Jia Wenlong, Xiao Huan, Wu Xia, Huang Qiaojing, Lei Hengwei, Li Changjun
Petroleum Engineering School, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu 610500 Sichuan, China; CNPC Key Laboratory of Oil & Gas Storage and Transportation, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu 610500, China.
Petroleum Engineering School, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu 610500 Sichuan, China.
Ultrason Sonochem. 2025 Nov;122:107583. doi: 10.1016/j.ultsonch.2025.107583. Epub 2025 Sep 23.
Ultrasonics is an efficient and environmentally friendly method for cleaning sediments in crude oil tanks by utilizing high-speed, high-pressure cavitation microjets. However, current research ignores the coupled interaction between ultrasonic, flow, and structural force fields during ultrasonic cleaning and removal of sediment. As a result, the regularity and dynamic mechanisms of sediment removal via ultrasonic cavitation microjets remain unclear. In this work, we developed a multi-physics field-coupled model to quantitatively characterize the effect of ultrasonic operating parameters and crude oil physical properties on cleaning efficiency. This model further reveals the dynamic mechanisms behind ultrasonic cavitation microjet sediment removal. A novel feature of the model is that it couples the multi-physics field by taking the cavitation bubble growth radius and the microjet velocity as key coupling variables. The model accurately describes the dynamic process of ultrasonic cavitation microjet cleaning. Results indicate that decreasing the ultrasonic frequency and increasing ultrasonic pressure enhances the bubble growth radius and the microjet intensity, thereby improving sediment removal. Higher crude oil viscosity, on the other hand, inhibits the cavitation microjet strength and weakens the cleaning effect. Specifically, the sediment removal increased from 0.005 to 0.036 when the ultrasonic frequency was held at 20 kHz and the ultrasonic pressure increased from 120 kPa to 1000 kPa. Conversely, sediment removal reduced from 0.011 to 0.006 as the ultrasonic frequency increased from 20 to 100 kHz. This research offers practical guidance for applying ultrasonic cavitation technology in crude oil tank sediment cleaning and highlights the potential for broader applications of this technology.
超声是一种利用高速、高压空化微射流清洁原油罐内沉积物的高效且环保的方法。然而，目前的研究忽略了超声清洗和沉积物去除过程中超声、流场和结构力场之间的耦合相互作用。因此，通过超声空化微射流去除沉积物的规律和动力学机制仍不明确。在这项工作中，我们开发了一个多物理场耦合模型，以定量表征超声操作参数和原油物理性质对清洗效率的影响。该模型进一步揭示了超声空化微射流去除沉积物背后的动力学机制。该模型的一个新颖之处在于，它以空化气泡生长半径和微射流速度作为关键耦合变量来耦合多物理场。该模型准确地描述了超声空化微射流清洗的动态过程。结果表明，降低超声频率和增加超声压力会增大气泡生长半径和微射流强度，从而提高沉积物去除效果。另一方面，较高的原油粘度会抑制空化微射流强度并削弱清洗效果。具体而言，当超声频率保持在20kHz且超声压力从120kPa增加到1000kPa时，沉积物去除率从0.005增加到0.036。相反，随着超声频率从20kHz增加到100kHz，沉积物去除率从0.011降低到0.006。本研究为超声空化技术在原油罐沉积物清洗中的应用提供了实际指导，并突出了该技术更广泛应用的潜力。
