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Three-Phase Flow Loop
This indoor, fully instrumented, state-of-the-art, two-inch gas/oil/water flow loop was constructed as part of the 5-year U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) project granted to TUSTP. The facility, shown in the linked figure, enables year-round data acquisition and simultaneous testing of different compact separation equipment. A technical grade white mineral oil type Tufflo® 6016 with a specific gravity of 0.857 is used as the experimental fluid along with tap water and air.
The loop consists of a metering and storage section and a modular test section. The metering and storage section includes air compressor, water and oil storage tanks, pumps, Micromotion® mass flow meters and a downstream three-phase conventional separator. The modular test section consists of four test stations. This flexibility enables the testing of single separation equipment, such as compact separators or conventional separators, or any combination of this equipment, in parallel or series, forming a compact separation system configuration. Control valves placed along the flow loop control the flow into and out of the test sections. The flow loop is also equipped with several temperature sensors and pressure transducers for measurement of the in-situ pressure and temperature conditions. All output signals from the sensors, transducers and metering devices are collected at a central panel. A state-of-the art data acquisition system, built using LabView® software, is used to both control the loop and acquire data.
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