For underwater vehicles with protrusions (external structure), the geometric shape of the protrusions is bound to affect the local flow field of the vehicles during the moving process of the vehicles, thus affecting the generation, development and collapse of cavitation around the vehicles. The cavitation may break, fall off and collapse randomly, and other local movements may affect the motion attitude of the underwater vehicle. It is an effective method to study fluid dynamics to simulate prototype cases with small scale models. In this paper, we mainly use the small scale model test method to explore the cavitation motion characteristics of the vehicle in water with protrusions. Through the establishment of a set of vehicle motion test equipment under reduced pressure, a series of experiments were conducted on this basis to explore the motion characteristics of vehicle cavitation under different bump shapes. In this study, two high-speed cameras were used to simultaneously record cavitation generation, development, collapse and other characteristics, to analyze the bubble generation mechanism and scale characteristics caused by the bulge, and then to study the influence of cavitation induced by the bulge on the motion attitude of the vehicle.

Prediction of internal multiphase flows in subsea pipelines is an integral part of the oil and gas production system design. High mass and pressure fluctuations are often encountered during the operation with a liquid-gas slug flow regime exhibiting a sequence of long gas bubbles and aerated liquid slugs. It is important for industry to realistically identify the slug flow occurrence and predict slug flow characteristics, depending on several multiphase flow-pipe parameters. These may be achieved using a one-dimensional, steady-state, mechanistic model accounting for a mass and momentum balance of the two liquid-gas fluids within a controlled volume often referred to as a slug unit. By reducing a 3-D flow problem to a 1-D one, several empirical or closure correlations and associated empirical coefficients have been introduced in the literature and used in commercial software predicting slug flows in subsea jumpers, pipelines and risers with variable inclinations. This study aims to investigate the influence of combined 25 closure functions on the predictions of slug flows in horizontal and inclined pipes based on a steady-state mechanistic model for a wide range of superficial liquid and gas velocities. The model with studied closures is implemented by the authors of this study as the numerical tool iSLUG. The model performance is verified with respect to the estimated film liquid holdup, film length and pressure drop per length of a slug unit for an empirically specified translational velocity, slug liquid holdup, slug liquid length and pipe wall wettability. Closure combinations are analyzed using the relative performance factors and compared against available experimental data in order to identify a set of functions suitable for upward, downward and horizontal flows, and the effect of diameter and inclination on the model prediction is considered. The present method and analysis outcomes may further contribute to the improvement of transient liquid-gas flow models to predict more practical cases.

The interaction between a spark-generated bubble and a non-oscillating air bubble attached to a horizontal rigid plate is investigated using a low-voltage spark-discharge setup. Large numbers of fascinating and complicated interactions are given rise during two bubble coupling pulsation due to the deformation property endowed to the plate through an air bubble attached. It is found that, under the combined influence of the cavitation and the structure, some complex phenomenon likes the bubble coalescence, air bubble skirt phenomenon, bubble splitting are given rise during the two bubble interaction procedure. The coupling phenomenon between the spark generated bubble, air bubble and the structure are discussed in detailed The mainly attention are paid to the coupled response of an attached quiescent bubble under oscillating bubble, the effect of the distance parameter and volume ratio parameter on the air bubble shapes are analyzed in detail, and the mechanism behind these phenomenon are investigated. Our study can be a useful scheme in the protection of a naval structure from threats induced by an explosion bubble impact loading.

In this paper, a coupling eulerian langarian method (CEL) is used to study the interaction between a collapsing underwater explosion bubble and a steel plate. The VOF method is used to simulate the physical process of bubble growth, contraction and collapse, while the finite element method is used to calculate dynamic response of the steel plate. By establishing the three dimensional numerical model, the study reveals the interesting insights into the complex problem of interaction a underwater explosion bubble and a steel plate, including the physical process of bubble growth, contraction and collapse, the dynamic response of the steel plate, as well as the wall pressure induced by the bubble dynamic. The results indicate that the elastic-plastic plate will generate permanent deformation loaded by the water jet; owing to the deformation of the nearby structure, the bubble shows as a “hazel” in the bubble contraction phase and forms toroidal jet which leads the bubble into several toroidal bubbles in the bubble collapse phase. This paper aim at proposing an effective numerical method which can be useful for the problem of strong interaction between bubble and structure.

During the period of avoiding typhoon in deep-water drilling, the gas intrusion in the wellbore brings higher risk to the well opening operation. It is very important to improve the accuracy of typhoon avoidance cycle prediction to improve the efficiency of drilling operation and reduce the risk of well control. According to the yield stress characteristics of drilling fluid, the gas migration experiment in the yield stress fluid is carried out in this paper. Based on the experimental results and stress analysis, a prediction model of bubble rising velocity suitable for the yield drilling fluid is established. Considering the rheological properties of drilling fluid and pore characteristics of formation, a prediction model of initial bubble size is established. Combined with the velocity prediction model and bubble size prediction model, the calculation method of typhoon avoidance period is proposed. Through the calculation and analysis, it is found that under the condition of low invasion rate, the formation porosity has little influence on the initial size of bubbles, and the yield stress value of drilling fluid has great influence on the initial size of bubbles. At the same time, the model in this paper makes up for the problem that the prediction value of safe typhoon avoidance period calculated by the previous model is large, and reduces the risk of well opening operation. According to our calculation results, the measures of injecting drilling fluid with low yield stress at the bottom of the well and injecting drilling fluid with high yield stress at the top are put forward, which can effectively increase the safe typhoon avoidance period.

Understanding the interaction between the drilling fluid and the natural gas from a gas kick may be of great importance when predicting how a well control incident evolves during drilling operations. This is especially true for oil based mud, which has the ability to dissolve large quantities of gas under high pressure, thus potentially hide any volumetric impact of a gas kick. When the pressure of the dissolved gas decreases below the bubble pressure, free gas will start to emerge. Dangerous situations can occur if the bubble point pressure is low and located close to the surface. This may result in a rapid volumetric expansion of the free gas, as it emerges from solution, thus little to no time to react and initiate proper well control procedures. Most conventional well control simulators that takes gas solubility into consideration assumes an instantaneous vaporization of gas as the vapour-liquid phase equilibria changes. However, this assumption might not always be realistic. It may take some time before a new equilibrium is reached when the conditions are changed. This will thus affecting the rate of gas liberation from the liquid. To better understand this complex issue, an analytical expression for the transition rate of dissolved gas to free gas in a supersaturated liquid has been derived for low pressure systems. The analytical model is strongly dependent on the solubility coefficient, K h , and the transition rate factor, γ, and follows an exponential curve. In this expression, K h is a measure of how much the liquid is supersaturated at any given time and controls how much gas that will be liberated. γ determines how fast the system will reach a new equilibrium, i.e. how fast the gas will be liberated based on the size of the supersaturation. Both K h and γ are thought to be values given for a specific gas-liquid combination. In order to verify the analytical expression, experimental testing has been conducted. The experiment is carried out by pressurizing a tank partly filled with the base oil Exxsol D60 by feeding it with methane gas. Some of the gas will dissolve into the liquid. The rest will flow to the top as free gas and pressurize the tank. By quickly removing some of the free gas, thus depressurize the tank, the liquid will instantaneously become supersaturated, hence triggering liberation of free gas from the solution until a new equilibrium is established. By measuring the tank pressure throughout the degassing phase, values for K h and γ can be estimated and compared to the analytical model.

Real-time prediction of riser gas behavior is of great importance in well control. Single bubble models have, thus far, been used to describe gas-in-riser events and define riser equilibrium. These models have however not considered the transient nature of desorption of gas influx from non-aqueous fluids (NAFs) during migration or circulation in a riser. This paper uses a modified drift-flux model (DFM) to more properly describe gas-in-riser events by incorporating time-dependent mass transfer processes in NAFs. In this paper, we modified the DFM to account for the gas-liquid mass transfer due to the time dependent desorption of the gas phase. The advection upstream splitting model (AUSMV) hybrid scheme was used to solve the model. The time dependent mass transfer is calculated using a kinetic model developed based on recent experimental data. The capability of this model to improve riser gas management is demonstrated using a case study and the simulations are compared to when mass transfer between gas influx and NAF is not considered. Results also show that the severity of unloading and depth of the riser equilibrium can be underestimated if a time dependent desorption is not considered. The concept of riser equilibrium has been, thus far, developed without due consideration of mass transport of gas phase in the mud. This paper factors in the time-dependent desorption of the gas phase in the mud for a more realistic prediction of riser gas unloading events.

Seafloor Massive Sulfides have been expected to be future mineral resources. To promote the development of Seafloor Massive Sulfides, Seafloor Mineral Processing, a method of extracting valuable minerals from the ores on deep seafloor using flotation to reduce the lifting cost of ores from the seafloor to the sea surface, was proposed. To apply flotation for the seafloor mineral processing, a measurement method of bubble size applicable to deep-sea conditions has been desired because it is necessary to generate fine air bubbles suitable to flotation under pressure conditions on deep seafloor. Then, the authors have studied on bubble size measurement by image analysis, which is expected to be applicable to deep-sea conditions. At the first phase of this study, photographic conditions suitable to image analysis of air bubbles were distinguished. Air bubbles were generated by using a porous nozzle at some air flow rates in a bubble column with a rectangular cross-section. Video images of air bubbles were taken by using both high-speed camera and video camera with a low frame rate. Bubble size was measured by binarizing the video images of bubbles. Under optimal photographic conditions, bubble size was obtained from not only the high-speed camera but also the video camera; and both size data agreed relatively well, which implies that bubble size measurement by using image analysis would be applicable to deep-sea conditions. At the second phase, experiments were carried out under high-pressure conditions up to 2.4 MPa. Single bubble generation by using a capillary nozzle in a small pressure chamber with a sight glass was observed by using a digital microscope. Bubble size measurement by image analysis was carried out by the procedure established at the first phase. While the process of bubble generation at the high pressures was similar to that at the atmospheric pressure, the bubble size was decreased as the pressure rose. The result implies there is a strong correlation between the pressure and the bubble size.

In the process of bubbling from two submerged adjacent orifices, bubbles coalescence becomes inevitable. But the study of the evolution and interaction of bubbles from submerged orifices is little, especially numerical simulation. In this paper, combined with mesh smoothing technique, mesh subdivision technique and the technique of axisymmetric coalescence and 3D coalescence, a three-dimensional model of bubbles coalescence at two submerged adjacent orifices on the wall is established by the boundary element method. Then, numerical simulations were carried out for horizontal and vertical coalescence before detachment. Finally, by changing the ventilation rate and the Froude number, the effects of different ventilation rates and buoyancy on the process of bubbles coalescence at two adjacent orifices were investigated. The results show that for horizontal coalescence, the effect of ventilation rate is more pronounced than buoyancy. As the ventilation rate increases or the influence of buoyancy is decreased, the amplitude of internal pressure fluctuation of the bubble decreases and the coalescence time decreases. For vertical coalescence, the effect of buoyancy is more pronounced than ventilation rate. With the influence of buoyancy is decreased, the vertical coalescence time is increased, the internal pressure of the bubble is decreased. The influence of ventilation rate is similar to that of horizontal coalescence.

The paper refers on a research activity, focused at DREAMS Lab of the University of Genoa (Italy) and still under development, oriented to experimental application of air-bubbling techniques on flat plates and hull models. In this study the reduction in the frictional resistance by air bubbling generated by customized pneumatic circuits is tested, both on the lower surfaces of flat plates characterized of different geometries of holes and on a hull model tested in towing tank. The effective shape of air bubbles is observed, and changes in the local frictional drag are measured, using flexible and low cost thin sensors at different levels of flow rate and pressure of injected air. In towing tank tests the experiments compare hull without and with holes on the bottom, modifying the characteristics of speed, pressure, flow rate and areas interested to the air injection. Systematic tests campaign has been developed, using also actuation pneumatic workbenches expressly designed for the experiments.

In this paper, we report both experimental and computational studies of hydrodynamic cavitation generated by accelerating liquid through a series of constrictions. The detailed process of cavitation generation is visualized using a high-speed photography. The cavitation is initiated when a gas bubble moves towards the constrictions. The gas bubble initially accelerates, expands and then splits into smaller bubbles when it moves along the constriction. As these bubbles migrate into a large liquid compartment, they collapse violently to form a bubble cloud, owing to a sudden jump in liquid pressure in the compartment. The experimental observation is further confirmed using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. We also present experimental evidence showing a significant reduction in gram-negative Escherichia coli concentration after it passes through the constrictions.

Green water generated by random waves on a fixed, simplified geometry model structure was measured in a large wave basin. The velocity field of the flow that is aerated and highly turbulent was quantified using the bubble image velocimetry (BIV) technique. BIV utilizes shadow textures created by air-water interfaces as tracers in backlit images recorded by a high speed camera. The tracers in consecutive images are then cross-correlated to obtain the corresponding two-dimensional velocities. Random waves were generated by the JONSWAP spectrum with a significant wave height close to the freeboard. An image-based triggering method was employed to detect the green water events and trigger image acquisition. A total of 179 green water events were collected and categorized into three different types, based on the flow behavior. That includes the collapse of overtopping wave, fall of bulk water, and breaking wave crest. Statistical distributions of maximum green water velocities under random waves were developed, while the lognormal distribution was found as the best fit. By modeling the green water as a dam break flow, the Ritter solution was found to be able to capture the horizontal velocity distribution for the random green water events. A prediction equation for the green water velocity distribution under random waves was also obtained.

Pushing the boundaries of oil and gas exploration and development to new frontiers have led to exposure and more significant uncertainties, which necessitates robust strategies and techniques. With the increasing water depth, longer risers, and harsh pressure and temperature conditions; the risk of riser gas getting undetected get bigger. The lack of an integrated system to anticipate the controlling parameters at the choke below the BOP constrains the tackling operations and exacerbate the side effects of oil and gas well blowouts. This leads to an urgent need for an extensive study to address the riser gas unloading (RGU) events. This study encompasses the development of a robust model that can characterize the effect of different parameters such as temperature, mud types, back pressure, and solubility in RGU events. It also presents comparative results of oil-based and water-based mud systems, using a novel tool based on analytical and numerical models. The analytical model is constructed using combined gas law, heat transfer mechanism, and gas solubility and bubble point pressure concepts. Results suggest that the oil-based mud (OBM) takes more time for gas unloading in comparison to the water-based mud. Also, a significant deviation was observed in unloading patterns while considering temperature effect. For the drilling fluid without temperature consideration, the gas unloading occur in a smaller span of time and at a higher depth. Overall, this paper will demonstrate the effect of different parameters affecting the gas unloading in the riser, and present a comparative study of different parameters using an analytical which can be used in the field to get an idea of gas prior to any response for abnormality.

Multiphase flow is an important the phenomenon existing widely in nature, daily life, as well as petroleum and chemical engineering industry. It is especially important to understand the flow behavior of multiphase flow in a subsea hilly terrain and offshore pipelines. Accurate flow regime identification in multiphase flow is critical since multiphase flow affects the measurement accuracy of phase fraction, flow rate and other phase parameters. The main objective of this research work is to obtain a better understanding of the multiphase flow characteristics in a long pipeline. In this study, the results of an experimental research on multiphase flow that investigates fluid characteristics in a pipe has been presented. The experimental unit consists of pipes that are made up of clear PVC, which is capable of producing several different flow regimes (Stratified, bubble, slug, and annular-mist flow) of gas-liquid flows. The entire length of the flow loop is 20.574 m. The experimental unit includes sensors such as pressure transducers, thermocouples and flowmeters that enable to measure the pressure ranges from 20–300KPa, temperature ranges from 0 to 20 °C and volume flow ranges from 12–45 liter/min at numerous locations respectively. In this experimental work, bubble, and slug flow regimes have been selected in the multiphase flow pattern to be examined on the multiphase flow assurance. The results of this research will provide valuable new experimental data on multiphase flow characteristics for designated flow regimes that can improve flow assurance in subsea conditions by including the temperature and Pressure effects.

Two-phase vertical flows are of utmost importance for petroleum production, since underground petroleum reservoirs produce oil and gas simultaneously, which must flow together upward to the sea floor through wells, and from these to the production floating units through suspended pipes (risers). Along the pipelines, the mixture of oil and gas may develop several flow patterns — such as bubble, slug, churn and annular flow. These physical configurations present specific characteristics that demand distinct modeling of the head loss as a function of the flow rate. The correct characterization of the flow patterns, under given operational conditions, is fundamental to the modeling of the dynamics of the flow and to the relation between head loss and flow rate. In the literature, most studies on the establishment of the flow patterns have been carried with water and air, and have been restricted to the case of static pipes, while production risers are in constant movement due to the action of waves, sea currents and the displacement of the floating production unit. In the present work, an experimental study of vertical two-phase flow of water and air is conducted with the oscillatory movement of a long and slender flexible vertical pipe of 8,0 m of length and 25,4 mm of diameter. The head loss is measured for different frequencies of oscillation. Comparisons are made between the static and oscillating pipe, with regard to the flow patterns and head losses. The effect of the frequency of oscillation is detected.

Bubble breakup and coalescence is a phenomenon which occurs within a developing subsea gas plume. A Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model incorporating bubble breakup and coalescence was developed to describe the behaviour of a subsea gas release and the subsequent rising gas plume. The model was assessed for its suitability in capturing the characteristic behaviour of a rising gas plume by comparing the CFD results with experimental data obtained from underwater gas release experiments. The study shows bubble breakup and coalescence plays a key role in determining the shape and the behaviour of a subsea gas release. Without the bubble breakup and coalescence included in the CFD model a narrower plume width and higher rising velocity is observed when compared to the experimental data. With bubble breakup and coalescence included the results obtained from the CFD model more accurately match the experimental data. Breakup and coalescence is a mechanism which redistributes the energy within the core of the gas plume towards the edge of the plume. This has a significant impact on the plume characteristics and is vital to be included in the CFD model to describe the behaviour of the released gas. The study was carried out using air as the released gas. This was done to compare with the available experimental data where air was used as the source. However the CFD model developed is applicable for hydrocarbon subsea gas releases.

In this paper, the numerical model was developed by using the commercial code LS/DYNA to investigate the dynamic response of sandwich panels with three PVC foam core layers subjected to non-contact underwater explosion. The simulation results showed that the structural response of the sandwich panel could be divided into four sequential regimes: (1) interaction between the shock wave and structure, (2) compression phase of sandwich core, (3) collapse of cavitation bubbles and (4) overall bending and stretching of sandwich panel under its own inertia. Main attention of present study was placed at the blast resistance improvement by tailoring the core layer gradation under the condition of same weight expense and same blast load. Using the minimization of back face deflection as the criteria for evaluating the blast resistant of panel, the panels with core gradation of high/middle/low or middle/low/high (relative densities) from the front face to back face demonstrated the optimal resistance. Moreover, the comparative studies on the blast resistance of the functionally graded sandwich panels and equivalent ungraded ones were carried out. The optimum functionally graded sandwich panel outperformed the equivalent ungraded one for relatively small charge masses. The energy absorption characteristics as well as the core compression were also discussed. It is found that the core gradation has a negligible effect on the whole energy dissipation of panel, but would significantly affect the energy distribution among sandwich panel components and the compression value of core.

As a reference point for the extreme Metocean conditions, the hurricane-scale classification is often used: that is a tropical storm becomes a hurricane if the wind speed reaches U ∼ 33m/s. In this paper, it is argued that such classification is not arbitrary, and indeed signifies change of the physical regimes in all environments near the air-sea interface: in the atmospheric boundary layer, at the surface, and through the upper ocean. This threshold is approximately the wind speed at which the drag coefficient was found to saturate in the field observations (U10 ≈ 32–33m/s), which saturation has received a lot of attention. Less known are the observations that below the surface, change of the upper-ocean mixing mechanism and of bubble dynamics occur at U10 > 35m/s. Directly at the surface, wave dynamics also undergoes essential transformations, from wave breaking (dissipation) being driven by evolution of nonlinear waves, to the breaking being forced directly by the winds, at U10 ≈ 34 m/s. It is therefore argued that the simultaneous change of physical regime in all the three air-sea environments cannot be coincidental, and consequences of the regime change for the Metocean modelling are discussed. As an important byproduct, parameterisation of wave-breaking probability is obtained in terms of the mean symmetry of surface waves. Such parameterisation allows us to estimate frequency of breaking events, based on time series of surface elevations, without explicitly detecting the breaking waves.

To research the flexible hydrofoils’ hydroelastic response, the fluid-structure interaction (FSI) characteristic investigation is conducted on the basis of the analysis of a rigid hydrofoil’s hydrodynamic performance. For a rigid cantilevered rectangular hydrofoil, the pitching hydrodynamic performance is calculated using boundary motion with remeshing strategy. The Laminar Separation Bubble (LSB) and turbulent transition are captured. Numerical flow analysis revealed that the LSB occurs at 0.8c when pitching at initial angle of attack. As the angle increases to 5.1°, the laminar to turbulent transition occurs and the lift presents an inflection. For a geometric equivalent flexible hydrofoil, the static FSI characteristic is researched using oneway and two-way FSI method. The lift decreases and the drag increases using two-way compared to one-way FSI. The center of pressure and the maximum deformation move from trailing edge to leading edge as the angle of attack increases, showing the necessary of two-way FSI calculation. The transient FSI characteristic of the flexible hydrofoil is then studied using LES model. The lift fluctuation at 8° in frequency domain is calculated . The dry mode and wet mode natural frequency of the flexible hydrofoil are calculated to simulate the vibration performance, which meet the experiment data quite well, laying foundation for further research on the hydroelastic vibration response.

A Wells turbine is an axial flow reaction turbine, which consists of a symmetrical airfoil at 90° stagger. It is commonly used as a power take-off device in the oscillating water column. This turbine is prone to stall at higher flow coefficients and have narrow operating range. There are several parameters, which influence the stall characteristics of the turbine, one of them is the tip leakage flow. Radiused blade tip was shown to suppress separation bubble and mitigate internal gap loss. In this study, the aerodynamic characteristics of Wells turbine with radiused blade tip were investigated. The numerical analysis was done by solving three-dimensional steady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equation with k-ω SST turbulence model. The turbine with blade profile NACA 0015 was taken as the reference blade, and the numerical results were validated with the experimental data. Radiused tip blades with different fillet radius were analysed and they showed similar performance. They improved the operating range and peak torque coefficient by 25% and 37% respectively. The fluid dynamics behind the performance augmentation was also analyzed and reported.