Combined Analysis of Heavy Crude Oil Viscosity and Stress Acting on the Buried Oil Pipelines

Abstract

This paper investigates the effect of the viscosity of crude oil and stress acting on buried oil pipelines inside dune sand. Due to the increase in energy demand, transportation of all hydrocarbons is obligatory. However, transportation of this oil is very tedious, owing to its viscosity. Thereby, the reduction of viscosity of oil is mandatory before transportation. This paper investigates the blending and emulsification method in the reduction of viscosity. The addition of blends naphtha and kerosene with silica nanoparticles decreases the viscosity of heavy crude oil by 80%–90%. Moreover, the introduction of the surfactant also decreases the viscosity of the oil significantly. Adding to the preceding, the problem faced by the petroleum pipelines under the ground overload is discussed in this study. The estimation of ground overload is imperative to ensure the safe operation of oil pipelines. Provided that when the ground load is raised, the stress on the pipeline enlarges considerably. On the one hand, parameters such as the Von Mises stress, plastic strain, and ovality also increased subject to a higher ground load. On the other hand, the pipe reacted to all stages and deformed to the original position due to the removal of the loads.