TEMPERATURE TESTING SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR HYDRATE NUCLEATION AND PHASE TRANSITION BASED ON INFRARED IMAGING

Abstract

A temperature testing system for hydrate nucleation and phase transition based on infrared imaging is provided and includes a gas-liquid supplying device, a refrigeration device, an infrared imaging device, a hydrate generation device, and a data acquisition device. The gas-liquid supplying device is configured to provide a gas and a liquid required for synthetizing a hydrate. The refrigeration device is configured to provide a temperature environment required for synthetizing the hydrate. The infrared imaging device is configured to in-situ measure temperature changes caused during a formation of the hydrate. The hydrate generation device is configured to provide a visual growth environment for nucleation and phase transition of the hydrate. The data acquisition device is configured to collect a temperature, a system pressure, and infrared imaging data from the hydrate generation device. The temperature testing system can accurately determine the temperature evolution during the nucleation, formation, and decomposition of the hydrate.

Claims

1. A temperature testing system for hydrate nucleation and phase transition based on infrared imaging, comprising: a gas-liquid supplying device, a refrigeration device, an infrared imaging device, a hydrate generation device, and a data acquisition device; wherein the gas-liquid supplying device is configured to provide a gas and a liquid required for synthetizing a hydrate; wherein the refrigeration device is configured to provide a temperature environment to hydrate generation device required for synthetizing the hydrate; wherein the infrared imaging device is configured to in-situ measure temperature changes of the hydrate generation device caused during a formation of the hydrate; wherein the hydrate generation device is configured to provide a visual growth environment for nucleation and phase transition of the hydrate; and wherein the data acquisition device is configured to collect a temperature, a system pressure, and infrared imaging data from the hydrate generation device.

2. The temperature testing system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the gas-liquid supplying device comprises a gas cylinder, a high-pressure pump, a water container, and a water injection pump, the gas cylinder and the high-pressure pump are configured to provide the gas with a higher pressure for the hydrate generation device, and the water container and the water injection pump are configured to provide the liquid for the hydrate generation device.

3. The temperature testing system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the refrigeration device is connected to the hydrate generation device through a pressure resistant metal pipeline, and the refrigeration device comprises a water bath device and a refrigeration platform; the refrigeration device is configured to control the temperature required for the formation of the hydrate through providing a cold fluid through the water bath device or providing the temperature environment for the hydrate generation device through the refrigeration platform in in a semiconductor refrigeration manner.

4. The temperature testing system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the infrared imaging device comprises an infrared imager and an infrared imaging mounting bracket, the infrared imager is configured to measure temperature changes of the hydrate generation device during the formation of the hydrate, and the infrared imaging mounting bracket is configured to fix the infrared imager.

5. The temperature testing system as claimed in claim 1, wherein a material of the hydrate generation device is sapphire, the hydrate generation device comprises a hydrate generation chamber and a waste liquid container, and the waste liquid container is configured to accommodate a waste liquid.

6. The temperature testing system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the data acquisition device comprises a temperature sensor, a pressure sensor, and a computer data acquisition system; the temperature sensor is configured to collect the temperature in the hydrate generation device, the pressure sensor is configured to collect the system pressure in the hydrate generation device, and the computer data acquisition system is configured to receive the infrared imaging data from the infrared imaging device and perform data analysis on the infrared imaging data.

7. A temperature testing method for hydrate nucleation and phase transition based on infrared imaging, comprising: step 1, preparing for experimental conditions, comprising: step 1.1, adding a liquid into a hydrate generation chamber through a water injection pump; step 1.2, opening a gas cylinder to inject a gas into the hydrate generation chamber through a high-pressure pump; step 1.3, performing a refrigeration cycle and controlling a temperature inside the hydrate generation chamber through an external cooling; step 2, conducting infrared thermal imaging experiments to determine thermal effects of nucleation and phase transition of a hydrate: step 2.1, according to the experimental conditions, setting a corresponding pressure through the high-pressure pump and setting a constant pressure inside the hydrate generation chamber through a constant pressure mode; step 2.2, according to the experimental conditions, setting a cooling rate and a constant temperature of the refrigeration cycle of a water bath device; step 2.3, while performing step 2.2, turning on an infrared imager to record temperature changes of the hydrate generation chamber during the formation of the hydrate; step 2.4, recording surrounding temperature changes of the hydrate generation device caused by a heat release during a nucleation process of the hydrate, and then recording system temperature changes during a formation process of the hydrate; step 2.5, after the formation process of the hydrate is completed, setting a temperature gradient and the constant temperature of the refrigeration cycle of the water bath device; and step 2.6, recording temperature changes in a surrounding environment of the hydrate generation device caused by the decomposition and heat absorption process of the hydrate using the infrared imager.

8. The temperature testing method as claimed in claim 7, wherein in the step 1, the injected gas is a single gas or a mixed gas; the added liquid is a salt solution or an organic solution.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0031] The attached drawings generally illustrate various embodiments by way of example rather than limitation, and are used together with the specification and claims to illustrate the embodiments of the disclosure. When appropriate, use the same reference numerals in all drawings to refer to the same or similar parts. Such embodiments are illustrative and not intended as exhaustive or exclusive embodiments of the present device or method.

[0032] FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a temperature testing system for hydrate nucleation and phase transition based on infrared imaging according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0033] FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of a temperature testing method for hydrate nucleation and phase transition based on infrared imaging according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0034] It should be noted that, without conflict, the embodiments and features in the embodiments of the disclosure can be combined with each other. The following will refer to the attached drawings and combine them with embodiments to provide a detailed explanation of the disclosure.

[0035] As shown in FIG. 1, a temperature testing system for hydrate nucleation and phase transition based on infrared imaging is provided and includes a gas-liquid supplying device 1, a refrigeration device 2, an infrared imaging device 3, a hydrate generation device 4, and a data acquisition device 5. The gas-liquid supplying device 1 is configured to provide a gas and a liquid required for synthetizing a hydrate. The refrigeration device 2 is configured to provide a temperature environment to the hydrate generation device required for synthetizing the hydrate. The infrared imaging device 3 is configured to in-situ measure temperature changes of the hydrate generation device 4 caused of the hydrate generation device during a formation of the hydrate. The hydrate generation device 4 is configured to provide a visual growth environment for nucleation and phase transition of the hydrate. The data acquisition device 5 is configured to collect a temperature, a system pressure, and infrared imaging data from the hydrate generation device 4.

[0036] The gas-liquid supplying device 1 includes a gas cylinder 1-1, a high-pressure pump 1-2, a water container 1-3, and a water injection pump 1-4. The gas cylinder 1-1 and the high-pressure pump 1-2 are configured to provide the gas with a higher pressure in a range of 0-40 MegaPascal (Mpa) for the hydrate generation device 4, and the water container 1-3 and the water injection pump 1-4 are configured to provide the liquid for the hydrate generation device 4.

[0037] The refrigeration device 2 is connected to the gas-liquid supplying device 1 through a pressure resistant metal pipeline 8, and the refrigeration device includes a water bath device 2-1 and a refrigeration platform 2-2. The refrigeration device 2 is configured to control the temperature required for the formation of the hydrate through providing a cold fluid through the water bath device 2-1 or providing the temperature environment for the hydrate generation device 4 through the refrigeration platform 2-2 in in a semiconductor refrigeration manner.

[0038] The infrared imaging device 3 includes an infrared imager 3-1 and an infrared imaging mounting bracket 3-2, the infrared imager 3-1 is configured to measure temperature changes of the hydrate generation device 4 during the formation of the hydrate, and the infrared imaging mounting bracket 3-2 is configured to fix the infrared imager 3-1.

[0039] A material of the hydrate generation device 4 is sapphire, the hydrate generation device 4 includes a hydrate generation chamber 4-1 and a waste liquid container 4-2, and the waste liquid container 4-2 is configured to accommodate a waste liquid.

[0040] The data acquisition device 5 includes a temperature sensor 6, a pressure sensor 7, and a computer data acquisition system 5-1. The temperature sensor 6 is configured to collect the temperature in the hydrate generation device 4, the pressure sensor 7 is configured to collect the system pressure in the hydrate generation device 4, and the computer data acquisition system 5-1 is configured to receive the infrared imaging data (i.e., the temperature changes the hydrate generation device 4) from the infrared imaging device 3 and perform data analysis on the infrared imaging data.

[0041] The temperature testing system for hydrate nucleation and phase transition based on infrared imaging in this embodiment enables related research under different working mediums through the fully visible hydrate generation device of the infrared thermal imaging system. In addition, a separate liquid and gas injection pump has been designed to meet the experimental requirements of different gas components and different solution components when considering the variability of gas-liquid components in different hydrate generations.

[0042] Based on the embodiment of the disclosure, the temperature testing system for hydrate nucleation and phase transition based on infrared imaging is provided, and a temperature testing method for hydrate nucleation and phase transition based on infrared imaging is also provided. The principle is to quantitatively evaluate the potential factors affecting the temperature changes of hydrate phase transition.

[0043] (1) The hydrate nucleation and phase transition involve the breaking and the formation of hydrogen bonds, which in turn causes changes in the surrounding temperature. The extent of temperature increase during the formation of the hydrate represents the amount of hydrate formed instantaneously during the hydrate nucleation. The amount of heat absorbed during the decomposition of the hydrate represents the amount of the hydrate decomposed instantaneously. If a large amount of the decomposition occurs and the system is lowered to below zero degrees Celsius, it can lead to ice formation or secondary hydrate generation that blocks the pipeline. Therefore, the study of the characteristics of temperature evolution of the hydrate phase transition is conducted.

[0044] (2) The heat changes caused by the formation and the decomposition of the hydrate are usually measured by instruments such as thermometers or differential scanning calorimeters. However, these two types of methods measure the temperature and heat changes of the entire system of the hydrate nucleation and the phase transition and do not have the capability to determine the quantitative temperature changes of the surrounding environment caused by the hydrate nucleation and the phase transition. The method of infrared thermal imaging can accurately depict the temperature changes of the surrounding environment caused by the hydrate nucleation and the phase transition. This method can accurately quantify the thermal effects of the hydrate nucleation and the phase transition in different hydrate systems and provide data support for precisely depicting the temperature changes of the surrounding environment caused by the hydrate nucleation and the phase transition.

[0045] As shown in FIG. 2, the temperature testing method for hydrate nucleation and phase transition based on infrared imaging includes steps as follows.

[0046] Step 1, experimental conditions are prepared as follows: [0047] 1.1, a liquid is added into a hydrate generation chamber through a water injection pump; [0048] 1.2, a gas cylinder is opened to inject a gas into the hydrate generation chamber through a high-pressure pump; [0049] 1.3, a refrigeration cycle is performed and a temperature inside the hydrate generation chamber is controlled through an external cooling.

[0050] Step 2, infrared thermal imaging experiments are conducted to determine thermal effects of nucleation and phase transition of a hydrate as follows: [0051] step 2.1, according to the experimental conditions, a corresponding pressure is set through the high-pressure pump and a constant pressure inside the hydrate generation chamber is set through a constant pressure mode; [0052] step 2.2, according to the experimental conditions, a cooling rate and a constant temperature of the refrigeration cycle of a water bath are set; [0053] step 2.3, while performing step 2.2, an infrared imaging device is turned on to record temperature changes of the hydrate generation device during the formation of the hydrate; [0054] step 2.4, surrounding temperature changes of the hydrate generation device caused by a heat release during the hydrate nucleation are recorded, and then system temperature changes during the formation of the hydrates are also recorded; [0055] step 2.5, after the formation process of the hydrate is completed, setting a temperature gradient and the constant temperature of the refrigeration cycle of the water bath; [0056] step 2.6, the temperature changes in a surrounding environment of the hydrate generation device caused by the decomposition and heat absorption process of the hydrate using the infrared imaging device are recorded.

[0057] In the experimental preparation of the step 1, the injected gas can be a single gas or a mixed gas to explore the effects of different guest molecules on the temperature distribution characteristics during the formation and the decomposition of the hydrate. The injected liquid can be a salt solution or an organic solution to explore the effects of different solution systems on the temperature distribution characteristics during the formation and the decomposition of the hydrate.

[0058] The above is only a specific implementation of the disclosure, but the scope of protection of the disclosure is not limited to this. Any those skilled in the art who is familiar with the technical field within the scope of the disclosed technology and makes equivalent substitutions or changes according to the technical solution and invention concept of the disclosure, should be covered within the scope of protection of the disclosure.