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Modelling wax diffusion in crude oils: the cold finger device. (English) Zbl 1187.80012

Summary: In this paper we show how to obtain wax diffusivity and solubility values in crude oils from deposition measurements in the cold finger device with stirring. Providing a rather accurate knowledge of such quantities is of great importance in predicting the wax deposition rate in pipelines. We present a mathematical model in which the physical quantities are assumed to be space-independent in the bulk region of the device, because of agitation, so that mass transport occur in relatively thin boundary layers. As a consequence the deposition phenomenon is accelerated with respect to the static device [see S. Correra, A. Fasano, L. Fusi, M. Primicerio, F. Rosso, ZAMM, Z. Angew. Math. Mech. 87, No. 1, 24–36 (2007)], shortening the duration of experiments. Comparison with some available laboratory measurements shows a satisfactory agreement and the values obtained are in the range of those usually adopted by practitioners.

MSC:

80A20 Heat and mass transfer, heat flow (MSC2010)
35K57 Reaction-diffusion equations
35R35 Free boundary problems for PDEs
76R50 Diffusion
76S05 Flows in porous media; filtration; seepage
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References:

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