The University of Tulsa | McDougall School of Petroleum Engineering | Contact TUALP
TUALP Abstract
Bin Liu (Master of Science in Petroleum Engineering)
Modeling Down- hole Natural Separation Using Bubble Tracking Method
Directed by Dr. Mauricio Prado
(150 words)
For any pumping artificial lift system, the free gas significantly affects the performance of the pump and the system above the pump. A model has been developed for the effective prediction of separation efficiency across a wide range of production conditions.
The first part of the model solves the single-phase liquid flow field using the Vorticity-Stream Function approach. The second part of the model uses the single-phase flow field distribution of velocities and pressure to conduct a force balance analysis on the gas bubbles. Then, a simple bubble-tracking method was applied to estimate the down-hole natural separation efficiency for two-phase flow.
A comparison between the results of the model and the experimental data was conducted. It not only shows a very good agreement with the experimental data for lower gas void fractions (bubble flow regime), but also captures the general behavior at higher void fractions (slug and churn flow regime).Download thesis (TUALP members only)
Last updated September 04, 2012