COMPUTATIONAL T-JUNCTION SEPARATOR FLUID DYNAMIC STUDY ON FOR LIQUID-GAS SEPARATION INTRODUCTION The separations of liquid-gas flows are performed in large vessels under the effect of gravity. The application of a simple defined partial phase separator(T-junction) would produce two streams, one rich in gas and the other rich in liquid. This would be beneficial for offshore oil platforms where safety, space, weight and cost are highly emphasized. OBJECTIVES  Apply knowledge of flow split of liquid-gas flows at T- junction to develop a novel/improved partial phase separator.  Apply numerical study to simulate the separation of liquid– gas and analyze the separation efficiency of existing T- junction designs to create a fluid flow model.  Apply fluid model and simulate liquid-gas separation on proposed T-junction design to analyze separation efficiency. PROBLEM STATEMENT Unequal separation (maldistribution) of liquid-gas causes the gas scrubber to unable to isolate the liquid and gas due to large amount of wet gas channeled into it. SCOPE OF STUDY  Horizontal liquid-gas flow in horizontal T-junction configuration with 90 degree vertical side arm.  Diverging T-junction of 1 inlet and 2 outlets with no internal attachments. METHODOLOGY 1. Research on horizontal T- junction experiment or simulation study 2. Build fluid model based on selected experiment or simulation settings 3. Validate fluid model with the selected experiment or simulation result 6. Validate /analyze separation efficiency with other published work 5. Analyze liquid-gas separation with alteration of fluid model 4. Apply fluid model to proposed T- junction design RESULTS & DISCUSSION Selected work for fluid model development: Experiment: Azzopardi et. al. (2000) Simulation: Cavalcanti et. al. (2011) Proposed T-junction design Diameter (cm) Length (cm) INLET 1055 OUTLET UP 1050 OUTLET DOWN 1050 i. Fluid model validation ii. Proposed T-junction design with base fluid model The fluid model from the simulation work is selected to study the liquid-gas separation on the proposed T-junction based on:  Less % error in output data  Less assumptions made during Cavalcanti’s simulation work Cavalcanti’s T-junctionProposed T-junction Outlet 1 (horizontal) Outlet 2 (vertical) Outlet downward Outlet upward Water Gas Oil  The outlet data is based on base model fluid without the effect of gravity.  The mass flow rates at the outlets are almost equally divided with the outlet upward having slightly higher intake values for all 3 fluids. iii. Proposed T-junction design with modified fluid model WaterGas Oil Cavalcanti’s T-junctionProposed T-junction Outlet 1 (horizontal) Outlet 2 (vertical) Outlet downward Outlet upward Water Gas E Oil  The outlet data is based on base model fluid with the effect of gravity.  Outlet upward produce zero value due to the low superficial velocity of fluid at the inlet. iv. Proposed T-junction design with experiment work (Baker, 2003) Proposed T-junction Inlet (kg/s) Outlet downward (%) Outlet upward (%) Water Gas Oil  The outlet data is based on base model fluid with the effect of gravity and increased fluid velocity.  A similar split (almost equal) was obtained during separation at the T-junction with outlet upward having higher intake value. CONCLUSION RECOMMENDATION  The proposed T-junction design is capable to split liquid-gas fluid into liquid rich stream and gas rich stream at respective outlets with the condition gravity effect and increased velocity are taken into account.  Simulate liquid-gas separation with different fluid superficial velocity to find the margin/boundary at which the velocity is applicable for the applied diameter size, and vice-versa by simulating separation with different diameter for applied fluid superficial velocity.  Create correlation between diameter size and fluid superficial velocity for proposed T-junction design. Name ID Programme Supervisor : Dinesh A/L Balakrishnan : : Petroleum Engineering : Miss Raja Rajeswary Suppiah INFORMATION Water Gas Oil