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PETROMAKS2-Stort program petroleum

SIMCOFLOW - A FRAMEWORK FOR COMPLEX 3D MULTIPHASE AND MULTI PHYSICS FLOWS

Alternative title: SIMCOFLOW - An open numerical and physics based framework for simulation of complex multi-phase fluid-structure interaction problems

Awarded: NOK 14.5 mill.

The SIMCOFLOW project has developed a numerical and physics-based simulation method which makes it possible to simulate the efficiency of oil recovery when applying oil booms to clean up an oil spill. The developed methods can be applied to optimize the design of the oil booms as well as guide the operation of such equipment under varying weather conditions. Oil released to the sea will accumulate at and near the sea surface, and in such situations oil booms are typically towed by two ships in order to collect the oil. Wind, waves and sea currents will impact the towing operation, the motion of the oil booms and attached skirts, as well as the oil which may accumulate inside the boom or escape beneath or over the boom. The oil will appear as dispersed droplets or as a film of oil at the sea surface, depending on waves and turbulence in the ocean surface layer. The simulation of such complex flow behavior require models and numerical methods which are capable of handling multi-physics phenomena, where the deformation and motion of the oil boom can be simulated as an integrated part of the problem. Answering these challenges has been important for SIMCOFLOW. The project hired a PostDoc who worked with software development to realize the developed concepts. Based on formal volume and ensemble averaging methods the team developed numerical solution algorithms which could realize the goals of the project. The developed methods can be classified as "immersed boundaries", based on "staggered Cartesian grids" and "Cartesian cut-cells". Most recent publications are found here (https://www.sintefbok.no/book/download/1119). The PhD-candidate worked with numerical techniques for large time steps (CFL >>1). This work has resulted in a significant number of publications. A non-resolved challenge is the handling of source terms. Source code from the project is published at GitHub (https://github.com/lovfall/simcoflow), and is publicly available through the GNU GPL License v3.0. The project has been a collaboration between SINTEF, NTNU, ENSTA ParisTech and University of Minnesota. During the execution of the project a collaboration with LEMTA, University of Lorrain, has been developed.

Prosjektet har ført til at fagfeltet har kommet betydelig lengre i forståelse runt hvordan en kan jobbe med store tidssteg (raskere simuleringer). Kartesisk cutt-celle teknologi er implementert og testet ut på industrielle applikasjoner. Dette har resultert i åpen kildekode (SIMCOFLOW) som er tilgjengelig på GitHub. Dette arbeidet vil bli tatt videre i regi av NTNU of SINTEF for å få fram en levende Open Source kode som kan brukes i utdanning og i industrielle prosjekter. Applikasjonsområdet så langt er oljelenser, bølgeimpakt mot dynamiske struktuirer og bølgeindusert spray - herunder marin ising. Er stort antall publikasjonener har kommet ut av prosjektet (24, hvorav 13 er journalartikler). Arbeidet har også resultert i godt samarbeid med to sterke franske miljøer.

Previously, we have developed multiphase models for flow assurance. It was demonstrated that for 3-phase flow, the interface dynamics and evolution of dispersed phased can be predicted. However, in complex flow cases there is a need to apply accurate loca l boundary conditions, together with handling all fields (bubbles, droplets, particles, continuous fluids) accurately and allowing for free interaction between fluids and other materials. In addition, there is need for a flexible but robust model framewor k which allows building fast new models and simulators for the most demanding applications. Hence, a novel modelling framework for multidimensional multi-fluid and multi-material flows will be developed, employing parallelized numerical solvers (MPI). Th is enables applications, ranging from Direct Numerical Simulations, simulations of different oil-and gas flow applications, to a large number of other multiphase flows where flow-structure interactions are important. Examples are flow induced vibrations, plugging of pipes by hydrate plugs, improved separator design, spray-induced marine icing on vessels and oil-boom behavior and efficiency on rough sea. New concepts, models and numerical methods, using Cartesian meshes, will be developed to handle situ ations where multiphase flows and structures interact dynamically. This further allows fast gridding of very complex bounding geometries, helping to move the attention towards the physics. The dispersed fields can be modelled by either Eulerian or Lagrang ian methods, allowing use of the method that best can represent the physics in each situation. As it is impossible to cover many applications in one single project we make a demonstration on simulating an oil boom operation in rough sea. Satisfactory sim ulation of oil booms is not possible with existing commercial tools. The results from the project, including documentation and source code, will be made publicly available under the open source GNU LGPL licence.

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PETROMAKS2-Stort program petroleum