Unveiling Turbulent Flow Dynamics in Blind-Tee Pipelines: Enhancing Fluid Mixing in Subsea Pipeline Systems

Author:

Han Fenghui123ORCID,Lan Qingyuan1ORCID,Liu Yuxiang4,Yin Guang5ORCID,Ong Muk Chen5ORCID,Li Wenhua123ORCID,Wang Zhe123ORCID

Affiliation:

1. Marine Engineering College, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian 116026, China

2. State Key Laboratory of Maritime Technology and Safety, Dalian 116026, China

3. National Center for International Research of Subsea Engineering Technology and Equipment, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian 116026, China

4. Institute for Ocean Engineering, Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen 518055, China

5. Department of Mechanical and Structural Engineering and Materials Science, University of Stavanger, 4036 Stavanger, Norway

Abstract

Blind tees, as important junctions, are widely used in offshore oil and gas transportation systems to improve mixing flow conditions and measurement accuracies in curved pipes. Despite the significance of blind tees, their unsteady flow characteristics and mixing mechanisms in turbulent flow regimes are not clearly established. Therefore, in this study, Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes (URANS) simulations, coupled with Explicit Algebraic Reynolds Stress Model (EARSM), are employed to explore the complex turbulent flow characteristics within blind-tee pipes. Firstly, the statistical flow features are investigated based on the time-averaged results, and the swirl dissipation analysis reveals an intense dissipative process occurring within blind tees, surpassing conventional elbows in swirling intensity. Then, the instantaneous flow characteristics are investigated through time and frequency domain analysis, uncovering the oscillatory patterns and elucidating the mechanisms behind unsteady secondary flow motions. In a 2D-length blind tee, a nondimensional dominant frequency of oscillation (Stbt = 0.0361) is identified, highlighting the significant correlation between dominant frequencies inside and downstream of the plugged section, which emphasizes the critical role of the plugged structure in these unsteady motions. Finally, a power spectra analysis is conducted to explore the influence of blind-tee structures, indicating that the blind-tee length of lbt = 2D enhances the flow-mixing conditions by amplifying the oscillation intensities of secondary flow motions.

Funder

National Natural Science Foundation of China

Liaoning Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China

111 Project

Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities

Publisher

MDPI AG

Reference48 articles.

1. Taibi, R., Yin, G., and Ong, M.C. (2021, January 25–26). CFD investigation of internal elbow pipe flows in laminar regime. Proceedings of the 3rd Conference of Computational Methods & Ocean Technology (COTech 2021), Stavanger, Norway.

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