Research On The Flow Field And Design Of The Three-phase Separator

Research on the flow field and design of the three-phase separatorThree-phase separator is the key equipment of oil shale surface acquisitionsystem. The separation of produced fluid and measuring work must be completed bythree-phase separator. After the separation whether it could meet the storage ordischarge standard is the key factor determine success or failure of this system. Atpresent, the production of the three-phase separator can achieve high separationaccuracy in particular circumstances. But they all have a big defect that is universalityis low; On the other hand, the theory of three-phase separator design is not perfect,lots of separators based on the design can’t reach the expected requirement. The mostimportant reason is lack of separator internal flow field research. Therefore, explorethe rule of three-phase separator internal flow field is of crucial importance to thedesign and optimization of the separator.This paper first analyzes the characteristics of the separation material accordingto the characteristics of oil shale in situ in mining produced liquid, and explores thedetermination of the related parameters. Based on the above, studies the design of thethree-phase separator and determines the suitable size for this project.Then build the three-phase separator geometry model according to the designsize. And conclude the control equations of the separator calculation model. On thisbasis, simulates the internal flow field of the separator by using computational fluiddynamics software FLUENT. In addition, analyzes the Separation effect, Speed andpressure distribution rule.Finally, simulate the main internal component of the three-phase separator that iscoalescence component in different conditions and analyzes the effects to internalflow field of the separator. At last achieves the main rules that are related to thecoalescence and separation result.The results are as follows:1) The separator designed according to the theory of dimension design can meet the design requirements during the gas-liquid separation, but the separating effect ofoil and water is not enough. It need to add coalescence component.2) It’s better to add component at the entrance part when the entrance velocity islarge in order to reduce the impact of the flow field. Rectifier component is needed inthe settlement part of the separator to guarantee the settlement of droplets could settlesmoothly. What’s more, some measures should be taken to prevent the generation ofvortex when the export velocity is large or unknown.3) Coalescence component can reduce fluid movement speed and theseducement is smaller when the dip Angle is45°. Along with the increase ofcoalescence board dip Angle, coalescence separation speed increased. But theincreasing of oil droplets flow speed decreased oil droplets retention time. This is goagainst the coalescence of oil droplets on the board.4) For coalescence component, the smaller distance between the plates, thestronger obstruction to the fluid motion. The effect of the distance between the platesto gather and separation is not like traditional theory. After the distance between theplates reduced to a certain range small spacing, the separation effect of ascension willbecome small or even worse if continue to reduce the gap between the boards.