Abstract—Subsea separation is an attractive and economical solution for the development of deepsea offshore oil and gas fields that generate hydrate or wax-free fluids. The submarine separation system must be able to ensure successful operation over a wide range of multiphase flows. Subsea separators can be an efficient tool to improve hydrocarbon production and avoid or simplify the expensive surface platforms of floating vessels. One of the solutions of interest is separating and reinjecting water from the seabed so that water does not go up to the surface facility. In this study, the liquid-liquid flow characteristics inside the inline subsea separation system were investigated for the design of the subsea separation system. The separation efficiency of the submarine separator is determined through a liquid-liquid phase separation phosphorus experiment. In addition, the internal vortex element (ISE) modeling of the separator has been optimized. The results of the analysis were utilized to improve the reliability and efficiency of the subsea separation system.
Index Terms—In-line separator, multiphase fluid, numerical analysis, optimal design.
Hyunji Kim is with Department of Energy and Mechanical Engineering, Graduate School of Gyeongsang National University, Tongyeong, Gyeongsangnam-do, Korea (e-mail: hjkimech@naver.com).
Gwinam Kim is with Department of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Suncheon Jeil College, Suncheon, Jeollanam-do, Korea (e-mail: gnkim@suncheon.ac.kr).
Youngju Kim and Namsub Woo are with the KIGAM (Korea institute of geoscience and mineral resources), Pohang, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Korea (e-mail: kyjp7272@kigam.re.kr, nswoo@kigam.re.kr).
Sunchul Huh is with Department of Energy and Mechanical Engineering, Gyeongsang National University, Tongyeong, Gyeongsangnam-do, Korea (e-mail: schuh@gnu.ac.kr).
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Cite: Hyunji Kim, Gwinam Kim, Youngju Kim, Namsub Woo, and Sunchul Huh, "Study on the Numerical Analysis of In-Line Type Separator for Oil-Water Multiphase," International Journal of Engineering and Technology vol. 12, no. 4, pp. 54-58, 2020.
