Characterization and Erosion Modeling of a Nozzle-Based Inflow-Control Device

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Abstract
Summary: In the petroleum industry, water-and-gas breakthrough in hydrocarbon reservoirs is a common issue that eventually leads to uneconomic production. To extend the economic production lifetime, inflow-control devices (ICDs) are designed to delay the water-and-gas breakthrough. Because the lifetime of a hydrocarbon reservoir commonly exceeds 20 years and it is a harsh environment, the reliability of the ICDs is vital. With computational fluid dynamics (CFD), an inclined nozzle-based ICD is characterized in terms of the Reynolds number, discharge coefficient, and geometric variations. The analysis shows that especially the nozzle edges affect the ICD flow characteristics. To apply the results, an equation for the discharge coefficient is proposed. The Lagrangian particle approach is used to further investigate the ICD. This allows for erosion modeling by injecting sand particles into the system. By altering the geometry and modeling several scenarios while analyzing the erosion in the nozzles and at the nozzle edges, an optimized design for incompressible media is found. With a filleted design and an erosion-resistant material, the mean erosion rate in the nozzles may be reduced by a factor of more than 2,500.