Shear Effects on Phase Inversion in Oil-Water Flow

Oil-water dispersed flow, in which one of the phases either water or oil is dispersed into the other phase, which is the continuous phase, occurs commonly in Petroleum Industry during the production and transportation of crudes. Phase inversion occurs when the dispersed phase grows into the continuous phase and the continuous phase becomes the dispersed phase caused by changes in the composition, interfacial properties and other factors. Production equipment, such as pumps and chokes, generate shear in oil-water mixture flow, which has a strong effect on phase inversion phenomena. In this study, based on the newly acquired data on a gear pump, the relationship between phase inversion region and shear intensity are discussed and the limitation of current phase inversion prediction model is presented.