SBIR Phase I: Three-Phase Flowmeter For Oil Industry

这项小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目将评估为石油工业开发多相流量计和表征系统的可行性。油藏管理和生产技术的新发展导致了对多相流量计的需求，以取代传统的测试分离器。该系统将包括三种先进的多相流仪器：(1)多电极电磁流量计（MEEFM）， (2) x射线衰减技术，(3)电阻抗断层扫描（EIT）。第一个仪器将提供液相速度信息，而后两个仪器将提供相分布信息。这一发展的创新之处在于进一步改进这些技术，并明智地将它们结合起来，实现非侵入式在线多相流测量。第一阶段的研究将证明这项发展的可行性。在未来的第二阶段开发中，将进行原型流量计的坚实工程设计。该研究的成功将为工业过程监测提供可靠的仪器，并为多相流研究提供有用的工具。该项目更广泛的影响和商业潜力是满足石油行业以及许多其他行业对在线、连续和非侵入式多相流测量的要求。所提出的流量测量和表征系统能够对工业中多相管道流动进行精确监测，并有助于研究人员对多相流动现象进行研究。这一创新的发展将显著提高现有多相流量计量系统的性能并降低成本。随着石油行业更换测试分离器、拆除测试管线和歧管的趋势，提出的多相流量计系统将对油田的基础设施和运营产生重大的经济影响。该流量计还可用于石油、化工、食品和生化加工等行业。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will evaluate the feasibility of developing a multiphase flowmetering and characterization system for oil industry. New developments in reservoir management and production techniques have resulted in the requirement for multiphase flowmeters to replace conventional test separators. The proposed system will include three advanced multiphase flow instruments: (1) a multi-electrode electromagnetic flowmeter (MEEFM), (2) a X-ray attenuation technology, and (3) an electrical impedance tomography (EIT). The first instrument will provide liquid phase velocity information, while the latter two will provide phase distribution information. The innovation of this development is to further improve these technologies and judiciously combine them to realize non-intrusive online multiphase flow measurements. The Phase I study will demonstrate the feasibility of this development. During the future Phase II development, a solid engineering design of a prototype flowmeter will be carried out. The success of the proposed study will provide a reliable instrument for industrial process monitoring as well as a useful tool for multiphase flow research.The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is to meet requirements of online, continuous and non-intrusive multiphase flow measurements in the oil industry, as well as many other industries. The proposed flowmetering and characterization system enables accurate monitoring of multiphase pipe flows in industry, and aids researchers to study multiphase flow phenomena. The innovative development will significantly improve the performance and reduce the cost of existing multiphase flowmetering systems. Following the trend of replacing test separators and removing test lines and manifolds in the oil industry, the proposed multiphase flowmetering system will have a substantial economic impact on the infrastructure and operation of oil fields. The proposed flowmeter can also be utilized in the petroleum, chemical, food, and biochemical process industries.