Flow noise identification using acoustic emission (AE) energy decomposition for sand monitoring in flow pipeline

摘要

In pipelines used for petroleum production and transportation, sand particles may be present in the multi-phase flow of oil and gas and water. The Acoustic Emission (AE) measurement technique is used in the field of sand monitoring and detection in the oil and gas industry. However, as the AE signals recorded are strongly influenced by flow conditions in the pipe, identification of sand particle related signals or events remain a significant challenge in interpretation of AE signals. Therefore, a systematic investigation of sand particle impact AE energy measurements, using a sensor mounted on the outer surface of a sharp bend in a carbon steel pipe, was carried out in the laboratory to characterise flow signals using a slurry impingement flow loop test rig. A range of silica sand particles fractions of mean particle size (212-710 mu m) were used in the flow with particle nominal concentration between (1 and 5 wt.%) while the free stream velocity was changed between (4.2 and 14 ms(-1)).