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Triple-layer configuration for stable high-speed lubricated pipeline transport

Parisa Sarmadi1, Sarah Hormozi2, and Ian A. Frigaard1,3,*

  • 1Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of British Columbia, 2054-6250 Applied Science Lane, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6T 1Z4
  • 2Department of Mechanical Engineering, Russ College of Engineering and Technology, Ohio University, 251 Stocker Center, Athens, Ohio 45701-2979, USA
  • 3Department of Mathematics, University of British Columbia, 1984 Mathematics Road, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6T 1Z2

  • *Corresponding author: frigaard@math.ubc.ca
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Phys. Rev. Fluids 2, 044302 – Published 28 April, 2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevFluids.2.044302

Abstract

Lubricated transport of heavy viscous oils is a popular technology in the pipelining industry, where pumping pressures can be reduced significantly by concentrating the strain rate in a lubricating layer. However, the interface between the lubricating layer and heavy oil is vulnerable to any perturbations in the system as well as transients due to start up, shut down, temperature change, etc. We present a method in which we purposefully position an unyielded skin of a viscoplastic fluid between the oil and the lubricating fluid. The objective is to reduce the frictional pressure gradient while avoiding interfacial instability. We study this methodology in both concentric and eccentric configurations and show its feasibility for a wide range of geometric and flow parameters found in oil pipelining. The eccentric configuration benefits the transport process via generating lift forces to balance the density differences among the layers. We use classical lubrication theory to estimate the leading order pressure distribution in the lubricating layer and calculate the net force on the skin. We explore the effects of skin shape, viscosity ratio, and geometry on the pressure drop, the flow rates of skin and lubricant fluids, and the net force on the skin. We show that the viscosity ratio and the radius of the core fluid are the main parameters that control the pressure drop and consumptions of outer fluids, respectively. The shape of the skin and the eccentricity mainly affect the lubrication pressure. These predictions are essential in designing a stable transport process. Finally, we estimate the yield stress required in order that the skin remain unyielded and ensure interfacial stability.

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Phys. Rev. Fluids 2, 044302– Published 28 April, 2017
  • Received 5 November 2016

©2017 American Physical Society

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