Numerical Simulation Considering Non-Equilibrium Phase Change Volatile Oil Reservoir: A Case Study of Wenchang 8-3 Oil Reservoir

As a typical volatile oil reservoir, the actual production characteristics of Wenchang 8-3 reservoir are inconsistent with the results of traditional phase equilibrium experiments. The conventional isothermal instantaneous phase equilibrium theory cannot meet the production performance or numerical simulation analysis requirements of this type of reservoir. The thermodynamic properties of volatile oil reservoirs are like those of condensate gas reservoirs. As the formation pressure drops below the dew point pressure during the mining process, the balance between the liquid phase and the gas phase is not completed instantaneously. Based on the non-equilibrium phase recovery treatment method of the condensate gas reservoir, the phase behavior change curve of the A4h well of Wenchang 8-3 oil reservoir recovered from the saturation pressure to three different pressures is analyzed. The accuracy of the numerical simulation results with or without non-equilibrium phase transition is compared. The results show that the non-equilibrium phase change has a great impact on the production performance of volatile oil reservoirs;the numerical simulation results considering the non-equilibrium phase transition are in good agreement with the actual production performance of a single well and can better reflect the actual situation of this type of reservoir. Therefore, considering the effects of non-equilibrium phase transitions has important guiding significance for the dynamic analysis of volatile oil reservoirs, numerical simulation, and the formulation of development management strategies.

Phase equilibrium data prediction and process optimizationin butadiene extraction process

In response to the lack of reliable physical parameters in the process simulation of the butadiene extraction,a large amount of phase equilibrium data were collected in the context of the actual process of butadiene production by acetonitrile.The accuracy of five prediction methods,UNIFAC(UNIQUAC Functional-group Activity Coefficients),UNIFAC-LL,UNIFAC-LBY,UNIFAC-DMD and COSMO-RS,applied to the butadiene extraction process was verified using partial phase equilibrium data.The results showed that the UNIFAC-DMD method had the highest accuracy in predicting phase equilibrium data for the missing system.COSMO-RS-predicted multiple systems showed good accuracy,and a large number of missing phase equilibrium data were estimated using the UNIFAC-DMD method and COSMO-RS method.The predicted phase equilibrium data were checked for consistency.The NRTL-RK(non-Random Two Liquid-Redlich-Kwong Equation of State)and UNIQUAC thermodynamic models were used to correlate the phase equilibrium data.Industrial device simulations were used to verify the accuracy of the thermodynamic model applied to the butadiene extraction process.The simulation results showed that the average deviations of the simulated results using the correlated thermodynamic model from the actual values were less than 2%compared to that using the commercial simulation software,Aspen Plus and its database.The average deviation was much smaller than that of the simulations using the Aspen Plus database(>10%),indicating that the obtained phase equilibrium data are highly accurate and reliable.The best phase equilibrium data and thermodynamic model parameters for butadiene extraction are provided.This improves the accuracy and reliability of the design,optimization and control of the process,and provides a basis and guarantee for developing a more environmentally friendly and economical butadiene extraction process.

Numerical Simulation and Experimental Research on the Influence of Solid-phase Characteristics on Centrifugal Pump Performance

The law governing the movement of particles in the centrifugal pump channel is complicated; thus, it is difficult to examine the solid-liquid two-phase turbulent flow in the pump. Consequently, the solid-liquid two-phase pump is designed based only on the unary theory. However, the obvious variety of centrifugal-pump internal flow appears because of the existence of solid phase, thus changing pump performance. Therefore, it is necessary to establish the flow characteristics of the solid-liquid two-phase pump. In the current paper, two-phase numerical simulation and centrifugal pump performance tests are carried out using different solid-particle diameters and two-phase mixture concentration conditions. Inner flow features are revealed by comparing the simulated and experimental results. The comparing results indicate that the influence of the solid-phase characteristics on centrifugal-pump performance is small when the flow rate is low, specifically when it is less than 2 m3/h. The maximum efficiency declines, and the best efficiency point tends toward the low flow-rate direction along with increasing solid-particle diameter and volume fraction, leading to reduced pump steady efficient range. The variation tendency of the pump head is basically consistent with that of the efficiency. The efficiency and head values of the two-phase mixture transportation are even larger than those of pure-water transportation under smaller particle diameter and volume fraction conditions at the low-flow-rate region. The change of the particle volume fraction has a greater effect on the pump performance than the change in the particle diameter. The experimental values are totally smaller than the simulated values. This research provides the theoretical foundation for the optimal design of centrifugal pump.

COUPLED NUMERICAL SIMULATION ON COLD ROLLER'S TEMPERATURE FIFLD-PHASE TRANSFORMATION - STRESS FIELD DURING ITS QUENCHING PSOCESS

Complicated changns occur inside the steel parts during quenching process. The abruptly changed boundary conditions make the temperature field,micro - structure and stress field change dramatically in very short time, and these variables take a contact interactions in the whole process. In this paper, a three dimensional non - linear mathematical model for queeching process has been founded and the numerical simulation on temperature field,microstructre and stress field has been realized.In the FEM analysis, the incremental iteration method is used to deal with such complicated nonlinear as boundary nonlinear, physical property nonlinear,transformation nonlinear etc.The effect of stress on transformation kinetics has been considered in the calculation of microstructure. In the stress field anal- ysis,a thermo- elasto - plastic model has been founded, which considers such factors as transforma- tion strain,transformation plastic strain, themal strain and the effect of temperature and transforma- tion on mechanical propertier etc. The transient temperature field, microstructure distribution and stress field of the roller on any time can be displayed vividly,and the cooling curve and the changes of stress on any position can also be given.

NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF CHARGED GAS-LIQUID TWO PHASE JET FLOW IN ELECTROSTATIC SPRAYING

Multi-fluid k-e-kp, two phase turbulence model is used to simulate charged gas-liquid two phase coaxial jet, which is the transorting flow field in electrostatic spraying. Compared with the results of experiment, charged gas-liquid two-phase turbulence can be well predicted by this model.

Numerical Simulation and Analysis of Solid-liquid Two-phase Flow in Centrifugal Pump

The flow with solid-liquid two-phase media inside centrifugal pumps is very complicated and the relevant method for the hydraulic design is still immature so far. There exist two main problems in the operation of the two-phase flow pumps, i.e., low overall efficiency and severe abrasion. In this study, the three-dimensional, steady, incompressible, and turbulent solid-liquid two-phase flows in a low-specific-speed centrifugal pump are numerically simulated and analyzed by using a computational fluid dynamics （CFD） code based on the mixture model of the two-phase flow and the RNG k-~ two-equation turbulence model, in which the influences of rotation and curvature are fully taken into account. The coupling between impeller and volute is implemented by means of the frozen rotor method. The simulation results predicted indicate that the solid phase properties in two-phase flow, especially the concentration, the particle diameter and the density, have strong effects on the hydraulic performance of the pump. Both the pump head and the efficiency are reduced with increasing particle diameter or concentration. However, the effect of particle density on the performance is relatively minor. An obvious jet-wake flow structure is presented near the volute tongue and becomes more remarkable with increasing solid phase concentration. The suction side of the blade is subject to much more severe abrasion than the pressure side. The obtained results preliminarily reveal the characteristics of solid-liquid two-phase flow in the centrifugal pump, and are helpful for improvement and empirical correction in the hydraulic design of centrifugal pumps.

Numerical Simulations of Equiaxed Dendrite Growth Using Phase Field Method

Phase field method offers the prospect of being able to perform realistic numerical experiments on dendrite growth in a metallic system. In this paper, the equiaxed dendrite evolution during the solidification of a pure material was numerically simulated using the phase field model. The equiaxed dendrite growth in a two-dimensional square domain of undercooled melt (nickel) with four-fold anisotropy was simulated. The phase field model equations was solved using the explicit finite difference method on a uniform mesh. The formation of various equiaxed dendrite patterns was shown by a series of simulations, and the effect of anisotropy on equiaxed dendrite morphology was investigated.

NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF 3-D DENSE SOLID-LIQUID TWO-PHASE TURBULENT FLOW IN A NON-CLOGGING MUD PUMP

A mathematical model is set to evaluate the 3-D dense solid-liquid two-phaseturbulent flow in a non-clogging mud pump, the flow feature in the impeller channel is simulatedwith the tool of IPSA. Meanwhile, resort to TECPLOT as the post-processor, the simulation results isvisualized. The results show the main flow characteristics: There exists backflow and aberrantvelocities at inlet area and a relative velocity slip between two phases; A jet-wake flow pattern isdiscerned around the shroud-suction side area; The relative velocity vector of solid phase iscloser to the pressure surface than that of liquid phase and the trend is more obvious with theincrease of diameter; The kinetic energy of turbulence k and the dissipation rate e reach theirpeaks at the corner of pressure and suction surface. The simulation results show a good agreementwith the experimental flow features in the impeller channel, which prove the turbulent model used isvalid and provide a theoretical design basis to non-clogging pumps.

Numerical simulation on the microstress and microstrain of low Si-Mn-Nb dual-phase steel

According to the stress-strain curves of single-phase martensite and single-phase ferrite steels,whose compositions are similar to those of martensite and ferrite in low Si-Mn-Nb dual-phase steel,the stress-strain curve of the low Si-Mn-Nb dual-phase steel was simulated using the finite element method（FEM）.The simulated result was compared with the measured one and they fit closely with each other, which proves that the FE model is correct.Based on the FE model,the microstress and microstrain of the dual-phase steel were analyzed. Meanwhile,the effective factors such as the volume fraction of martensite and the yield stress ratio between martensite and ferrite phases on the stress-strain curves of the dual-phase steel were simulated,too.The simulated results indicate that for the low Si-Mn-Nb dual-phase steel, the maximum stress occurs in the martensite region,while the maximum strain occurs in the ferrite one.The effect of the volume fraction of martensite（fm） and the yield stress ratio on the stress-strain curve of the dual-phase steel is small in the elastic part,while it is obvious in the plastic part.In the plastic part of this curve,the strain decreases with the increase of f_M,while it decreases with the decrease of the yield stress ratio.

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）.

Numerical simulation of the gas-solid two-phase flow inside the multi-channel nozzle for the surface nanocrystallization induced by the ultrasonic particulate peening

Using a gas-solid two-phase model(a discrete phase model),the authors investigated the flow field inside the multi-channel nozzle for surface nanocrystallization(SNC)induced by the ultrasonic particulate peening(USPP).By computation,the velocity fields of both the gas and the solid phases were simulated and the track of the solid phase was analyzed in detail.It can be found that the velocities of the two phases are able to reach an ultrasonic level;meanwhile,the dispersion width of the solid phase at the nozzle exit is less than that of the gas phase.When particle diameters are less than 5 μm,there is a decreasing trend in the dispersion width of the solid phase with an increase in particle diameters.The trend becomes stable as the particle diameters are greater than 5 μm;in the meantime,the distribution of solid particles is near the axis of the jet flow.The optimal standoff distance between the nozzle and the substrate in the process of USPP is about 120 mm.Simulation results can help improve the design of mass-production-oriented multi-channel nozzles for SNC induced by USPP.

Numerical simulation for separation of multi-phase immiscible fluids in porous media

Based on a lattice Boltzmann method and general principles of porous flow, a numerical technique is presented for analysing the separation of multi-phase immiscible fluids in porous media. The total body force acting on fluid particles is modified by axiding relative permeability in Nithiarasu＇s expression with an axiditional surface tension term. As a test of this model, we simulate the phase separation for the case of two immiscible fluids. The numerical results show that the two coupling relative permeability coefficients K12 and K21 have the same magnitude, so the linear flux-forcing relationships satisfy Onsager reciprocity. Phase separation phenomenon is shown with the time evolution of density distribution and bears a strong similarity to the results obtained from other numerical models and the flows in sands. At the same time, the dynamical rules in this model are local, therefore it can be run on massively parallel computers with well computational efficiency.

Finite element equations and numerical simulation of elastic wave propagation in two-phase anisotropic media

Based on Biot theory of two-phase anisotropic media and Hamilton theory about dynamic problem,finite element equations of elastic wave propagation in two-phase anisotropic media are derived in this paper.Numerical solution of finite element equations is given.Finally,Properties of elastic wave propagation are observed and analyzed through FEM modeling.

Numerical simulation of complex multi-phase fluid of casting process and its applications

The fluid of casting process is a typical kind of multi-phase flow. Actually, many casting phenomena have close relationship with the multi-phase flow, such as molten metal filling process, air entrapment, slag movement, venting process of die casting, gas escaping of lost foam casting and so on. Obviously, in order to analyze these phenomena accurately, numerical simulation of the multi-phase fluid is necessary. Unfortunately, so far, most of the commercial casting simulation systems do not have the ability of multi-phase flow modeling due to the difficulty in the multi-phase flow calculation. In the paper, Finite Different Method (FDM) technique was adopt to solve the multi-phase fluid model. And a simple object of the muiti-phase fluid was analyzed to obtain the fluid rates of the liquid phase and the entrapped air phase.

Numerical simulation of the Liquid-liquid phase separation and microstructure evolution of Al-In immiscible alloys during cooling

A numerical model has been developed to describe the microstructural evolution of Al In immiscible alloys through the miscibility gap. The model considers the common action of nucleation, diffusible growth, Brownian collision and motion collision between the second phase droplets. The simulation results are dynamically visualized and show that the volume fraction, distribution and size of the second phase droplets satisfactorily agree with the experimental results. So the model can be used to predict the microstructural evolution of Al In immiscible alloys during the cooling process.

Numerical simulation of slurry jets using mixture model

Slurry jets in a static uniform environment were simulated with a two-phase mixture model in which flow-particle interactions were considered. A standard k-e turbulence model was chosen to close the governing equations. The computational results were in agreement with previous laboratory measurements. The characteristics of the two-phase flow field and the influences of hydraulic and geometric parameters on the distribution of the slurry jets were analyzed on the basis of the computational results. The calculated results reveal that if the initial velocity of the slurry jet is high, the jet spreads less in the radial direction. When the slurry jet is less influenced by the ambient fluid （when the Stokes number St is relatively large）, the turbulent kinetic energy k and turbulent dissipation rate e, which are relatively concentrated around the jet axis, decrease more rapidly after the slurry jet passes through the nozzle. For different values of St, the radial distributions of streamwise velocity and particle volume fraction are both self-similar and fit a Gaussian profile after the slurry jet fully develops. The decay rate of the particle velocity is lower than that of water velocity along the jet axis, and the axial distributions of the centerline particle streamwise velocity are self-similar along the jet axis. The pattern of particle dispersion depends on the Stokes number St. When St = 0.39, the panicle dispersion along the radial direction is considerable, and the relative velocity is very low due to the low dynamic response time. When St = 3.08, the dispersion of particles along the radial direction is very little, and most of the particles have high relative velocities along the streamwise direction.

NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF INSECT FLIGHT

In the non-inertial coordinates attached to the model wing, the two-dimensional unsteady flow field triggered by the motion of the model wing, similar to the flapping of the insect wings, was numerically simulated. One of the advantages of our method is that it has avoided the difficulty related to the moving-boundary problem. Another advantage is that the model has three degrees of freedom and can be used to simulate arbitrary motions of a two-dimensional wing in plane only if the motion is known. Such flexibility allows us to study how insects control their flying. Our results show that there are two parameters that are possibly utilized by insects to control their flight： the phase difference between the wing translation and rotation, and the lateral amplitude of flapping along the direction perpendicular to the average flapping plane.

Numerical simulation of boundary heat flow effects on directional solidification microstructure of a binary alloy

The boundary heat flow has important significance for the microstructures of directional solidified binary alloy.Interface evolution of the directional solidified microstructure with different boundary heat flow was discussed.In this study, only one interface was allowed to have heat flow, and Neumann boundary conditions were imposed at the other three interfaces.From the calculated results, it was found that different boundary heat flows will result in different microstructures.When the boundary heat flow equals to 20 W·cm-2, the growth of longitudinal side branches is accelerated and the growth of transverse side branches is restrained, and meanwhile, there is dendritic remelting in the calculation domain.When the boundary heat flow equals to 40 W·cm-2, the growths of the transverse and longitudinal side branches compete with each other, and when the boundary heat flow equals to 100-200 W·cm-2, the growth of transverse side branches dominates absolutely.The temperature field of dendritic growth was analyzed and the relation between boundary heat flow and temperature field was also investigated.

Numerical simulation of liquid desiccant evaporator driven by heat pump

The standard k-ε turbulence model and discrete phase model (DPM) were used to simulate the heat and mass transfer in a liquid-desiccant evaporator driven by a heat pump using FLUENT software, and the temperature field and velocity field in the device were obtained. The performance of the liquid-desiccant evaporator was studied as the concentration of the inlet solution varied between 21% and 30% and the pipe wall temperature between 30 and 50 ℃. Results show that the humidification rate and the humidification efficiency increased with the inlet air temperature, the solution flow rate, the solution temperature, and the pipe wall temperature. The humidification rate and humidification efficiency decreased with increasing moisture content in inlet air and the concentration of inlet solution. The humidification rate increased substantially but the humidification efficiency decreased as the inlet air flow rate increased. The error between the simulations and experimental results is acceptable, meaning that our model can provide a theoretical basis for optimizing the performance of a humidifying evaporator.

Numerical Simulation of Microstructure and Microsegregation in Ni-Cu Alloy under Isothermal Condition

Phase-field method can be used to describe the complicated morphologies of dendrite growth without explicitly tracking the complex phase boundaries. The influences of initial temperature and initial concentration on dendrite growth are investigated by using the phase-field model coupling concentration field equations. The calculated results indicate that the supersaturation, which is larger in lower initial temperature and lower concentration under isothermal condition, plays a very important role in microsegregation. It is found that the larger supersaturation causes higher degree microsegregation and faster dendrite growth, and the more serious side-branchs occur. The simulated results agree well with the solidification theory.