Numerical simulation of predicting and reducing solid particle erosion of solid-liquid two-phase flow in a choke

Chokes are one of the most important components of downhole flow-control equipment. The particle erosion mathematical model, which considers particle-particle interaction, was established and used to simulate solid particle movement as well as particle erosion characteristics of the solid-liquid two-phase flow in a choke. The corresponding erosion reduction approach by setting ribs on the inner wall of the choke was advanced. This mathematical model includes three parts： the flow field simulation of the continuous carrier fluid by an Eulerian approach, the particle interaction simulation using the discrete particle hard sphere model by a Lagrangian approach and calculation of erosion rate using semiempirical correlations. The results show that particles accumulated in a narrow region from inlet to outlet of the choke and the dominating factor affecting particle motion is the fluid drag force. As a result, the optimization of rib geometrical parameters indicates that good anti-erosion performance can be achieved by four ribs, each of them with a height （H） of 3 mm and a width （B） of 5 mm equaling the interval between ribs （L）.

A capillary force model for interactions between two spheres

Based on the method of energy principle, an analytical approach for computing the capillary force for sphere/sphere geometry is presented in this paper. In modeling the capillary force, we consider spheres with both equal and non-equal radii, for both symmetric and asymmetric configurations at liquid/solid interfaces. We use numerical analysis to investigate the validity and efficiency of the derived model. The effect of various parameters including humidity, distance between two spheres, radii of spheres and contact angles on the meniscus force are investigated. Finally the results obtained from the model are compared with experimental measurements, and the accuracy and precision of the presented approach is verified.

Single Emulsion Microfluidic Production of Janus and Core-Shell Particles via Off-chip Polymerization

In this work, we describe a straightforward approach to produce monodisperse Janus and core-shell particles by using organic solvent free single emulsion droplet-based microfluidic device combining with off-chip polymerization. To accomplish this, methyl methacrylate（MMA） was used as both the oil phase and solvent to dissolve a polymerizable PEGbased macromolecular surfactant, instead of traditional surfactant, and the photo-initiator. Janus particles can be easily obtained by off-chip UV polymerization due to polymerization induced phase separation between PEG and the formed poly（methyl methacrylate）. At the same time, core-shell particles can also be easily attained by inverting the original collecting tube several times and then exposing to UV light. These results may extend the scope of microfluidic technology and the studies on polymerization induced self-assembly/phase-separation into easy fabrication of various new functional materials.