(83h) Numerical Simulation of Hydrate Formation and Transport in Natural Gas Pipelines

Gas hydrate plugging is considered to be a very problematic topic during petroleum production and transportation. The phenomenon of hydrate plug formation involves inter-related effects related to different disciplines, namely multiphase flow, thermodynamics, surface chemistry and solid mechanics. At present the problem is not fully understood, although much information is becoming available about hydrates in general. In the present work, hydrate formation, deposition and transport of hydrates in natural gas tubulars were investiagated through numerical simulation.  Next-generation fluid dynamic models were developed and validated for hydrate formation and transport that account for different mechanisms such as nucleation, agglomeration, turbulent multiphase flow dynamics and heat transfer, and complex deposit rheology.