Multiphase & Multiphysics Modeling for Development of Low-Cost Flowmetering Solutions for the Oil & Gas industry

In the field of high-speed multiphase flows, the multi-scale prediction of small-scale features such as interfacial mass, momentum and energy transfer and large-scale phenomena such as unstable slugging inside a pipeline, is notoriously difficult to achieve with the current generation of multiphase models. This has largely prevented the adoption of computational techniques in understanding multiphase flow meters, separators and control devices. However, the integration of computational techniques in the oilfield sector is an essential part of an automated, data-centric system suitable for production optimisation in the oilfield to enable real-time well-by-well metering, which is currently done on less than 5% of wells. The objective of this research is to develop advanced methodologies for the numerical simulation of problems involving complex multi-phase flows interacting with geometrically non-trivial solid boundaries and to apply them to problems related to the development of the next generation of low-cost flowmetering solutions for oilfield applications. However, the integration of computational techniques in the oilfield sector is an essential part of an automated, data-centric system suitable for production optimisation in the oilfield to enable real-time well-by-well metering, which is currently done on less than 5% of wells. The objective of this research is to develop advanced methodologies for the numerical simulation of problems involving complex multi-phase flows interacting with geometrically non-trivial solid boundaries and to apply them to problems related to the development of the next generation of low-cost flowmetering solutions for oilfield applications.