SPGZ9?
7
Starting Behavior of Gathering Lines and
Pipelines Filled with Gelled Prudhoe Bay Oil
T. K. Perkins, SPE-AIME, Atlantic Richfield Co.
J. B. Turner, SPE-AIME, Atlantic Richfield Co.
Introduction
The discovery of large quantities of oil in arctic
regions has led to a number of unconventional diffi-
culties in producing and transporting oil under con-
ditions of low air and soil temperatures. One of the
problems aggravated by low temperatures is that of
gelling of oils. Although this difficulty has already
been encountered during transmission of high-pour-
point oils, it is expected that gelling will be much
more severe or will be encountered more frequently
as ambient temperatures fall far below zero.
This paper describes the study of a particular oil,
that from the Sadlerochit zone of the Prudhoe Bay
field. Although the gelling and theological behavior
will be described in detail for this oil alone, we believe
that much of the material presented here wiii be
c-- ---~---....xl..-
generally suitable m UIKIGIWWJU15
.-+o+~-
.La ~nh ht.=havinr
“W..u..w.
of gathering lines and pipelines filled with other
gelled oils.
Factors Affecting the Yield
Strength of Prudhoe Bay CM
The concept of a “yield strength” of a gel has often
proved useful in understanding the behavior of gelled
oils. If it is imagined that a sample of gelled oil in a
tube will exhibit a specific yield strength, then exper-
imentally the pressure differential across the length of
tube can be increased until the oil just begins to move.
The force pushing the gel, 7D2Ap/4, is set equal to
tained by monotonically cooling the oil at less than
The apparent yield strength O) Prudhoe Bay crude oil is influenced by its composition
and its thermal and shear history. Laboratory studies were conducted with this gelled
crude to determine yield behavior in compressible and essentially incompressible tubes,
and it is concluded that with proper design, the proposed Trans Alaska pipeline can
be restarted without di#iculty.
MARCH, 1971 “T fT
ccl
w
the shear resistance along the wall, TDLT, and we
can calculate a yield strength of the gel.
DAp
(1)
‘AT.’””””””””
Although the theological study described later will
show that this concept is quite oversimplified, yield
strengths determined this way can reveal the quali-
tative effects of variables on gel behavior.
Using this approach, we have found that the follow-
ing factors will significantly affect the yield strength
of Prudhoe Bay oil: (1) temperature history, (2) shear,
(3) aging, and (4) composition. Many of these same
. ,
Iactors nave been repoI~-~ r-- UL1lG1
LCU,uI -*I.=.. V.ls
-:1 h.,
“y ~lu. .V-.
nrr=17in11c
invesdgators.1-6
Temperature History
To investigate the effect of any variable, it is necessary
first to return the oil to what is thought to be its
reservoir condition. For Prudhoe Bay oil this is
acconipiished by i~h~iitkg it to 1W ‘F (approxi-
mately the reservoir temperature) and holding for at
least 1 hour. After this “beneficiation” treatment, the
oil is relatively insensitive to any thermal treatment
that it receives at temperatures above about 100”F.
However, at less than 100”F three aspects of its sub-
sequent thermal history measurably influence yield
strengths. The lowest value of yield strength is ob-
tained by monotonically cooling the oil at less than
N-)1

about 10/rein to the desired testing temperature. We
have called such values tne yield strength of “bene-
Iiciated’ oil. The most dramatic effect of thermal
history is shown by cycling the temperature to an
intermediate value, back to a higher value (but not
high enough to beneficiate the oil again) and finally
to a low testing temperature. Such temperature cycling
can lead to appreciable increase in yield strength.
A second important aspect of thermal history is
the level of the testing temperature. As the testing
temperature decreases, the apparent yield srength in-
creases. Samples of Prudhoe Bay oil of different yield
strengths have been prepared by subjecting them to
various temperature cycles and then testing them at
dillerent temperatures. The results are shown on Fig.
1 to illustrate the potential effects of thermal cycling
and temperature level.
A third important aspect of thermal history is that
of cooling rate. We have seen little effect of cooling
rates less than a few degrees per minute. However,
if small tubes containing warm, beneficiated oil are
plunged into baths of cold liquid so that the cooling
rate of the oil is tens or even hundreds of degrees per
minute, substantial increasesq III
‘- ~IQ,
=’:-ld st.rengttis can be
observed even though the history has been one of
monotonic cooling.
Finally, the mixing of two streams of beneficiated
oils that are at different temperatures can in some
cases lead to a tenfold or even a hundred-fold increase
in yield strength. This increase is thought to be a
result of the temperature cycling effect on the cold
oil stream, with perhaps a contribution of shock cool-
ing of the hot oil stream.
Shear History
Various experiments have shown that subjecting the
oil to high shear conditions at temperatures below
about 100”F will increase the yield strength of the
gel after it is subsequently cooled to a low testing
temperature. For instance, cycling the oil tempera-
ture by imparting shear energy is more detrimental
than increasing the temperature of a similar sample
TEMPERATURE, ‘F
Fig. l—Yield strength of temperature.cycieci
Prudhoe Bay crude.
W-)2
w
by quiescent heating. Similarly, throttling a sample of
beneticlated oil is more det.nmental than temperature
cyctig an equivalent amount by quiescent heating.
Aging
Three aspects of aging are of interest. First, it has
been found that samples of oil subjected to shear or
temperature cycling will change with respect to time
when stored at room temperature. Measurement of
yield strength shows that an equihbrium condition is
apparently reached after about 48 hours. Hence, for
consistency of results, we believe that samples sub-
jected to extreme thermal or shear histories should
be stabilized at some convenient, warm temperature
for about 48 hours before testing.
Second, tests of stabilized oil have shown that gel
strengths may increase for 8 to 12 hours after reach-
ing the testing temperature; hence it is necessary to
age the gel attesting temperature for at least 12 hours.
Finally, in a hater section of this paper it is shown
that the gel behavior is thixotropic. Partially degraded
gels have been shown to rebuild gel strength upon
quiescent aging at testing temperature for a number
of hours.
Composition
Gel strengths are sensitive to light-ends content.
Weathering or removal of light ends can lead to sig-
nificant increases in gel strength. Weathering experi-
ments in the presence of air as well as pure nitrogen
have shown that mild contact with air at room tem-
perature causes no oxidation effect on gel strength.
The presence of only a fraction of 1 percent of
emulsified water had little effect on yield strength,
but a high percentage led to a decided increase.
Finally, the mixing of a small sample of high-yield-
strength oil with a large quantity of beneficiated oil
at the same temperature will create a mixture with a
yield strength very nearly like that of the sample.
Theological Study
Consider now the rheology of gelled Prudhoe Bay oil.
+ y 3/8’’o.D.
l-n
M-
STEEL SHAFT
(PRESS FITIN1O ALUMINUM BOB)
I--2 l/4’’O.D.+
ALUMINU
BOB
/16”
%
\
BOB BRASS SX.FP
Fig, 2—Dimensions of viscometer bobs and cups,
JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY
The need for aging of gels at testing temperature,
together with the need for a mociestiy iow coding
rate (and because of the thixotropic behatior of gels,
which requires that each experiment be started with
a fresh charge of aged gel), leads to an awkward situa-
tion when using a conventional viscometer. Long
times would be required to make a comprehensive
study, and this would lead to the uncertainty of a
possible change in oil properties from day to day as
the study of a given oil sample progresses.
For ~hi~reason, a battery of 12 concentric-cylinder
viscometers was constructed that could be loaded,
cooled, and aged simultaneously. Thus the study
could progress at least 12 times as fast as when using
a single viscometer, with the certainty that at least
these 12 samples of oil had exactly the same prop-
erties before yieldlng,
Fig. 2 is a drawing of cups and bobs. The drive
system permitted the measurement of torque over a
very wide range of angular velocities. Fig. 3 illustrates
a typical run. After the gel is properly aged, the drive
system is turned on at time zero. The torque rises
rapidly to some peak value and then diminishes as
the bob turns at essentially constant rate. It is ap-
parent that the gel is thixotropic and that its strength
is degrading as the gel undergoes shear. A variable
such as time or amount of shear is therefore required
in addition to the theological properties of shear
stress and shear rate. Although this variable can be
handled in several ways, we have found it convenient
to express it as shear strain, E, or relative displace-
ment of one layer of fluid with respect to an adjacent
layer. For the concentric-cylinder system, E equals
the relative displacement of the two surfaces divided
by the gap spacing. Hence, the plot of torque vs time
was converted into the theological parameters, 7,
y,ande.
T = shear StreSS= T/rh A b
#=~h~~rrate=vJ8,
-1
~ = shear strain = (v, t)/8
If the peak torque is interpreted as an initial yield
~aftie, fhefl frolqm.- “-.
wries
. . . of such experiments the
initial yield stress can be plotted as a function of shear
rate. For low shear rates, the data were found to fall
on a straight line on a log-log plot, Thus the behavior
was found to be pseudoplastic and the behavior could
be represented mathematically as
7 =AyB, . . . . . . . . . (5)
where A and B are constants and B < 1. Thk rela-
tionship is apparently valid to extremely low shear
. . ---- L.,.,- “ n- ac lny.? ~~
rates; for some expenmems wu uavv SOLLV -. .- .
10-5 see-’, This same straight-line behavior cannot be
expected at high shear rates. At a given temperature
the oil will have some intrinsic viscosity. At a given
shear rate, the shear stress would have to be at least
sufficient to overcome the viscous resistance. Thus,
since the viscous resistance relationship, r = py, has
a slope of 1 on a log-log plot and since the pseudo-
plastic relationship has a slope less than 1, it is
obvious that an extrapolation of the pseudoplast.ic
equation to high shear rates would eventually predict
a shear stress less than that necessary to overcome
the intrinsic viscous resistance. We must, therefore,
anticipate that at high shear rates the slope of the
curve of T vs Y will at least approach unity. Fig. 4
shows a plot typical of this behavior. An investiga-
tion of Reynolds number, using the method of Don-
nelly and Simon,i has shown that all of our viscometer
studies were cond-ucted Weii wit!!in the iaminar
regime.
For engineering purposes, it is awkward to deal
with a few discrete sets of data. It is desirable, in-
stead, to have a correlation of data so that interpola-
tion is easily made. If T is plotted vs KY (instead of
only y), where y is the Newtonian viscosity as deter-
mined at high shear rate , ‘5-- “1 ‘a+’
u G1l all u .- =+
.-. hiuh
. ..@-. shear
rates will be brought onto a single curve. Further
, . . . (2)
correlation can be achieved by sliding the various
. . . . . (3) curves along the 450 line until they coincide at some
arbitrary. 10wPva.l~~afif ..-. ~af~: If we define 7~ as
ww“ .chenr
. . . . (4) the intrinsic yield strength of the oil sample, we

0.1 -h I ,
I

i 1
0.08 \
(
4
GJ 111~’
i, 1
~ 0,06 I
~ i I
lo,ow
w’
? I I
= 0.04
g -.

o >
e 0.02 %
I :lm
I I i
o1 i I
o 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1,000Io,ooa
TIME, MINUTES 7#SECONDS-’
Fig. 3—Typical viscometer data. Fig. 4-A typical plot of initial yield strengths showing
change in slope at high shear rates.

MARCH, 1971 303

obtain a dimensionless shear stress and shear rate as
fofiuw~:
T
TD=—>...”’
Ti
.E
YD . . . . . .
7i
Forany oil sample, ,tis arbitrarily defined as that
value of intrinsic yield strength that will make 7rJ = 1
atY~ = 0.00015 ande = O. Data from a wide variety
of experiments, when plotted in this dimensionless
way, will fall on a single curve. Fig. 5 shows, for
example, the correlation for a shear strain of zero and
a wide variety of temperatures and intrinsic-yield-
strength oils. Similar curves were constructed for
shear strain values of 100 and 1,000. Additional data
were available at even higher shear strains at inter-
mediate and high values of strain rate. The final cor-
relation is shown on Fig. 6, and it can be expressed
with a simple, empirical equation:
4,1yD”””
7D=YD+
(E + 1)””’’’’’’043043 “ “ “
An additional series of experiments is worth a short
discussion. In one type of experiment, oil was sheared
at a low shear rate until its trend of declining shear
strength was noted. The same cups were then sheared
at a high shear rate for some period of time before
changing back to the original shear rate. A compari-
son with data obtained in duplicate cups run continu-
ously at the low shear rates suggested that gel strength
was a point function of shear strain and apparently
not a sensitive function of the path by which the
shear strain is imposed.
(6) In the second set of experiments, 12 sampies of
““”””
oil were sheared at various rates and for different
amounts of shear strain. Shearing was then stopped
(7) and the samples were aged quiescently at the gelling
. . ..
temperature for an additional 65 hours. Each cup
was then sheared further at its original shear rate.
These data indicate that the gels had rebuilt very
nearly to their original values upon aging for 65
hours. Degradation of the new gels more or less fol-
lowed the same curves established initially.
From a time point of view, there is some maximum
practical shear strain that can be investigated. At high
shear rates, large values of shear strain can be investi-
gated, but at low shear rates long periods of time are
required to even look at small values of shear strain.
Eq. 8, however, permits us to extrapolate to extremely
large values of strain for any value of strain rate. The
present formulation of the equation predicts that as
strain increases towards infinity, the gel structure can
completely degrade so that its behavior approaches
(8)
that of a Newtonian fluid. Another reasonable ex-
pectation might be that an equilibrium gel structure
could be formed that would not degrade further with
continued shear strain. In one experiment a sample of
gelled oil was sheared at low rate, then sheared to
a shear-strain value of 2 million at a high shear rate.
Its behavior was then studied over a range of low
shear rates. After degradation at a high shear rate,
there was no apparent tendency for the gel structure
to rebuild at a low shear rate in a few hours. The

I
* 0

9 3---
0
“’*0=:
●
+

+
I
1 1 I 11(111 I t , II-J

0.000001 0.00001 0.0001 0.001 0.01 oo~ 1 10 100

LEGEND:
7’ f$$i)
SYMBOL RUN# TEMP. “F SYMBOL RUN# TEMP ‘F

o 1 Q + 6 11
● 2 o

07 0

A 8 0
09 0

x5 ii

V.t
Fig. 5—Correlation of viscometer data at zero shear strain ~ = ~ = 0.

JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY

 ✎
●

behavior fell on the Newtonian line except at the very We define shear strain for the pipe as
lowest shear rates studied. At these very low shear
rates the behavior was in reasonable agreement with
that predicted by the generalized correlation for an
&value of 2 million. e=
[01
l–zz-
.
Vmax
dv

. . . . . . (13)

Yielding in an Incompressible Pipe Thus for the pseudoplastic material,

Now consider the yielding behavior of this thixotropic
1, (3B -1- 1)
fluid when gelled in cylindrical pipes. Referring to &= . . . . . . (14)
B r.=
Fig. 6, we see that for any given value of e, TDcan
be related to y~ with reasonable accuracy over an This means simply that Fig. 6 and Eq. 8 are valid
order of magnitude of Yn by the expression for pipe flow as well as for the viscometer if the
theological parameters are redefined as shown by
TD =AyDB, . . . . . . . . . (9)
Eqs. 11, 12, and 14.
if the coefficients A and B are properly chosen. For These relationships have been tested in the labora-
this theological model, the velocity profile within the tory by yielding tubes filled with gelled oils. For a
pipe is readily determined’ to be single experiment, only three variables can be meas-
ured: rate of injection, injection pressure, and time
v (B+l)/B

Vmax
=l–
() L.....
r~=
Fig. 7 shows the calculated veloci~ profiles for the
two extreme possibilities for Prudhoe Bay crude of
B = 0.162 and B = 1. It is interesting to see that
even though mathematically there is no finite gel
strength in this fluid, when B is small the flow in a
pipe will still be essentially “plug” like.
The shear rate (or velocity gradient) across the
pipe will be a maximum near the wall and will in
fact fall to zero at the center of the pipe. Thus, to be
ma~hematicallv. .precise, equations relating flow rate
and pressure gradient should incorporate the correct
relationship between ~ and y, between the maximum
value of y (at the wall) and y = O. From a practical
point of view, however, the velocity profile is insensi-
tive to the relationship between . and y at very low
values of y. Thus, a very useful simplification will be
to evaluate A and B at the shear rate and shear strain
near the pipe wall and then to use the pseudoplastic
equations to relate pressure drop and flow rate in the
L -ln.~fi~l nnram~t~.~ .
pipe. Tk r11eu,u51we1~----- for a piape can then
be approximated as
DAp
‘D=4LTi’ ”””””””
y. = (3 -t l/B)q
. .
i7r~~X3ri
. (lo) (or volume injected). Fig. 6, however, shows four un-
knowns: rate of injection, injection pressures, volume
injected and “B”, an exponent relating 7 and y at
any stage of displacement (B is often denoted the
“flow-behavior index”). This problem can be over-
come by yielding duplicate tubes with all conditions
constant except rates of injection, which differ by
twofold to tenfold. If it is assumed that there is some
average value of “B” that is adequate to describe
both experiments (at equal values of shear strain),
then the tube-yielding data can be plotted on Fig. 6
without any prior knowledge of rheo[ogical behavior
m determined in a viscometer. Data of this type have
shown agreement that appeared to be as good as the
original correlation of viscometric data for values of
&of about 100 or more.
It is now necessary to introduce a new variable —
compressibility of the pump system. Any real labora-
tory pump will have some compressibility resulting
from compressibility of the fluid it contains, elastic
expansion of the pump chamber, elastic flexing of
the drive system, etc. Therefore, with most “constant-
rate” pimp system-~, e!lhent rates are not actually
constant unless the rate of change of pressure is low.
Since the yield pressure of a tube is sensitive to the
. (11) effluent rate from the pump, the measured initial yield
pressure jor a tube filled with gelled oil is then a
function oj the nominal injection rate as well as the
. . . . . (12)
compressibility of the pump system. Fig. 8 shows

1.0 .

0.8 -
—
; 0.6 -
‘E
& 0.4 -

0.2

,.-6 ,.-4 ,.-2 1 100

r

(—)
r max

Fig. 6-Generalized theological correlation Fig. 7-Calculated velocity profiles in a pipe

from viscometer data. for pseudoplastic fiuids.

MARCH, 1971 30s

 ●

some calculated examples together with experimental
results that verify this compressibility effect of the
pump system.
Yielding in a Compressible Pipe
ln a large pipeline containing a thixotropic fluid,
compressibility will play a measurable role in yield-
ing behavior. This effect results from the compressi-
bility of the fluid contained in the pipe as well as the
expansion of the pipe itself, which gives an effect
equivalent to greater compressibility. The effective
compressibility resulting from expansion of the pipeg
is given by Eq. 15.
~,= D(l– v’)
(15)
hE ”””””””
The effect of a compressible systeKmis illustrated
on Fig. 9. Because of compressibility, fluid can be
injected at the inlet with a high pressure gradient,
and it will not immediately flow out of the pipe exit.
As fluid continues to be injected, the moving gel near
the pipe inlet degrades in yield strength as a result
of thixotropic behavior. Thus as the pressure wave
moves through the pipeline, the “effective” yield
. .. -1 ..,:11 hm c mewhat ]e$s than if the
strength or me gtx W1ll “v .c . . . . . . . .
and yielded. Duplicate runs were made in a copper
tube (essentially incompressible) of the closest avail-
able size (ID of 0,311 in.) and with all other condi-
tions the same. Results of a typical pair of runs are
shown on Fig. 10. We invariably noted different
characteristic shapes of the yield curves, and observed
that the initial yield pressure of the compressible hose
was lower than for the equivalent run in the incom-
pressible tube even though the nominal shear rate in
the hose was slightly greater. Calculations show that
the decrease in initial yield strength could not be
accounted for by the slight increase in diameter of
the compressible hose resulting from the pressure
increase. However, it could be accounted for by
including the effect of degradation of the gel resulting
from the compressibility of the system.
Trans Aiaska l?i@ine Behavior
Although the design of the proposed Trans Alaska
pipeline is not yet final, the calculated starting behav-
ior of one hypothetical section can be used to illus-
trate the present approach. Consider the 100-mile
section nearest Prudhoe Bay. Assume that this section
contains 22 miles of pipeline arranged in segments of
various lengths, alternating surface and buried pipe-

whole length of gel had to be yielded at one time. iine. H the ~ipelifie IAu.-
~-r- . . . .in for a long period of
C~ut

This effect can be calculated by breaking the pipeline
into mathematical segments and allowing the gel
properties to vary along the pipeline as the transient
pre~~ure wave advances.
The effect of a compressible pipe system has been
demonstrated in the laborato~. A reinforced rubber
hose, 50 ft long, with an ID of 0.335 in. and a com-
pressibility of about 0.001 psi-’, was wound in the
form of a helix, filled with oil, cooled slowly, aged,
time, then the temperature in surface sec~ions could
conceivably fall to about – 200 F during winter
months. If the pipeline had previously been in opera-
tion, then the temperature of buried segments would
not fall below 32 ‘F for a very long penod of time.
If the pipeline were full of oii when shut in, the dii?er-
ence in elevation between the first two pump stations
would cause a static oil head of about 500 psi at the
first pump station. Thus during start-up, a maximum

10
I I
TI I I
9 - ~
CALCULATED POINTS FOR A PUMP SYSTEM OF ZERO COMPRESSIBILITY
z ~-

PISTON SPEED s 0.012 In. /Min.

3.14 Sq. In. PUMP \
PISTON SPEED = 0.00243 In. /Min.
I
I I
35.8 Sq. In. PUMP
PISTON SPEED = 0.0002 In. /Min.

5 ‘1

3
oYNu
CALCULATED WITH ?’i = 230 ~ .
2
DYNES
XXXK. CALCULATED WITH Yi = 13S
1 ~ -

— EXPERIMENTAL RUNS

0
o 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
TIME, MINUTES

Fig. 8-Effect of pump system compressibility on measured yield value.

JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY

pressure rise of only about 500 psi could be tolerated Concepts and equations have been developed that
at the first pump station. adequately predict yield behavior of gelled, thixo-
Computer programs have been written that will tropic oils in pipe. The ‘relationships have been veri-
permit the specification of both a maximum injection fied experimentally in laboratory equipment, and it
rate and a maximum inlet pressure rise. Since the has been determined that two additional variables
system is compressible, oil can initially be injected at (besides those generally recognized) must be con-
the specified maximum injection rate. The inlet pres- trolled in order to get consistent initial yield pres-
sure, however, will rise rapidly. If the inlet pressure sures; these are shear rate and compressibility of the
rises to the specified maximum value, then the rate of pump system.
injection will begin to decrease. As the transient pres- The compressibility of a pipeline will irdluence
sure wave moves through the system, and as the yield behavior. Computer programs have been devel-
th~xotropic gel degrades and is displaced out of the oped to calculate this effect, and have been tested
section by i~jected warm oil, the injection rate ‘will ~gain~t iab~rat~~ data that have demonstrated the
reach a minimum value and then increase as further effect of expansion of the pipe.
dkpkmxnent tzdkesplace. Three cases of typical start- Calculations have shown that with proper design
.,
ing behavior are shown on Fig. 11 for oils having the me proposeu-s I---
., a. . .A...
Iackn
. ... ~.=
niDeline can be restarted
properties shown on Fig. i, Caicttiiatiorl wuch as without difficulty when filled with normally produced
these have shown that with proper design, the Trans Prudhoe Bay oil.
Alaska pipeline can be restarted without difficulty
when filled with normally produced Prudhoe Bay oil. Nomenclature
A= empirical constant describing theological
Conclusions behavior (Eq. 5)
The apparent yield strength of Pmdhoe Bay crude A~ = shearing area of viscometer bob
oil is influenced by its temperature history, shear his- B= empirical constant describing theological
tory,
---S bolllp”s,..o...
illlu
- m~fi iti n
behavior (Eq. 5)
The gelled crude behaves as a pseudoplastic mate- Cp = apparem - uomple~~lukll.j
- --- --:k~l”f~~~lle
---- m pipe ex-
rial to very low values of shear rate, but its behavior pansion
grades into a Newtonian-like behavior at high shear D= inside diameter of pipe
rates. Its behavior is thixotropic. Degraded gels can E= Young’s modulus of pipe wall
substantially rebuild upon quiescent aging for a num- h= pipe wall thickness
ber of hours. L= length of pipe segment
Over the range studied, it appears that the shear 1= maximum extent of penetration of injected
stren-@h of a given oil at a given temperature is ap- fluid into a pipe
proximately a point function of Shear rate and shear ~D= Pi~t~n-like displacement length of injected
strain. fluid (i.e., volume injected/area)

FLOWIN ‘––-–––--- –-––-– –-– F1OW OUT

—
500,000 80PD _— -—__
0 BOPD
l_ —-_ —_ —__-—

500

Fig. 9--Effect of compressibility. 400

40

30 200 -
COMPRESSIBLETUBE

20
100
10 INCOMPRESSIBLETUBE
~ .1.27 S. C:’

o 1 1 I 0
o 5 10 1s 20 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 a
TIME, MINUTES TIME, HOURS

Fig. 10-Typical pressure behavior during displacement Fig. n--Calculated starth’tg behavior for a hypothetical
of gelled oil from a compressible and incompressible tube 100-mile section of the proposed Trans Alaska pipeline
of essentially the same size. (oil properties as shown on Fig. 1).

MARCH, 1971 307

 pressure dtierence across a segment of
pipe
total flow rate in a pipe
radius
radius of viscometer bob
time
torque
fluid velocity in a pipe at any radius
velocity of a moving surface in a visco-
meter
shear rate
dimensionless shear rate (Eq. 7)
plate spacing of a viscometer
shear strain
Newtonian viscosi~
Poisson’s ratio of pipe wall
shear stress
dimensionless shear stress (Eq. 6)
intrinsic shear stress; a value that will
make ,~= 1 at y~=O.00015 and &=O
References
1. Gill, F. and Russell, R. J.: “Pumpability of Residual Fuel
~~~~ Ind. and Eng. Chem. (June, 1954) 46, No. 6, 1264-
2. Davenport, T. C. and Russell, R. J.: “The Full-Scale
Pumping of Admiralty Fuel Oil and Its Relation to Lab@
ratory Tests”, J. Institute of Petroleum (May, 1960) 46,
hJo, 437, 143-160.
3. Ackroyd, G. C., Hosk@, D. E. M. and Lowe, A. G.: “The
Development of a Test to Predict the Pumpability of Ad-
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Subscripts 7. Donnelly, R. J. and Simon, N. J.: “An Empirical Torque

Relation for Supercritical Flow Between Rotating Cylin-
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Acknowledgments 9, Ludwig, Milton and Johnston, S. P.: “Prediction of Surge
We wish to acknowledge that these data have resulted Pressures in Long Oii-TrrmsrnksiCn L.mes”, API Div. o}
Transportation ( 1950) 30, 62-70. JPT
from cooperative research on the part of the three
original participants in TAPS: British Petroleum Co.,
Ltd., Humble Oil & Refining Co., and Atlantic Rich-
Original manuscript received in Society of Petroleum Engineers
field Co. We wish to thank the owners of the Trans office June 30, 1970. Revised manuscript received Dec. 1, 1970.
Alaska Pipeline System for permission to publish this Paper (SPE 2997) wss presented at SPE 45th Annual Fall Meeting,
held in Houston, Oct. 4-7, 1970. G Copyright 1971 American
paper. Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineer% Inc.

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