Abstract
Wire-mesh sensors are used to determine the phase fraction of gas–liquid two-phase flow in many industrial applications. In this paper, we report the use of the sensor to study the flow behavior inside an offshore oil and gas industry device for subsea phase separation. The study focused on the behavior of gas–liquid slug flow inside a flow distribution device with four outlets, which is part of the subsea phase separator system. The void fraction profile and the flow symmetry across the outlets were investigated using tomographic wire-mesh sensors and a camera. Results showed an ascendant liquid film in the cyclonic chamber with the gas phase at the center of the pipe generating a symmetrical flow. Dispersed bubbles coalesced into a gas vortex due to the centrifugal force inside the cyclonic chamber. The behavior favored the separation of smaller bubbles from the liquid bulk, which was an important parameter for gas-liquid separator sizing. The void fraction analysis of the outlets showed an even flow distribution with less than 10% difference, which was a satisfactorily result that may contribute to a reduction on the subsea gas–liquid separators size. From the outcomes of this study, detailed information regarding this type of flow distribution system was extracted. Thereby, wire-mesh sensors were successfully applied to investigate a new type of equipment for the offshore oil and gas industry.
Highlights
Sensing technology for two-phase flow monitoring has evolved from simple visualization techniques and global parameters measurement to use Sensors 2019, 19, 193; doi:10.3390/s19010193 www.mdpi.com/journal/sensorsSensors 2019, 19, 193 of tomographic and imaging techniques to discover details of flow behavior in pipes and equipment.The current use of computational power to simulate complex flow and to predict its behavior has pushed the development of measurement techniques to measure flow parameters with greater detail, i.e., high spatial and temporal resolution [1]
Wire-mesh sensors were installed at the input, inside the cyclonic chamber, and at two outlets
This work presents an experimental analysis of a flow distribution system for gas-liquid separation, using tomographic wire-mesh sensors
Summary
Sensing technology for two-phase flow monitoring has evolved from simple visualization techniques and global parameters measurement (such as pressure drop and temperature) to use Sensors 2019, 19, 193; doi:10.3390/s19010193 www.mdpi.com/journal/sensorsSensors 2019, 19, 193 of tomographic and imaging techniques to discover details of flow behavior in pipes and equipment.The current use of computational power to simulate complex flow and to predict its behavior has pushed the development of measurement techniques to measure flow parameters with greater detail, i.e., high spatial and temporal resolution [1]. Among tomographic techniques based on a variety of measuring principles—such as gamma-ray, X-ray, impedance, ultrasound and others—a technique known as the wire-mesh sensor has emerged as a very competitive alternative, due to its high spatial and temporal resolution (up to few millimeters and few kilohertz range). It has been applied in a number of pilot plant studies around the world [2,3,4,5,6]. Devices are used to separate those components, e.g., gravitational separator devices in the offshore platform [7]
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