rd

Proceedings of the 3 Joint US-European Fluids Engineering Summer Meeting

FEDSM 2010
August 1-5, 2010, Montreal, Canada

FEDSM-ICNMM2010-30775

GAS LIQUID VANE SEPARATORS IN HIGH PRESSURE APPLICATIONS

Dani Fadda, Ph.D., P.E. David Barker

Peerless Mfg. Co. Peerless Europe Limited
Dallas, Texas, USA United Kingdom

ABSTRACT This rig contains a vertical test vessel with an inside

Vane separators are inertial devices used to remove diameter of 33 inch (840mm). This test vessel is part of a flow
entrained liquids from gas. They are utilized in pressure vessels loop that utilizes hydrocarbon gas and liquid condensate (live
operating at a wide range of temperatures and pressures. fluids) at pressure up to 2100 psia (145 bar).
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling and sizing The purpose of the test at Statoil’s facility is to determine if
calculations are used to evaluate the loading to a vane separator the vane separators can be sized and their gas and liquid
and determine the maximum overall gas and liquid handling capacity can be predicted at high pressures where the liquid
capacity of the pressure vessel. surface tension is low and the density difference (liquid density
Test results, performed at operating pressures up to 133 bar minus gas density) is also low.
(1931 psia) using live natural gas illustrate that, when sized An inlet baffle and a vane unit were designed, fabricated,
correctly based on the vane’s capacity curves and CFD and installed in the test vessel. The gas and liquid handling
modeling, vane separators continue to have high separation capacity of the vessel were determined using CFD modeling
efficiency at very high operating pressures. and capacity curves specific to the vane unit utilized. The
vessel’s separation performance, as a whole, was tested at high
INTRODUCTION operating pressures. Results illustrate that, when sized properly,
A full scale test at high pressure is performed to evaluate vane separators continue to perform with high efficiency at high
the separation performance of a vane unit in high pressure operating pressures.
service. The test rig (Fig. 1) is housed at K-Lab, Statoil’s gas
metering and technology laboratory in Karsto, Norway which VANE SEPARATORS
has been in operation since 2004. Vane profiles are typically designed to form a zigzag gas
path between each two adjacent vanes. A set of eight double
pocketed vanes is shown in Fig. 2, bundled together to form a
vane bank. The vanes are metallic and their depth, from the two
phase flow inlet to the dry gas outlet typically varies between 2
to 10 inches (51 to 254 mm).
Dry Gas
Outlet

Two Phase
Fig. 1, Test Vessel at Statoil’s Flow Inlet
Karsto Test Facility
Fig. 2, Eight Double Pocketed Vanes

1 Copyright © 2010 by the ASME, Published by the ASME

 The gas flows from the two phase flow inlet face to the dry Gas
gas flow outlet face. Liquid droplets that enter the vane with the Mesh and Outlet
gas deposit on the vane walls and form a liquid film. Pockets, Vane
strategically placed within the vane’s body, are used to capture
the liquid film and provide regions for liquid drainage within Down Comer
the vane body that are sheltered from the gas velocities (Fewel Pipe
and Kean, 1992). Inlet
Vane banks are typically installed within a frame such as Inlet
the one shown in Fig. 3. The size of this frame is determined Protection Baffle
based on the flow rates and properties of the gas and the liquid Plate
Liquid
that is being removed. The liquid, captured in the vanes, drains
Outlet
to the bottom of this frame and is transported by gravity out of
the frame through a down comer pipe. This down comer pipe
terminates in a liquid collection section away from the gas path. Fig. 4, Peerless Two-Stage
Vertical Vane Separator

COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS

Since the proportions of the test vessel (inlet to vessel
diameter ratio) are not specifically designed per the standard
design criteria for the mesh pad and vane being tested, a
computational fluid dynamics study is performed. The purpose
of this study is to evaluate the steam velocities and liquid
loading to the vane unit.
The vessel is modeled using Fluent CFD software. The
inlet baffle and the vane unit are included in the test section
shown in Fig. 5. The vane unit is modeled as a porous region
(Nield and Bejan 1992).
The flow is incompressible and the K-epsilon model of
turbulence is used with standard wall functions on all the solid
Down walls.
Comer
Pipe

Fig. 3, Vane Bank Frame

Mesh and
DESIGN OF INTERNALS Test Vane
The design shown in Fig. 4 was selected for the high Section
pressure test. This design consists of a primary tangential inlet
baffle and a secondary vane unit with mesh pad on the vane Inlet and
bank’s inlet face. It is a standard design used by Peerless to Inlet Baffle
handle a wide range of flow rates and conditions, including
those expected in the Statoil test vessel.
The primary tangential baffle consists of a channel secured Fig. 5, Test Section
to the vessel shell at an angle from the inlet flow direction. The
two-phase flow stream entering the vessel is deflected sideways The inlet is defined as a constant velocity gas inlet with
by the baffle towards the cylindrical vessel shell. The gas swirls 10% turbulence intensity. The gas entering the vessel rotates
inside the vessel and flows upwards as a significant amount of inside the vessel due to the inlet baffle specified. This rotation
liquid is separated due to the centrifugal and gravitational is expected to cause bulk liquid separation, as relatively heavy
forces on the liquid droplets. This baffle design provides bulk liquids carried with the lighter gas move towards the wall (due
removal efficiencies in excess of 85% of the incoming liquid. to centrifugal motion) and fall downwards to the bottom of the

2 Copyright © 2010 by the ASME, Published by the ASME

cylindrical vessel (due to gravity). Path lines representing the
gas flow near the inlet are shown in Fig. 6.

(a) Vectors

(a) General View

(b) Contours
Fig. 7, Velocity Vectors and
Contours in the Vane Bank (m/s)

LIQUID REMOVAL AND LIQUID DISTRIBUTION

The liquid removal efficiency due to the inlet centrifugal
(b) Top View motion can be calculated using a coupled or non-coupled
Fig. 6, Gas Path Lines Entering the Vessel discrete phase droplet trajectory analysis. However, one
Colored by Velocity Magnitude (m/s) dimensional calculations can also be used (Hoffman and Stein,
2008, Perry and Green, 1997, or other proprietary calculations).
While the rotating flow in the vessel is desired for bulk These one dimensional calculations are found to be significantly
liquid removal, it also causes an undesirable non-uniform less computationally expensive while their results remain
velocity profile within the vane bank. Velocity vectors and quantitatively well representative of the separation
contours in the middle of the vane bank representing the gas performance.
velocity are shown in Fig. 7. These capture the non-uniformity Proprietary mechanistic calculations similar to those
in the gas flow within the vane bank as calculated in the cell referenced above (specific to the tangential inlet baffle utilized
centers of the computational mesh within the vane bank. here) are used to evaluate the separation efficiency of the inlet
A non-dimensional velocity mal-distribution is defined as section and the average liquid loading to the vane bank. These
the ratio of maximum to average gas velocity in the vane bank. calculations are performed based on the velocities and the flow
Specifically, based on the maximum and average velocities of properties of the CFD simulation but are performed separately
Fig. 7, the mal-distribution is 1.24. The maximum gas velocity from the CFD simulation.
shown in Fig. 7 is 24% higher than the average gas velocity in Further, the liquid loading to the vane bank is expected to
the vane bank. be non-uniform. A liquid mal-distribution can be evaluated by a
The results are checked for numerical accuracy. Grid discrete phase droplet trajectory analysis. Alternatively, a
independence and convergence tests proved that the CFD model constant liquid to gas ratio can be assumed. Based on previous
is grid independent and numerically converged. experience with modeling the separation equipment presented
in this paper, the constant liquid to gas ratio provides a
conservative liquid mal-distribution value which is appropriate

3 Copyright © 2010 by the ASME, Published by the ASME

for the design of this equipment. Using the constant liquid to Table 1, Gas and Liquid Properties
gas ratio conservative assumption yields a liquid mal- Pressure Temp Gas Gas Surface Liquid Liquid
Bar,g C Density Viscosity Tension Density Viscosity
distribution equal to the gas mal-distribution, which is 24% Kg/m3 m Pas m N/m Kg/m3 Pas
higher than the average loading to the vane bank. 29 32 23.0 0.0121 11.8 703 0.399
89 30 82.0 0.0144 5.5 647 0.256
The mal-distribution value, for the gas and liquid, is used to 133 30 130.4 0.0173 3.1 634.4 0.217
determine the maximum allowable gas and liquid flow rates in
the vessel such that the loading to the vane area is within the Maximum flow rates are calculated for each of the
vane’s capacity for 100% of the vane’s area (Fadda, 1998). operating conditions shown in Table 1, based on CFD modeling
and the vane capacity curves as described in this paper.
VANE’S CAPACITY Specifically, for each operating condition, the maximum gas
Each vane profile has a capacity curve, obtained from flow rate is determined such that 100% of the vane area
experimental testing or CFD calculations, in addition to operates within the capacity of the vane.
correction correlations for the actual gas and liquid physical The calculated maximum capacity of the vessel, as a whole,
properties. The description of methods used to obtain a capacity is shown in Table 2. Closely examining the numbers in this
curve and correction correlations fall outside the scope of this table reveals that the gas flow rate must be de-rated 35% of the
paper. However, a description of its use in conjunction with original rate, as the pressure is increased from 29 to 133 bar,g.
CFD modeling is presented. The de-rating is due to the changes in densities and viscosities
The curve shown in Fig. 8 relates the liquid loading (Ql) to of the gas and liquid in addition to the surface tension.
the gas flux (Qg) through a vane bank. While the shape of this
curve remains as shown, the values on its axes are a highly Table 2, Gas Capacity
dependent on the vane type used in addition to the operating gas Pressure Gas Capacity
and liquid physical properties. Bar,g m3/hr
29 1969
The curve is used as follows: for a given gas flow rate 89 977
through the vane bank and liquid loading to the bank a 133 687
representative set of points can be plotted on this curve. If the
plotted points are below (or to the left of) this capacity curve, The bulk overall efficiency of the vessel is measured
the vane will be able to capture and remove the incoming experimentally by Statoil. This efficiency is calculated as a
liquids. However, if some (or all) the plotted points are above percentage ratio of the captured liquid volume in the vessel to
(or to the right of) this curve, liquid carryover will be expected the incoming liquid volume at the inlet of the vessel. The liquid
downstream of the vane bank due to capacity failure. A well removal efficiency is shown in Fig. 9 for all three operating
designed vane bank operates within its capacity over 100% of pressures.
the vane area (Fewel and Kean 1992 and Fewel et al., 2000). The liquid removal efficiency shown is observed to slightly
decrease at high pressure. This behavior is consistent with
inertial separation (GPSA 1999). However, due to proper sizing
and de-rating, the decrease in efficiency is minimal and the
Carryover vessel performance is very high. As shown in Fig. 9, this overall
Ql
removal efficiency remained very high for all pressures.
100%
Liquid Removal Efficiency (%)

90%
80%
Qg
70%
Fig. 8, Vane Capacity
60%
50%
The mesh pad placed at the inlet of the vane bank acts as 40%
flow straightening devices that improve the velocity profile
30%
within the vane. It also causes coalescing of small droplets and
20%
improves the vane bank’s overall separation efficiency.
10%
0%
TESTING AND TEST RESULTS
The gas and liquid physical properties at Statoil’s 29 89 133
laboratory include those shown in Table 1 for low, medium, and Pressure (Bar)
high pressure. The gas density and viscosity are shown in Fig. 9, Bulk Liquid Removal Efficiency
addition to the liquid surface tension, density, and viscosity at
each pressure.

4 Copyright © 2010 by the ASME, Published by the ASME

CONCLUSION
Vane separators are appropriate for high pressure
separation applications. Test results, performed at operating
pressures up to 133 bar (1931 psia) using live natural gas fluids
illustrate that, when sized correctly based on sizing calculations
and CFD modeling, vane separators continue to have high
separation efficiency at very high operating pressures.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors wish to thank Peerless Mfg. Co. for approving
the publication of this paper.
Special thanks to Statoil for their test program at their test
facility and for allowing the publication of the test results.

REFERENCES
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5 Copyright © 2010 by the ASME, Published by the ASME