Numerical simulation study on multiphase flow pattern of hydrate slurry

The research on the multiphase flow characteristics of hydrate slurry is the key to implementing the risk prevention and control technology of hydrate slurry in deep-water oil and gas mixed transportation system.This paper established a geometric model based on the high-pressure hydrate slurry experimental loop.The model was used to carry out simulation research on the flow characteristics of gas-liquid-solid three-phase flow.The specific research is as follows:Firstly,the effects of factors such as slurry flow velocity,hydrate particle density,hydrate particle size,and hydrate volume fraction on the stratified smooth flow were specifically studied.Orthogonal test obtained particle size has the most influence on the particle concentration distribution.The slurry flow velocity is gradually increased based on stratified smooth flow.Various flow patterns were observed and their characteristics were analyzed.Secondly,increasing the slurry velocity to 2 m/s could achieve the slurry flow pattern of partial hydrate in the pipeline transition from stratified smooth flow to wavy flow.When the flow rate increases to 3 m/s,a violent wave forms throughout the entire loop.Based on wave flow,as the velocity increased to 4 m/s,and the flow pattern changed to slug flow.When the particle concentration was below 10%,the increase of the concentration would aggravate the slug flow trend;if the particle concentration was above 10%,the increase of the concentration would weaken the slug flow trend,the increase of particle density and liquid viscosity would weaken the tendency of slug flow.The relationship between the pressure drop gradients of several different flow patterns is:slug flow>wave flow>stratified smooth flow.

Experimental study on flow characteristics of tetrahydrofuran hydrate slurry in pipelines

Tetrahydrofuran（THF） was selected as the substitute to study the flow behaviors and the mechanism of the hydrates blockage in pipelines.The slurrylike hydrates and slushlike hydrates are observed with the formation of hydrates in pipeline.There is a critical hydrate volume concentration of 50.6% for THF slurries and pipeline will be free of hydrate blockage while the hydrate volume concentration is lower than the critical volume concentration;otherwise,pipeline will be easy to be blocked.Fully turbulent flow occurs and friction factors tend to be constant when the velocity reaches 1.5 m/s.And then,constant values of friction factors that depend on the volume concentrations in the slurry were regressed to estimate the pressure drops of THF hydrate slurry at large mean velocity.Finally,a safe region,defined according to the critical hydrate volume concentration,was proposed for THF hydrate slurry,which may provide some insight for further studying the natural gas hydrate slurries and judge whether the pipeline can be run safely or not.

A model for estimating flow assurance of hydrate slurry in pipelines

The problem of hydrate blockage of pipelines in offshore production is becoming ever-increasing severe because oil fields in ever-increasing unusual environments have been brought in production.HCFC-141b and THF were selected as the substitutes to study the flow assurance of the hydrates in pipelines.There are critical hydrate volume concentrations for these two slurries.Hydrate slurries behave like Bingham fluids and have high agglomerating tendency when the hydrate volume concentrations are larger than the critical ones.Based on rheological behaviors of these two hydrates,a non-dimensional parameter is proposed through studying the driving forces of agglomeration among hydrate particles,which shows the agglomerating probability of hydrate particles in pipeline and can be used to judge the safety of the pipeline.Moreover,a safe model to judge the safely flow hydrate slurries was presented and verified with the experimental data,which demonstrates that the model is effective to judge whether the pipeline can be run safely or not.

Rheological study of methane gas hydrates in the presence of micron-sized sand particles

Natural gas hydrates,intricate crystalline structures formed by water molecules and small gas molecules,have emerged as a significant and globally impactful clean energy resource.However,their commercial exploitation faces challenges,particularly operational disruptions caused by sand-related blockages.Understanding the rheological properties of hydrate slurry,especially in the presence of micron-sized sand particles,is imperative for ensuring the flow assurance of subsea hydrate exploitation.This study extensively investigates the rheological properties of sand-containing hydrate slurries.The findings reveal that these slurries exhibit non-Newtonian fluid characteristics,including yield stress,thixotropy,and shear-thinning behavior.Solid-like elastic features are observed in sand-containing hydrate slurries before yielding,transitioning to viscous behavior after yielding.Even with a minimal amount of sand,both static yield stress and yield strain experience substantial changes,correlating with the increase in sand concentration.The research conclusively establishes the thixotropic nature of sand-hydrate slurries,where the viscosity decay rate is directly influenced by the shear rate.These insights aim to contribute comprehensively to the development of effective flow assurance strategies,ensuring the safe and stable operation of subsea hydrate exploitation.

Investigations on methane hydrate formation,dissociation,and viscosity in gas-water-sand system

Understanding the kinetics and viscosity of hydrate slurry in gas-water-sand system is of great significance for the high-efficiency and high-safety development of natural gas hydrates.The effect of micronsized sands with various concentrations and particle sizes on the hydrate formation,dissociation,and viscosity in gas-water-sand system are investigated in this work.The experimental results show that the hydrate induction time in the sandy system is slightly prolonged compared to the pure gas-water system,and the inhibition effect first strengthens and then weakens as the sand concentration increases from0 wt%to 5 wt%.Besides,the difference of hydrate formation amount in various cases is not obvious.The concentration and particle size of sand have little effect on the kinetics of hydrate formation.Both promoting and inhibiting effects on hydrate formation have been found in the sandy multiphase fluid.For the viscosity characteristics,there are three variations of hydrate slurry viscosity during the formation process:Steep drop type,S-type and Fluctuation type.Moreover,appropriate sand size is helpful to reduce the randomness of slurry viscosity change.Meanwhile,even at the same hydrate volume fraction,the slurry viscosity in the formation process is significantly higher than that in dissociation process,which needs further research.This work provides further insights of hydrate formation,dissociation,and viscosity in gas-water-sand system,which is of great significance for safe and economic development of natural gas hydrates.