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Current TUALP Research
 

Experimental Study of Oil/Water/Gas Three-Phase ESP Performance

PI: Hattan Banjar, Research Assistant, PhD Student

Objectives:

• Measurements of ESP performance under oil/water/gas three-phase flow conditions with different GVF and water cuts
• Mechanistic modeling of three-phase ESP performance
• CFD simulation of dispersed three-phase flow in ESP
• Compare simulation and modeling results with experimental observations and measurements

Abstract:

Oil, water and gas are often produced simultaneously onshore or offshore. When an ESP pumps oil and water with entrained gas, the pump performance may display significant difference from liquid/gas two-phase performance. In oil/water/gas three-phase flow through an ESP, either oil or water is continuous and the other liquid phase and gas are dispersed. The dispersed droplets and bubbles may interact with each other. If water is dispersed, water droplets will move toward the outside due to the centrifugal effect and its higher density. If oil is dispersed in water, the oil droplets will likely distribute differently. An experimental study can also provide three-phase ESP performance metrics and help understand flow behavior. Mechanistic modeling and preliminary CFD simulation can be carried out using closure laws selected from literature.
 

Last updated October 07, 2013