• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.33 no.10
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• pp.783-788
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• 2009

In this paper, we have performed a parametric study on the characteristics of multiphase laminar flow with density difference in various microchannels. The interface between multiphase fluids is rotated by the gravitational forces induced by density difference. The numerical simulations were carried out via commercial CFD package to study the characteristics of multiphase laminar flow. The results of the numerical simulations in this study were verified by comparing with the previously reported experimental results in the literature. We have also proposed a new dimensionless relationship between dimensionless rotation angle of interface and dimensionless parameters are proposed for square microchannels with various aspect ratios. The dimensionless relationship could be widely applied to the reliable design of various microfluidic devices dealing with multiphase laminar flow.

• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.662-669
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• 2015

There has been an increased interest in the mitigation of wax deposition because wax, which usually accumulates in subsea oil-production systems, interrupts stable oil production and significantly increases the cost. To guarantee a required oil flow by mitigating wax deposition, we need to obtain a reliable estimation of the wax deposition. In this research, we perform simulations to understand the major mechanisms that lead to wax deposition, namely molecular diffusion, shear stripping reduction, and aging. While the model variables (shear reduction multiplier, wax porosity, wax thermal conductivity, and molecular diffusion multiplier) can be measured experimentally, they have high uncertainty. We perform an analysis of these variables and the amount of water and gas in the multiphase flow to determine these effects on the behavior of wax deposition. Based on the results obtained during this study for a higher wax porosity and molecular diffusion multiplier, we were able to confirm the presence of thicker wax deposits. As the shear reduction multiplier decreased, the thickness of the wax deposits increased. As the amount of water increased, there was also an increase in the amount of wax deposits until 40% water cut and decreased. As the amount of gas increased, the amount of wax deposits increased because of the loss of the light hydrocarbon component in the liquid phase. The results of this study can be utilized to estimate the wax deposition behavior by comparing the experiment (or field) and simulation data.