Characterizing fluid flow at field conditions

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11080440-B2
Application number	US-201715634737-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 27, 2017
Priority date	Jun 27, 2017
Publication date	Aug 3, 2021
Grant date	Aug 3, 2021

Abstract

An apparatus to perform tests on fluid flow and configured to operate at field conditions includes one or more vessels and one or more sets of fluid injecting devices corresponding to respective ones of the one or more vessels. Each set of fluid injecting devices includes one or more fluid injecting devices each configured to inject a respective fluid through its respective vessel. The apparatus further includes one or more measurement devices operatively coupled to respective ones of the one or more vessels and configured to measure data associated with fluid flow of the one or more fluids injected into its respective vessel. The measured data comprises one or more of pressure gradient data and flow rate data. The apparatus is in communication with at least one processor configured to calculate a model based on the measured data. In calculating the model, the at least one processor is configured to infer one or more parameters for the model from the measured data.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus to perform tests on fluid flow, the apparatus comprising:
one or more vessels;
one or more sets of fluid injecting devices corresponding to respective ones of the one or more vessels, wherein each set of fluid injecting devices comprises a first fluid injecting device and a second fluid injecting device each configured to inject a respective immiscible fluid through a respective vessel, wherein the first fluid injecting device is configured to inject a first immiscible fluid through the respective vessel and the second fluid injecting device is configured to inject a second immiscible fluid through the respective vessel, the first immiscible fluid and the second immiscible fluid thereby forming a fluid-fluid interface between the first immiscible fluid and the second immiscible fluid; and
one or more measurement devices operatively coupled to respective ones of the one or more vessels, the one or more measurement devices comprising a plurality of piezoelectric devices embedded within the one or more vessels, the plurality of piezoelectric devices being embedded at different locations along lengths of the one or more vessels, the one or more measurement devices being configured to directly measure local pressure of the first immiscible fluid and second immiscible fluid injected into the respective vessel at the different locations along the length of the respective vessel using the plurality of piezoelectric devices;
wherein the apparatus is in communication with at least one processor;
the at least one processor being configured:
to indirectly determine a speed of motion of the fluid-fluid interface between the first immiscible fluid and the second immiscible fluid by detecting, via electrical current jump, when the fluid-fluid interface between the first immiscible fluid and the second immiscible fluid passes each of the plurality of piezoelectric devices embedded at the different locations along the lengths of the one or more vessels; and
to calculate a model based at least in part on the measured data and the indirectly determined speed of motion of the fluid-fluid interface between the first immiscible fluid and the second immiscible fluid;

wherein calculating the model comprises:
determining an initial set of fitting parameters as a set of fitting parameters;
solving a characteristic model using the set of fitting parameters;
locating errors between the characteristic model and the measured data;
validating the characteristic model in response to determining that the set of fitting parameters meet one or more error requirements; and
in response to the set of fitting parameters not meeting one or more error requirements, (i) obtaining a new set of fitting parameters as the set of fitting parameters; and (ii) re-solving the characteristic model using the new set of fitting parameters set until a set of fitting parameters is determined to meet the one or more error requirements.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the one or more vessels comprise one or more capillaries.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the one or more vessels comprise one or more flexible tubes.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the one or more vessels comprise at least one of a channel comprising a curved pathway and a channel comprising a patterned surface.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the one or more vessels are implemented with one or more variable cross section devices.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein each of the first and second fluid injecting devices comprise a syringe.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the first and second fluid injecting devices further comprise one or more syringe pumps operatively coupled to respective ones of the syringes and configured to control a flow rate of the first and second immiscible fluids.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the one or more measurement devices comprise one or more pressure transducers.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a controller in communication with the at least one processor and configured to automate the injection of each fluid through its respective vessel.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to create a generalized model based on the calculated model.

11. A method comprising:
receiving data associated with fluid flow of a first immiscible fluid injected into a respective vessel and a second immiscible fluid injected into the respective vessel, the first immiscible fluid and the second immiscible fluid thereby forming a fluid-fluid interface between the first immiscible fluid and the second immiscible fluid, wherein the received data comprises direct measurements of local pressure of the first immiscible fluid and second immiscible fluid injected into the respective vessel at different locations along a length of the respective vessel using a plurality of piezoelectric devices embedded within the respective vessel;
indirectly determining a speed of motion of the fluid-fluid interface between the first immiscible fluid and the second immiscible fluid by detecting, via electrical current jump, when the fluid-fluid interface between the first immiscible fluid and the second immiscible fluid passes each of the plurality of piezoelectric devices embedded at the different locations along the lengths of the one or more vessels; and
calculating a model based at least in part on the received data and the indirectly determined speed of motion of the fluid-fluid interface between the first immiscible fluid and the second immiscible fluid;
wherein calculating the model comprises:
determining an initial set of fitting parameters as a set of fitting parameters;
solving a characteristic model using the set of fitting parameters;
locating errors between the characteristic model and the measured data;
validating the characteristic model in response to determining that the set of fitting parameters meet one or more error requirements; and
in response to the set of fitting parameters not meeting one or more error requirements, (i) obtaining a new set of fitting parameters as the set of fitting parameters; and (ii) re-solving the characteristic model using the new set of fitting parameters set until a set of fitting parameters is determined to meet the one or more error requirements; and

wherein the steps of the method are implemented via at least one processor operatively coupled to a memory.

12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising creating a generalized model based on the calculated model.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein creating the generalized model comprises:
compiling fitting parameters of one or more experimental tests of the received data;
applying a test to eliminate outliers from the compiled fitting parameters;
finding generalized fitting parameters using a statistical validation model; and
determining the generalized model based on one or more conditions of the one or more experimental tests.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the one or more conditions comprise at least one of an operational condition and a rheological condition.

15. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein creating the generalized model comprises:
compiling fitting parameters of one or more experimental tests of the received data;
applying a test to eliminate outliers from the compiled fitting parameters;
finding generalized fitting parameters using a statistical validation model; and
determining the generalized model based on one or more conditions of the one or more experimental tests.

16. An article of manufacture compr

Assignees

• IBM

Inventors

• Bryant Peter William
• Candela William Fernando Lopez
• Engel Michael
• Steiner Mathias

Classifications

• G01N11/08 Primary

  by measuring pressure required to produce a known flow · CPC title

• G06F30/20 Primary

  Design optimisation, verification or simulation (optimisation, verification or simulation of circuit designs G06F30/30) · CPC title

• G06F2111/10

  Numerical modelling · CPC title

• G06F2113/08

  Fluids · CPC title

• G06F17/18

  for evaluating statistical data {, e.g. average values, frequency distributions, probability functions, regression analysis (forecasting specially adapted for a specific administrative, business or logistic context G06Q10/04)} · CPC title