CFD investigation of blind-tee effects on flow mixing mechanism in subsea pipelines
Blind tees are widely used in subsea pipelines to enhance the mixing conditions of oil and gas products, but their structural design still relies on experience. In this paper, a series of numerical investigations have been carried out on blind-tee pipes in order to develop an in-depth understanding...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Engineering Applications of Computational Fluid Mechanics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/19942060.2022.2093275 |
| _version_ | 1811325976127209472 |
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| author | Fenghui Han Yuxiang Liu Muk Chen Ong Guang Yin Wenhua Li Zhe Wang |
| author_facet | Fenghui Han Yuxiang Liu Muk Chen Ong Guang Yin Wenhua Li Zhe Wang |
| author_sort | Fenghui Han |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Blind tees are widely used in subsea pipelines to enhance the mixing conditions of oil and gas products, but their structural design still relies on experience. In this paper, a series of numerical investigations have been carried out on blind-tee pipes in order to develop an in-depth understanding of their mixing mechanism and clarify the effects of blind-tee structures on the pipe flow. Firstly, the three-dimensional flow conditions in a typical blind tee have been simulated under different Reynolds numbers to investigate the mixing mechanism. Two critical Reynolds numbers for the vortex generations in blind tees are determined in the laminar flow regime, and the fitting curves of blind-tee vorticity dissipations are obtained. Then, the geometrical parameters, including the radial size ϕ, axial length (BSL) and position of the blind section, are varied systematically to study their effects on the flow characteristics and mixing conditions. The results indicate that increasing ϕ and BSL in an appropriate range can strengthen the flow circulation and promote the fluid exchange. Finally, an optimal configuration is obtained, which can improve the mixing capacity of blind tee by 53% in terms of the volume average vorticity as compared to the typical structure. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T14:42:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2f91501a43754705ba958fb4ceda5407 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1994-2060 1997-003X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T14:42:16Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Engineering Applications of Computational Fluid Mechanics |
| spelling | doaj.art-2f91501a43754705ba958fb4ceda54072022-12-22T02:42:52ZengTaylor & Francis GroupEngineering Applications of Computational Fluid Mechanics1994-20601997-003X2022-12-011611395141910.1080/19942060.2022.2093275CFD investigation of blind-tee effects on flow mixing mechanism in subsea pipelinesFenghui Han0Yuxiang Liu1Muk Chen Ong2Guang Yin3Wenhua Li4Zhe Wang5Marine Engineering College, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian, People’s Republic of ChinaMarine Engineering College, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian, People’s Republic of ChinaDepartment of Mechanical and Structural Engineering and Materials Science, University of Stavanger, Stavanger, NorwayDepartment of Mechanical and Structural Engineering and Materials Science, University of Stavanger, Stavanger, NorwayMarine Engineering College, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian, People’s Republic of ChinaMarine Engineering College, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian, People’s Republic of ChinaBlind tees are widely used in subsea pipelines to enhance the mixing conditions of oil and gas products, but their structural design still relies on experience. In this paper, a series of numerical investigations have been carried out on blind-tee pipes in order to develop an in-depth understanding of their mixing mechanism and clarify the effects of blind-tee structures on the pipe flow. Firstly, the three-dimensional flow conditions in a typical blind tee have been simulated under different Reynolds numbers to investigate the mixing mechanism. Two critical Reynolds numbers for the vortex generations in blind tees are determined in the laminar flow regime, and the fitting curves of blind-tee vorticity dissipations are obtained. Then, the geometrical parameters, including the radial size ϕ, axial length (BSL) and position of the blind section, are varied systematically to study their effects on the flow characteristics and mixing conditions. The results indicate that increasing ϕ and BSL in an appropriate range can strengthen the flow circulation and promote the fluid exchange. Finally, an optimal configuration is obtained, which can improve the mixing capacity of blind tee by 53% in terms of the volume average vorticity as compared to the typical structure.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/19942060.2022.2093275Blind teeflow mixing mechanismsecondary flowstructural effect |
| spellingShingle | Fenghui Han Yuxiang Liu Muk Chen Ong Guang Yin Wenhua Li Zhe Wang CFD investigation of blind-tee effects on flow mixing mechanism in subsea pipelines Engineering Applications of Computational Fluid Mechanics Blind tee flow mixing mechanism secondary flow structural effect |
| title | CFD investigation of blind-tee effects on flow mixing mechanism in subsea pipelines |
| title_full | CFD investigation of blind-tee effects on flow mixing mechanism in subsea pipelines |
| title_fullStr | CFD investigation of blind-tee effects on flow mixing mechanism in subsea pipelines |
| title_full_unstemmed | CFD investigation of blind-tee effects on flow mixing mechanism in subsea pipelines |
| title_short | CFD investigation of blind-tee effects on flow mixing mechanism in subsea pipelines |
| title_sort | cfd investigation of blind tee effects on flow mixing mechanism in subsea pipelines |
| topic | Blind tee flow mixing mechanism secondary flow structural effect |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/19942060.2022.2093275 |
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