A Mathematical Model of Thermal Oil Recovery in Linear Systems

1965 ◽  
Vol 5 (03) ◽  
pp. 196-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
B.S. Gottfried
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Phase Change ◽  
Chemical Reaction ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Thermal Recovery ◽  
Recovery Processes ◽  
Three Phase ◽  
Three Phase Flow ◽  
Thermal Oil

Gottfried, B.S., Junior Member AIME, Gulf Research and Development Co., Pittsburgh, Pa. Introduction Thermal oil recovery refers to a class of recovery processes where heat is supplied to a reservoir to provide the necessary expulsive energy. This thermal energy can be supplied externally as steam or hot water, or it can be generated in situ by forward or reverse combustion. In either case, however, thermal recovery processes are characterized by the simultaneous flow of two or three fluid phases in a variable-temperature field, accompanied by possible chemical reaction or phase-change effects. Although a physical understanding of the thermal recovery processes is far from complete, it is possible to construct mathematical models which describe approximately all of the principal physical and chemical phenomena. However, attempts to solve such models, even with high-speed computers, involve formidable mathematical difficulties. Consequently, theoretical solutions have been obtained only for idealized cases in which important physical phenomena are neglected. For example, consider the process of forward in situ combustion. All such theories which have been developed consider only certain aspects of the Process, such as heat transfer, heat transfer with phase change, heat transfer with chemical reaction, or the hydrodynamics of three-phase flow. A general theory including all of the above phenomena has not been developed to date. This paper presents a unified theory of thermal recovery processes in linear systems. A mathematical model is developed which explicitly includes conduction-convection heat transfer with convective external heat loss, chemical reaction between air and oil, aqueous phase change, and the hydrodynamics of three-phase flow. A system of equations is developed which can be solved numerically on a high-speed digital computer, resulting in predicted temperature, pressure, and saturation histories in space and time. The model allows a more detailed simulation of thermal recovery tube experiments than had previously been possible. THEORETICAL DEVELOPMENT Consider the linear flow of gas, water and oil in a homogeneous porous medium. Assume that the oil will react with gaseous oxygen, and that mass is transferred between the water and gas phase by evaporation or condensation. SPEJ P. 196ˆ

scholarly journals Pore-Scale Simulation of Particle Flooding for Enhancing Oil Recovery

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 2305
Author(s):  
Xiangbin Liu ◽  
Le Wang ◽  
Jun Wang ◽  
Junwei Su
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Flow Behavior ◽  
Ct Scanning ◽  
Water Flooding ◽  
Pore Scale ◽  
Simulation Techniques ◽  
Three Phase ◽  
Remaining Oil ◽  
Three Phase Flow ◽  
Displacement Force

The particles, water and oil three-phase flow behaviors at the pore scale is significant to clarify the dynamic mechanism in the particle flooding process. In this work, a newly developed direct numerical simulation techniques, i.e., VOF-FDM-DEM method is employed to perform the simulation of several different particle flooding processes after water flooding, which are carried out with a porous structure obtained by CT scanning of a real rock. The study on the distribution of remaining oil and the displacement process of viscoelastic particles shows that the capillary barrier near the location with the abrupt change of pore radius is the main reason for the formation of remaining oil. There is a dynamic threshold in the process of producing remaining oil. Only when the displacement force exceeds this threshold, the remaining oil can be produced. The flow behavior of particle–oil–water under three different flooding modes, i.e., continuous injection, alternate injection and slug injection, is studied. It is found that the particle size and the injection mode have an important influence on the fluid flow. On this basis, the flow behavior, pressure characteristics and recovery efficiency of the three injection modes are compared. It is found that by injecting two kinds of fluids with different resistance increasing ability into the pores, they can enter into different pore channels, resulting in the imbalance of the force on the remaining oil interface and formation of different resistance between the channels, which can realize the rapid recovery of the remaining oil.

Transient Thermal Characteristics for a Liquid Drop Impacting a Hot PCM Substrate

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdul Ahad Khan ◽  
Dilip Choudhary ◽  
Abhishek Basavanna ◽  
Salman Najmee ◽  
Jessica Crisantes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Phase Change ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Liquid Drop ◽  
Imaging Techniques ◽  
Thermal Characteristics ◽  
Heat Of Fusion ◽  
Performance Parameters ◽  
Transient Heating ◽  
Thermal Transients

The physics of the transient behavior of liquid drops impacting hot or cold surfaces are of significance in many different applications such as spray cooling, aircraft icing, etc. Further, the transient heating and cooling of vapor spots and liquid patches is of significance in determining the heat transfer performance parameters in phase change processes such as boiling and condensation. The thermal transients in all these processes are primarily dictated by the passive thermal properties of the solid substrate (e.g. thermal conductivity, specific heat) and by the flow conditions. An active control (or manipulation) of these thermal transients could provide a means to enhance the performance parameters in various phase change-based heat transfer processes. In this study, we experimentally explore the effect of a solid-liquid phase change material (PCM) coating on the thermal characteristics of a liquid drop impacting a hot surface. High-speed optical and infrared imaging techniques are employed for visualizing the flow and measuring the temperatures, respectively. The PCM, depending on its melting temperature and due to its latent heat of fusion, disrupts the normal process of the heating of the drop and cooling of the substrate. The insights obtained from these findings can have a significant impact on several technologies in the areas of phase change-based heat transfer and thermal management.

Effect of a High Electric Field on the Thermal and Phase Change Characteristics of an Impacting Drop

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abhishek Basavanna ◽  
Prajakta Khapekar ◽  
Navdeep Singh Dhillon
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Electric Field ◽  
Phase Change ◽  
Electric Fields ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Impact Behavior ◽  
Liquid Drops ◽  
Active Interest ◽  
Post Impact ◽  
High Electric Fields

Abstract The effect of applied electric fields on the behavior of liquids and their interaction with solid surfaces has been a topic of active interest for many decades. This has important implications in phase change heat transfer processes such as evaporation, boiling, and condensation. Although the effect of low to moderate voltages has been studied, there is a need to explore the interaction of high electric fields with liquid drops and bubbles, and their effect on heat transfer and phase change. In this study, we employ a high speed optical camera to study the dynamics of a liquid drop impacting a hot substrate under the application of high electric fields. Experimental results indicate a significant change in the pre- and post-impact behavior of the drop. Prior to impact, the applied electric field elongates the drop in the direction of the electric field. Post-impact, the recoil phase of the drop is significantly affected by charging effects. Further, a significant amount of micro-droplet ejection is observed with an increase in the applied voltage.

An Improved Three-Phase Relative Permeability and Hysteresis Model for the Simulation of a Water-Alternating-Gas Injection

SPE Journal ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 18 (05) ◽  
pp. 841-850 ◽  
Author(s):  
H.. Shahverdi ◽  
M.. Sohrabi
Keyword(s):  
Relative Permeability ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Gas Injection ◽  
Phase Flow ◽  
Relative Permeabilities ◽  
Water Alternating Gas ◽  
Three Phase ◽  
Three Phase Flow ◽  
Oil Water ◽  
Wag Injection

Summary Water-alternating-gas (WAG) injection in waterflooded reservoirs can increase oil recovery and extend the life of these reservoirs. Reliable reservoir simulations are needed to predict the performance of WAG injection before field implementation. This requires accurate sets of relative permeability (kr) and capillary pressure (Pc) functions for each fluid phase, in a three-phase-flow regime. The WAG process also involves another major complication, hysteresis, which is caused by flow reversal happening during WAG injection. Hysteresis is one of the most important phenomena manipulating the performance of WAG injection, and hence, it has to be carefully accounted for. In this study, we have benefited from the results of a series of coreflood experiments that we have been performing since 1997 as a part of the Characterization of Three-Phase Flow and WAG Injection JIP (joint industry project) at Heriot-Watt University. In particular, we focus on a WAG experiment carried out on a water-wet core to obtain three-phase relative permeability values for oil, water, and gas. The relative permeabilities exhibit significant and irreversible hysteresis for oil, water, and gas. The observed hysteresis, which is a result of the cyclic injection of water and gas during WAG injection, is not predicted by the existing hysteresis models. We present a new three-phase relative permeability model coupled with hysteresis effects for the modeling of the observed cycle-dependent relative permeabilities taking place during WAG injection. The approach has been successfully tested and verified with measured three-phase relative permeability values obtained from a WAG experiment. In line with our laboratory observations, the new model predicts the reduction of the gas relative permeability during consecutive water-and-gas-injection cycles as well as the increase in oil relative permeability happening in consecutive water-injection cycles.

scholarly journals High-speed measurements of three-phase flow using synchrotron X rays

1997 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 569-576 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. A. DiCarlo ◽  
T. W. J. Bauters ◽  
T. S. Steenhuis ◽  
J.-Y. Parlange ◽  
B. R. Bierck
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Phase Flow ◽  
X Rays ◽  
Three Phase ◽  
Three Phase Flow

Numerical Simulations of the Fluid Flow and Heat Transfer during a Solidification Phase Change of a Polymer in a Die

2010 ◽  
Vol 97-101 ◽  
pp. 2736-2743
Author(s):  
Shi Xiong Ren ◽  
Sha Sha Dang ◽  
Tao Lu ◽  
Kui Sheng Wang
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Phase Change ◽  
Volume Fraction ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Liquid Volume ◽  
Liquid Volume Fraction ◽  
Three Dimensional Models ◽  
Lower Temperature ◽  
Thermal Oil

Three-dimensional models of heat transfer have been established and numerically solved using a commercial software package, Fluent, in order to obtain distributions of temperature, velocity, pressure, and liquid volume fraction of the polymer. The influences of the boundary conditions on the phase change of the polymer and the temperature distribution in the die have been evaluated. The results show that the temperature of the region close to the pelletizing surface is relatively low due to the cooling effect of the cool water, while the temperature deeper inside the die is higher, with a lower temperature gradient, as a result of the heating effect of the hot thermal oil and the polymer. A solidification phase change of the polymer occurs near the polymer outlet due to heat loss from the polymer to the water, while deeper inside the hole the polymer remains fluid without solidification, due to heating by the thermal oil. Numerical simulation provides a reliable method to optimize the design of the die, the choice of metallic material for the die, and the operating conditions of the polymer pelletizing under water.

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