TY - JOUR
TI - Numerical simulation and analysis of phase change heat transfer in crude oil
AU - Xu Ying
AU - Nie Xin
AU - Dai Zhonghua
AU - Liu Xiao-Yan
AU - Liu Yang
AU - Cheng Qinglin
JN - Thermal Science
PY - 2021
VL - 25
IS - 2
SP - 1123
EP - 1134
PT - Article
AB - Accurately obtaining the temperature distribution of the medium in the shutdown pipe-line of waxy crude-oil has important guiding significance for making maintenance plan and restart plan. The phase transition process of waxy crude-oil involves complex problems such as natural-convection heat transfer, latent heat release, and difficulty in tracing liquid-solid interface. In this paper, the concept and significance of breaking point were proposed. Taking the breaking point and the freezing point as dividing point, a new zonal partition model was established based on the influence of phase change of crude-oil wax crystal on heat transfer mode, with the corresponding governing equations being established for different regions. With the proposed model, the effects of natural-convection on heat transfer, latent heat release, location change of condensate reservoir, heat transfer mechanism, and other key issues in the process of oil phase transition were analyzed.