Experiment and Numerical Simulation on the Liquid-solid Flow in Hydrocyclone Desander

During water flooding in offshore oilfields,performances of hydrocycline desanders may directly affect the functioning of filters in later process.This paper presents an analysis on the liquid-solid flow in TP-II-250 hydrocyclone desander through experiment and numerical simulation.Research results show that both the RSM model and DPM model have desirable accuracy in simulation of liquid turbulent flow and solid flow.During the process,pressure drops increased with the increase of feed flow rates.Moreover,the friction between fluid flow and wall and the short-circuiting flow are the two important causes of pressure losses.The tangential velocity and axial velocity are the main velocity components,which can determine the particle separation efficiency of the desander.Hydrocyclone desander can capture all particles with sizes larger than 80μm.The smaller particle sizes are,the easier it is for escaping.As for tiny particles,higher separation efficiency can also be observed due to polymerization and adhesion.With increases in rate of feeding flow,desanding efficiency may increase and then decrease.The feed flow ranges from 56 to 62 m³/h.The highest desanding efficiency can be observed with feeding flow rates at 56-62 m³/h.These results may provide solid foundation for application of hydrocyclone desanders in offshore oilfields for water flooding.