A Study of the Effect of Oil Viscosity on Gas Bubble Coalescence in Viscous Oils
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- A study of the effect of viscosity of oil on gas bubble coalescence in viscous oils is carried out. Once bubbles nucleate, they grow in size by diffusion of gas dissolved in oil. Bubbles nucleating in close vicinity therefore coalesce by growing in size through diffusion. To study the effect of viscosity at this stage, theory developed by Firoozabadi et al. (1995) is employed. At some time after bubble nucleation and the onset of gas flow, coalescence is controlled mainly by pressure gradient across the bubbles that pushes them together, until they come close enough to coalesce. A physical model is developed, based on a simple set of equations to analyze the effect of viscosity during this stage. Oil viscosity is important in both diffusion-controlled and pressure-driven coalescence of gas bubbles. As oil-phase viscosity increases both mechanisms of coalescence require greater time to complete. Thus, larger viscosity alone appears to contribute significantly to the maintenance of dispersed gas bubbles in heavy oil.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Date created | June 2002 |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Hayat, Omar |
|---|---|
| Primary advisor | Kovscek, Anthony R. |
| Degree granting institution | Stanford University, Department of Petroleum Engineering |
Subjects
| Subject | School of Earth Energy & Environmental Sciences |
|---|---|
| Genre | Thesis |
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Preferred citation
- Preferred Citation
- Hayat, Omar. (2002). A Study of the Effect of Oil Viscosity on Gas Bubble Coalescence in Viscous Oils. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at: https://purl.stanford.edu/hg004rc2530
Collection
Master's Theses, Doerr School of Sustainability
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