Abstract
The transient cooling of waxy crude oil stored in a floating roof tank located in alpine region is studied by means of numerical simulation, accomplished with a two-dimensional model in cylindrical coordinates with the finite volumes method. The typical evolution of transient natural convection and temperature distribution is investigated which can be divided into four stages. For the transient natural convection, it is concluded as the formation, expansion, degradation, and vanishing stage, along with it is the evolution of temperature field regarded as the local cooling, integral cooling, the thermal stratification, and heat conduction course. Special attention is given to the solidified process of waxy oil and its influence on the cooling process of crude oil. Moreover, the effect of tank size, the temperature gradient between oil and ambient, viscosity, and Cp of waxy crude oil on the cooling rate is investigated. The main characteristic of cooling process obtained from numerical results shows a good agreement with the temperature test results from a large floating tank in the oil depot.
Highlights
Safety storage of waxy crude oil is of concern in cold region where ambient temperature may be much lower than the pour point of stored oil
Based on the numerical solutions of different working conditions, the typical evolution of transient natural convection and temperature field have been investigated which can be divided into four stages
For the transient natural convection, it can be concluded as the formation, expansion, degradation, and vanishing stage, along with it is the evolution of temperature field which can be regarded as the local cooling, integral cooling, the thermal stratification, and heat conduction course
Summary
Safety storage of waxy crude oil is of concern in cold region where ambient temperature may be much lower than the pour point of stored oil. In order to avoid this accident, the study of transient cooling process of waxy crude oil in a tank, including the long-term behavior of fluid and heat exchange mechanism with the surroundings, is crucial to the prediction of cooling rate and schedule formulation for transportation and storage. Busson and Miniscloux [1] developed a simple model to predict the steady state heat losses from a fuel oil tank based on the assumption of a well-mixed core of fluid. Based on the numerical method, Venart et al [3] solved the governing natural convection equations to investigate the steady state heat losses from a fuel oil tank with a constant viscosity fluid assumption. The sidewall has become the minor location for heat loss attributing to the insulation
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