Numerical simulation on filling process of drag reduction agent in natural gas pipeline

Abstract

Abstract In this paper, a numerical simulation is established to model the filling process of atomized natural gas drag reduction agent (DRA) at the pipeline inlet section. The computations are on the basis of the Euler-Lagrange method with the standard k-ε turbulence model. The effects of atomizing parameters on the droplets Sauter Mean Diameter (SMD) and the adsorption performance on the wall of pipe are investigated using the validated model. The results show that nozzle diameter and nozzle angle have little effect on the SMD of DRA droplets, whereas the size of the droplets SMD reduces with the increase of atomizing pressure, and the influence of atomizing flow rate is just the opposite.