CFD – improve performance and lower cost

Meeting the challenges of Oil & Gas
The Oil & Gas and petrochemical field can be prone to difficulties when it comes to efficiency, flow design, mixing, particles, and flow induced vibrations. All of these issues can cause failures that impact equipment and cause severe problems down the line. To deal with these challenges, an increasing number of companies are turning to Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to help meet these challenges.

What is CFD?
CFD is a tool that helps analyse complex systems such as pipe line component interference, separation systems and heat exchangers. The highly accurate flow property data can then be used to predict system performance. It is a quick, low-cost method to design and validate iterations or investigate and optimize performance, run feasibility studies for new configurations, and it can be combined with structural analysis for added value.

Lower costs, improved performance
“Some companies create designs based on their experience, with a little trial and error thrown in,” says Frank Bos. “But as competition rises, simulations such as those offered by CFD are becoming increasingly important. Customers now demand detailed flow insights to optimize their equipment for lower costs and improved performance. And we’re working hard to meet their needs.”

Recent projects with clear benefits
A marine mining company asked DRG to enhance performance through a CFD assessment of particle transport in their equipment. The company also used DRG’s expertise to assess multi-phase particle transport for its deep sea mining applications, resulting in an optimized collector design. Another company brought DRG in to optimize multi-phase flow separation equipment design for its bioreactor. The project resulted in increased separation efficiency. And a natural gas company recently used DRG’s expertise for enhanced mixing and burner optimization.

Improvements across a variety of industries
Careful readers will have noted that the companies described above are not all from the Oil & Gas industry. “We’re always looking for ways to apply our extensive engineering knowledge in ways that can help a variety of customers,” explains Frank Bos. “CFD replaces other expensive and time-consuming methods, and we have found that our expertise can be easily integrated into a wide rang of companies even during busy periods. In fact, we have worked together with some companies specifically to help them meet their own deadlines.”

For more information, please contact:
Email: Frank Bos
Project Engineer

Phone: +31 85 058 00 46