Simulation of the formation of hydrates during gas flow in tubes (Q790690)

For both horizontal and vertical pipelines, the authors study (i) a one- dimensional steady state hydraulic model for the axial motion and the temperature of the flowing gas such that (ii) the cross sectional area of the pipe varies due to the freezing or the decomposition of gaseous hydrates in a layer adjacent to the pipe wall. Transient one-dimensional conduction of heat is assumed both (iii) in the solidified hydrate layer and (iv) in the rock surrounding the tube. The partial differential equations for (iii) and (iv) are solved approximately by means of an integral method. In each time-step, authors solve an ordinary initial value problem or an ordinary boundary value problem for the dependency of variables on the axial coordinate x. The numerical solutions show that there exist gas flow regimes such that there is a progressive blocking of the gas flow or a self-purification due to a decomposition of the frozen hydrate layer as the temperature of the surrounding rock increases sufficiently.