The Development of a Wax Layer on the Interior Wall of a Circular Pipe Transporting Heated Oil -- The Effects of Temperature Dependent Wax Conductivity

TL;DR

This paper extends a thermal phase change model to include temperature-dependent wax conductivity, providing a comprehensive theory and numerical methods for wax layer formation inside heated oil pipes, supported by experimental comparisons.

Contribution

It introduces a novel model accounting for temperature-dependent wax conductivity and offers efficient numerical solutions for wax layer formation in heated oil pipes.

Findings

Model aligns well with experimental data

Temperature dependence significantly affects wax layer growth

Numerical methods enable accurate simulation of phase change processes

Abstract

In this paper we develop and significantly extend the thermal phase change model, introduced in [12], describing the process of paraffinic wax layer formation on the interior wall of a circular pipe transporting heated oil, when subject to external cooling. In particular we allow for the natural dependence of the solidifying paraffinic wax conductivity on local temperature. We are able to develop a complete theory, and provide efficient numerical computations, for this extended model. Comparison with recent experimental observations is made, and this, together with recent reviews of the physical mechanisms associated with wax layer formation, provide significant support for the thermal model considered here.