Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B (대한기계학회논문집B)

The Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers (대한기계학회)
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Numerical Study on the Inlet Head Configuration of Multi-Phase Separator for Modularization

다상유동 분리기 모듈화를 위한 유입구 형상 설계에 관한 수치해석적 연구

  • Received : 2017.01.19
  • Accepted : 2017.06.21
  • Published : 2017.09.01
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Abstract

In this numerical study, the separation efficiency of three-phase separator in an oil-sand plant was studied with various inlet head configurations. The free water knockout (FWKO) vessel was designed with a flow rate of $15.89m^3/day$ (100 bbl/day) and the SOR(stream-to-oil ratio)=3.5 was derived using Stokes' law. For modularization, optimization of the design of the inlet head configuration was performed with parallel-connected dual FWKO vessels. The feed condition of bitumen emulsion was API=17, $T_{in}=150^{\circ}C$ and $P_{in}=50bar$. A mean residence time was determined the time when 95% of the oil and water in FWKO vessel was separated. The combination between the volume of fluid (VOF) and the discrete phase model (DPM) was used to simulate the phase separation phenomenon in a multi-phase separator. Furthermore, in order to calculate multi-phase flow the pseudo-transient method was adopted.

본 연구는 수치해석 기법을 활용하여 오일샌드 플랜트에 사용되는 다상유동분리기의 다양한 유입구 형상에 따른 효율 분석에 관한 연구이다. 본 연구에 사용된 유수분리기(FWKO, Free-water knockout)는 유량 $15,89m^3/d$(100 bbl/d), SOR(Steam-to-Oil Ratio) 3.5의 값을 가지며 Stokes 이론을 기반으로 설계되었다. 모듈화를 위하여 두 개의 유수분리기를 병렬 연결하였고 이에 따른 유입구 형상 최적화를 수행하였다. 유입구를 통해 유입되는 비투멘 에멀젼은 $150^{\circ}C$, 50 bar이며, API는 17의 값을 갖는다. 유수분리공정의 평균체류시간은 물과 오일이 95% 분리되는 시간으로 정의하였다. 다상유동의 밀도차에 의한 중력분리과정을 모사하기 위하여 유한체적법(VOF, Volume Of Fluid)과 상차분모델(DPM, Discrete Phase Model)을 조합하여 활용하였으며 준과도(Pseudo-transient) 해석기법을 활용하였다.

Keywords

References

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