EXPERIMENTAL DEVICE FOR INVESTIGATE OIL NON-IDEAL LAMINAR FLOWS IN PIPELINES

Resumo

The use of radiotracers associated with the residence time theory (RTD) is widely used in the industry to measure the flow of hydrocarbons. The velocity profile of viscous fluids transported in circular ducts tends to present stratified flows, so that the velocity of a volume element depends on its radial position: faster in the central region and suffering a decrease in velocity as it approaches the wall of the duct. This behavior causes a tail effect in the RTD curves that drastically affects the uncertainty of the average time calculations. In order to verify the presence of stratified flows in 2” diameter PVC oil flow rig, a device capable of accommodating up to six 1x1 scintillator detectors was developed. Data acquired through the injection of 123I-labeled oil as a radiotracer in laboratory tests were treated and analyzed using the theory of statistical moments.