TEHRAN (ANA)- Researchers at a knowledge-based company have begun mass production of a device to simulate fluid transmission inside an oil well as well as transmission pipes called flow assurance machine.
Flow assurance is the process by which fuel production is guaranteed through the minimizing of restrictions on physical fuel flow.
The flow assurance device is one of the new achievements of an Iranian knowledge-based firm, which is designed to simulate the conditions of fluid transmission inside an oil well as well as transmission lines and measure the amount of solid particles deposition in the oil wells.
The components of the flow assurance system include an injection pump, a transmission cylinder, an end pressure controller system and a cooling system.
The working principle of the system is based on the Taylor–Couette flow, in the way that in the center of a fixed cylindrical container, there is a rotating shaft rotation, speed of which can be adjusted. This shaft acts as a pump that creates the necessary energy to move the fluid that is in the annulus space of the container. This system is capable of laboratory simulation of high pressure up to 10,000 pam and temperature of up to 150 degrees Celsius.
In simulating well conditions, this system basically adjusts the rotation speed of the shaft in a way that the stress on the container wall is equivalent to the stress caused by the specific flow rate inside the well on the inner wall, and it is in two states, closed and flowing, which according to the purpose of the experiment If wax or asphaltene is deposited, or if the amount of asphaltene is less than a certain amount, one of these two states is selected.
According to Hassan Salimi Joghi, managing director of the knowledge-based company, the mass production of the flow assurance device has begun in his firm.
He said that their production capacity of the product is 20 data-x-items annually, adding, “This system is capable of laboratory simulation of high pressures up to 10,000 feet and temperatures of up to 150 degrees Celsius.”
“When the flow assurance system starts working, it generates a lot of heat using the magnetic coupling, the heat causes the coupling to fail after a few minutes and the fluid does not circulate inside the chamber. In order to prevent this from happening, a cooling system is needed to prevent the system from overheating during operation,” Salimi said.
“In order to simulate the flow in fluid transmission lines, there is a need for a cooling system; because in areas like Tabriz [in the Northwestern part of Iran] where the weather is cold, but the temperature of the fluid inside the transmission pipes is hot and this temperature difference causes asphaltene deposition; therefore, there is a cooling system for this purpose in the upper part of the flow assurance system,” he continued to explain how their system operates.
He pointed to the end pressure controller as one of the other components of the device, explaining, “In order to perform flow tests using the flow assurance system, the end pressure controller of the system will be needed.”
“This piece consists of two chambers that are separated from each other by a piston with a needle attached at the bottom. The upper chamber is filled with water and gas and the lower chamber is connected to the end of the flow assurance system. When the pressure of the upper chamber is higher than the pressure of the lower chamber, the needle does not move and keeps the pressure at the end of the system. Conversely, when the pressure of the lower chamber is higher than the pressure of the upper chamber, the needle opens and some of the fluid is directed out of the flow, and as the pressure of the needle decreases, it returns to its initial place and keeps the pressure under control,” salami further said about how end pressure controller operates.
4155/i
Source: ANA