Numerical Analysis of Flow Behavior in Gas–Liquid Cylindrical Cyclone (GLCC©1) Separators With Inlet Design Modifications

Abstract

The Gas–Liquid Cylindrical Cyclone (GLCC©) is a simple, compact, and low-cost separator, which provides an economically attractive alternative to conventional gravity-based separators over a wide range of applications. More than 6500 GLCC©’s have been installed in the field to date around the world over the past two decades. The GLCC© inlet section design is a key parameter, which is crucial for its performance and proper operation. The flow behavior in the GLCC© body is highly dependent on the fluid velocities generated at the reduced area nozzle inlet. An earlier study (Kolla et al., 2017, “Structural Integrity Analysis of GLCC© Separator Inlet,” ASME J. Energy Resour. Technol., 140(5), p. 052905) recommended design modifications to the inlet section, based on safety and structural robustness. It is important to ensure that these proposed configuration modifications do not adversely affect the flow behavior at the inlet and the overall performance of the GLCC©. This paper presents a numerical study utilizing specific GLCC© field applications working under three different case studies representing the flow entering the GLCC, separating light oil, steam flooded wells in Minas, Indonesia. Commercially available computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software is utilized to analyze the hydrodynamics of flow with the proposed modifications of the inlet section for GLCC© field applications.