Influence of nanoparticle concentration on the flow regimes of crude oil – Nanosuspension in a microchannel

This paper presents the results of an investigation into the effect of silica nanoparticles on two-phase flow regimes in a Y-shaped microchannel. The following fluids were subjected to investigation: oil, water, and a water-based suspension containing SiO2 nanoparticles at a weight concentration of 1 ≤ φ ≤ 10 %. A systematic investigation of the flow regimes revealed the following: slug, parallel, and droplet regimes. The ranges of existence of the obtained flow regimes were determined and flow regime maps were constructed as a function of fluid flow rates and dimensionless numbers. The results of the study demonstrated that the slug length and frequency of slug formation are influenced by varying silica concentrations. Furthermore, the correlation between slug length and nanoparticle concentration remains consistent as the suspension flow rate increases. The dependence of the ratio of oil layer width to channel width for suspensions with varying nanoparticle concentrations was quantified. A mathematical simulation of two-phase flow of immiscible fluids was conducted. The results of the numerical simulation demonstrated the existence of the flow regimes that had been previously identified through experimentation. The aforementioned methodology may therefore be employed for the investigation of the two-phase immiscible flow of oil and nanosuspension.