Morton, Christopher (University of Calgary)

Purpose

Specialized Desanders Inc. designs and manufactures proprietary equipment used to separate sand particles from multi-phase liquid or gas mixtures (referred to herein as 'desanders'). Their overarching challenge, is to stop all forms of erosion in pipelines associated with frac-sand and other solid particulates. The current research project aims to experimentally validate the performance of horizontal desanders and study the internal multi-phase flow physics. Solid particles (mainly sand) are considered a major problem in the gas industry since it causes erosion to the well-head equipment downstream of the well. A horizontal desander may be the best option for sand removal since it is scalable to different flow rates, operates at high pressures up to 10000 psi and can withstand severe sand production for long period of times without reaching the corrosion allowance of a rated pressure vessel._x000D_