Flow characteristics of waxy crude oils in laboratory experimental loops

✍ Scribed by A. Farina; A. Fasano

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1997
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 799 KB
• Volume: 25
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0895-7177
• DOI: 10.1016/s0895-7177(97)00031-9

✦ Synopsis

crude oils are, at low temperatures, highly non-Newtonian fluids. The crystallization of wax seems to be the cause of their non-Newtonian behavior. Moreover, the flow prop erties show time-dependence indicating an evolution of the structure with continued shear (termed "thixotropy"). In this paper, on the basis of the experimental data, we have developed a physical model which tries to describe the low temperature behavior of waxy crudes in laboratory experimental loops. The correspondent mathematical problem has been investigated performing a quasisteady approximation which we have shown to be physically consistent.