that has parallel flow lines, while 90° sample shows poor section shrinkage. The uneven distributed carbides will affect the direction and speed of crack propagation during tensile deformation. Therefore, the 0° and 90° samples exhibit great difference in plastic property. Meanwhile, after tensile deformation, a delaminated texture is observed in the flow lines, which may be caused by different degrees of deformation of grains due to the uneven distribution of carbides. The results of this work may provide guidance for controlling and optimizing flow lines in the manufacturing of bearing rings.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (11) ◽  
pp. 3350
Author(s):  
Theofanis Benakopoulos ◽  
William Vergo ◽  
Michele Tunzi ◽  
Robbe Salenbien ◽  
Svend Svendsen

The operation of typical domestic hot water (DHW) systems with a storage tank and circulation loop, according to the regulations for hygiene and comfort, results in a significant heat demand at high operating temperatures that leads to high return temperatures to the district heating system. This article presents the potential for the low-temperature operation of new DHW solutions based on energy balance calculations and some tests in real buildings. The main results are three recommended solutions depending on combinations of the following three criteria: district heating supply temperature, relative circulation heat loss due to the use of hot water, and the existence of a low-temperature space heating system. The first solution, based on a heating power limitation in DHW tanks, with a safety functionality, may secure the required DHW temperature at all times, resulting in the limited heating power of the tank, extended reheating periods, and a DH return temperature of below 30 °C. The second solution, based on the redirection of the return flow from the DHW system to the low-temperature space heating system, can cool the return temperature to the level of the space heating system return temperature below 35 °C. The third solution, based on the use of a micro-booster heat pump system, can deliver circulation heat loss and result in a low return temperature below 35 °C. These solutions can help in the transition to low-temperature district heating.


Author(s):  
Constantine M. Tarawneh ◽  
Arturo A. Fuentes ◽  
Brent M. Wilson ◽  
Kevin D. Cole ◽  
Lariza Navarro

Catastrophic bearing failure is a major concern for the railroad industry because it can lead to costly train stoppages and even derailments. Excessive heat buildup within the bearing is one of the main factors that can warn of impending failure. A question is often raised regarding the transfer of heat from a wheel during braking and whether this can lead to false setouts. Therefore, this work was motivated by the need to understand and quantify the heat transfer paths to the tapered roller bearing within the railroad wheel assembly when wheel heating occurs. A series of experiments and finite element (FE) analyses were conducted in order to identify the different heat transfer mechanisms, with emphasis on radiation. The experimental setup consisted of a train axle with two wheels and bearings pressed onto their respective journals. One of the wheels was heated using an electric tape placed around the outside of the rim. A total of 32 thermocouples scattered throughout the heated wheel, the axle, and the bearing circumference measured the temperature distribution within the assembly. In order to quantify the heat radiated to the bearing, a second set of experiments was developed; these included, in addition to the axle and the wheel pair, a parabolic reflector that blocked body-to-body radiation to the bearing. The appropriate boundary conditions including ambient temperature, emissivity, and convection coefficient estimates were measured or calculated from the aforementioned experiments. The FE thermal analysis of the wheel assembly was performed using the ALGOR™ software. Experimental temperature data along the radius of the heated wheel, the bearing circumference, and at selected locations on the axle were compared to the results of the FE model to verify its accuracy. The results indicate that the effect of thermal radiation from a hot wheel on the cup temperature of the adjacent bearing is minimal when the wheel tread temperature is at 135°C (275°F), and does not exceed 17°C (31°F) when the wheel tread is at 315°C (600°F).


Author(s):  
Ignacio Carvajal-Mariscal ◽  
Florencio Sanchez-Silva ◽  
Georgiy Polupan

In this work the heat transfer and pressure drop experimental results obtained in a two step finned tube bank with conical fins are presented. The tube bank had an equilateral triangle array composed of nine finned tubes with conical fins inclined 45 degrees in respect with the tube axis. The heat exchange external area of a single tube is approximately 0.07 m2. All necessary thermal parameters, inlet/outlet temperatures, mass flows, for the heat balance in the tube bank were determined for different air velocities, Re = 3400–18400, and one constant thermal charge provided by a hot water flow with a temperature of 80 °C. As a result, the correlations for the heat transfer and pressure drop calculation were obtained. The experimental results were compared against the analytical results for a tube bank with annular fins with the same heat exchange area. It was found that the proposed tube bank using finned tubes with conical fins shows an increment of heat transfer up to 58%.


1975 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. M. Smith ◽  
J. M. Hanna

Fourteen male subjects with unweighted mean skinfolds (MSF) of 10.23 mm underwent several 3-h exposures to cold water and air of similar velocities in order to compare by indirect calorimetry the rate of heat loss in water and air. Measurements of heat loss (excluding the head) at each air temperature (Ta = 25, 20, 10 degrees C) and water temperature (Tw = 29–33 degrees C) were used in a linear approximation of overall heat transfer from body core (Tre) to air or water. We found the lower critical air and water temperatures to fall as a negative linear function of MSF. The slope of these lines was not significantly different in air and water with a mean of minus 0.237 degrees C/mm MSF. Overall heat conductance was 3.34 times greater in water. However, this value was not fixed but varied as an inverse curvilinear function of MSF. Thus, equivalent water-air temperatures also varied as a function of MSF. Between limits of 100–250% of resting heat loss the followingrelationships between MSF and equivalent water-air temperatures were found (see article).


1937 ◽  
Vol 15a (7) ◽  
pp. 109-117
Author(s):  
R. Ruedy

For a vertical plane surface in still air the coefficient of heat transfer, valid within the range of temperatures occurring in buildings, depends on the temperature and the height of the surface. If black body conditions are assumed for the heat lost by radiation, the coefficient is equal to 1.39, 1.50, 1.62, and 1.73 B.t.u. per sq. ft. per ° F. at 32°, 50°, 68°, and 86° F. respectively, the height of the heated surfaces being 100 cm. Convection is responsible for about one-third, and radiation, mainly in the region of 10 microns, for about two-thirds of the heat loss. Convection currents depend on the temperature difference, while radiation depends on the average temperature. When attempts are made to stop convection currents by placing obstacles across the surface, the loss of heat due to natural convection varies inversely as the fourth root of the height, providing that the nature of the flow of air remains unchanged.


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