Separation characteristics of the gas and liquid phases in a vane-type swirling flow field. (October 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Liu, Shuo; Yang, Le-le; Zhang, Dong; Xu, Jing-yu
• Is Part Of: International journal of multiphase flow. Volume 107(2018)
• Page Start: 131
• Page End: 145
• Publication Date: 2018-10
• Subjects: Gas–liquid separation -- Bubble size distribution -- Swirling flow field -- Numerical simulation; Multiphase flow -- Periodicals; Écoulement polyphasique -- Périodiques; Multiphase flow; Periodicals; 620.1064
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijmultiphaseflow.2018.05.025
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0301-9322

Abstract

Highlights: A systematic study on separation characteristics of gas–liquid in a vane-type swirling flow field was carried out. Bubble size distribution and phase concentration were measured by Malvern RTsizer and Electrical Resistance Tomography respectively. Influences of mixture flow rate, inlet void fraction, and surface tension on gas core size were presented. With the bubble size model developed as inlet boundary operating conditions, the numerical simulation coupled RNG k-ε turbulent model and Mixture multiphase model. The results obtained should be beneficial for down-hole separator design in oil extraction industry. Abstract: In order to investigate inlet bubble size distribution, gas phase concentration, and swirling intensity in the swirling flow field of a vane-type separator, both flow loop experiments and numerical studies have been conducted in this work. The bubble size distributions and fractions of local voids were determined using a Malvern RTsizer and electrical resistance tomography, respectively, while the numerical simulations were conducted by coupling the RNG k-ε turbulent and mixture multiphase models. As a result, a suitable model for predicting the bubble size distribution parameters d32 and dmax was developed. In addition, the effects of inlet mixture flow rate, inlet void fraction, and liquid viscosity on the core size of the gas phase in the swirling flow field were determined, and the impact of the gas phase on swirling intensity was characterized using the swirling number. The obtained results can be used in designing vane-type separators for the crude oil extraction industry. Graphical abstract: