Open Access

ARTICLE

A New Distribution Method for Wet Steam Injection Optimization

by Jingjing Gao, Xingkai Zhang^*

Hubei Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Drilling and Production Engineering, Yangtze University, Wuhan, 434000, China

* Corresponding Author: Xingkai Zhang. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: High-pressure Fluid Dynamics)

Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing 2024, 20(1), 109-127. https://doi.org/10.32604/fdmp.2023.030106

Received 22 March 2023; Accepted 27 June 2023; Issue published 08 November 2023

Abstract

A new approach and a new related distribution system are proposed to address the issue of uneven steam injection caused by the different suction capacities of the used wells during the application of steam “stimulation” methods for enhanced oil recovery. The new distribution system consists of a swirler, spiral dividing baffles, and critical flow nozzles. Numerical simulations are used to analyze the flow-field and degree of steam homogeneity obtained with such an approach. The results indicate that a higher inlet pressure leads to better results. Additionally, the internal flow field becomes more stable, and the deviation from an even distribution reduces to ±4.0% even when the resistance of each branch is inconsistent. Furthermore, field tests have yielded satisfactory results.

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Keywords

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