Key to the modelling of production systems is the quick and accurate integration along well tubings, pipelines/flowlines and risers. Mathematically these objects are all distributed flowpaths where the fluids flow in at one end and leave through the other, and are described by the same fundamental equations (i.e. conservation equations for mass, momentum and energy). Of the numerous calculations performed by Maximus, these kinds of integrations are perhaps the most computationally expensive. Considerable effort has therefore been expended to make these operations very fast and robust.
This section provides an overview of Maximus capability in this area. The discussion is confined to single operations.
Essential to the modelling of multiphase flow along well tubings, pipelines and risers is supplying a representative topographical profile (i.e. elevation versus distance). To aid the definition of the profile, Maximus has an inbuilt profile generator where the User supplies a minimum set of elevation and distance points and the profile generator fits a smooth path through these points.
By way of illustration, two examples of Maximus performing integrations along pipelines are provided. The first example is of a simple 1km pipeline connecting a source to a sink and the second example is of a single well tieback to a fixed platform:
