Computers & Chemical Engineering, Vol.100, 80-93, 2017
The flow and heat transfer characteristics of superheated steam in offshore wells and analysis of superheated steam performance
In this paper, a novel model is presented for predicting thermophysical properties of superheated steam (SHS) in offshore superheated steam injection wells (OSSIW). Firstly, a mathematical model comprised of mass, energy and momentum balance equations is proposed for OSSIW. Secondly, the distribution of temperature, pressure and superheat degree along the wellbores are obtained by finite difference method on space and solved by using the iteration technique. Then, model validation and sensitivity analysis are conducted. The results show that (1). The superheat degree increases at first but then turns to decrease with the increase of injection rate. (3). The superheat degree increases with the increase of injection temperature. (4). The superheat degree at well bottom increases at first but then turns to decrease with the increase of injection pressure. (5). The superheat degree in the wellbore has a drop when seawater starts to flow. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords:Wellbore modeling;Numerical simulation;Superheated steam;Thermophysical properties;Turbulent flow of seawater;Offshore heavy oil recovery