SPE

Society of Petroleum Engineers

SPE 16502

Simulation of PVT Experiments

by L.W. Bouett, A. Sageev, and F.M. Orr Jr., Stanford U.
SPE Members

Copyright 1987, Society of Petroleum Engineers

This paper was prepared for presentation at the Petroleum Industry Applications of Microcomputers held in Del Lago on Lake Conroe, Montgomery,
Texas, June 23-26, 1987.

This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE Program Committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the
author(s). Contents of the paper, as presented, have not been reviewed by the Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to correction by the
author(s). The material, as presented, does not necessarily reflect any position of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, its officers, or members. Papers
presented at SPE meetings are subject to publication review by Editorial Committees of the Society of Petroleum Engineers. Permission to copy is
restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words. Illustrations may not be copied. The abstract should contain conspicuous acknowledgment of
where and by whom the paper is presented. Write Publications Manager, SPE, P.O. Box 833836, Richardson, TX 75083-3836. Telex, 730989 SPEDAL.

ABSTRACT • predict any resulting changes in phase behavior,

An interactive program was written to simulate pressure-
volume-temperature (PVT) experiments using a microcomputer. The
simulator is a real time representation of an actual PVT laboratory.
Operations that may be performed in the laboratory may also be
performed on the simulator. The Peng-Robinson equation of state is
used to calculate phase behavior and the results of the calculations
are displayed on the microcomputer monitor in color. The monitor
represents graphically the condition of all of the physical components
of the PVT lab including ·pressures, fluid levels in vessels and the
status of valves and pumps. A printed record of every action taken
during a run is kept if desired. A simulated experimental error
results in an appropriate termination of the run. Program structure
and operation are described, and examples of simulated PVT
experiments are given.
• reflect those changes graphically, and
• wait for another action to be taken.
This process is then repeated indefinitely until either the simulation is
terminated by the operator or an inappropriate action is taken which
results in an unexpected termination of the run.
In the remaining sections of this paper we describe a PVT
simulator that meets those objectives. We describe the laboratory
equipment simulated and outline the structure and operation of the
program. In addition, we illustrate program operation by performing
simulated transfer of fluids between vessels, constant composition
expansion and differential liberation experiments.

INTRODUCTION
Phase behavior plays a fundamental role in oil recovery
processes, ranging from the production of gas condensate reservoirs
to the injection of C02 for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) purposes.
Reservoir engineers work routinely with data obtained from
pressure-volume-temperature (PVT) experiments (for example R 8 ,
B 0 , and J.lg) but are sometimes less familiar with the experimental
procedures used to obtain the data than with the uses to which the
data may be put. Students learning about the behavior of reservoir
fluids need to understand how experiments are performed.
Researchers performing PVT experiments may find it useful to be
able to predict the course of an experiment while it is being
conducted.
This paper describes an interactive PVT simulator that allows
the user to become familiar with the experimental techniques used in
a PVT laboratory. Simulator experiments can be performed far more
rapidly than actual experiments, and of course, avoid the potential
safety concerns inherent in high pressure experiments. Thus, a PVT
simulator has considerable value as a teaching tool.
In order to be useful, whether for training, practice or
prediction, the simulator should allow the user to perform any of the
operations that would be performed during PVT experiments in the
physical laboratory. To accomplish this the simulator must:
• allow an action, such as opening a valve or turning on a
pump, to be taken,
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EQUIPMENT
The components of the PVT system modeled in the simulator
are shown schematically in Fig. 1. This system is similar to an actual
apparatus designed for study of COrhydrocarbon mixtures 1• The
simulator screen is shown in Fig. 2. Labels in parentheses in the text
refer to both Figs. 1 and 2. The system is centered around a 100 cm3
PVT cell (Visual Cell). In a typical experiment a single component
or a mixture is transferred from a charging vessel (Charging Vessel 1,
2 or 3) to the cell by using the hand pump (Hand Pump) to remove
mercury from the visual cell and to inject mercury into the charging
vessel. The mass of a component charged to the visual cell is
obtained from the volume of mercury transferred into the charging
vessel at a given pressure and temperature.
Once a mixture of known overall composition is within the
visual cell, its volumetric behavior is investigated by injecting or
removing mercury from the cell. After the pressure has changed, the
fluid is circulated using a small circulation pump (LC Pump) to mix
the phases. When equilibrium is reached the circulation is stopped.
Volumes of phases present in the cell are obtained by measuring the
heights of the mercury interface and the interfaces between the
phases. Bubble point and dew point pressures can be obtained by
noting the pressures at which the volume of the vapor or liquid phase
becomes zero.
A sample of one of the phases can be removed from the system
for compositional analysis by using the motor-driven pump (Servo
Pump) to inject mercury into the cell at a known flow rate. As the
sample leaves the cell through one of the sampling loops (1 or 2}, it
2 SIMULATION OF PVT EXPERIMENTS
passes through a high-pressure densitometer (D-1 or D-2) and a
capillary tube of known internal diameter and length. The
densitometer reports fluid density. The pressure drop along the
capillary tube is used along with capillary length and diameter to
calculate fluid viscosity. Fluid pressure in the sampling line is
maintained constant by a back-pressure regulator (BPR).
Downstream of the BPR the fluid sample is at a pressure close to
atmospheric. The sample is allowed to split into liquid and vapor in
a small separator vial (Centrifuge Tube). The amount of liquid is
determined by weight and the number of moles of vapor is measured
by monitoring the pressure in a vessel (Gas Vessel) that is evacuated
initially. Compositions of the liquid and vapor are determined by
chromatography (Gas Chromatograph). The overall composition of
the sample is then calculated from the amounts and compositions of
the two phases present at atmospheric pressure.
The apparatus shown in Fig. 1 is capable of measuring
equilibrium phase compositions and fluid properties as well as
volumetric behavior of mixtures with changes in pressure. The
apparatus can be used, therefore, for standard constant-composition
expansions, differential liberation experiments, or more complex
characterizations of the behavior of enhanced oil recovery fluid
systems.
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The PVT simulator mimics operation of the PVT laboratory
system by displaying a schematic diagram of the PVT apparatus on
the monitor screen. A typical screen display is shown in Fig. 2. The
user must open and close valves, and operate pumps, to charge fluids
into the PVT cell (Visual Cell), to compress or expand mixtures in
the cell, or to take samples for fluid property and phase composition
measurements. The operation of the PVT simulator is based on the
following assumptions:
1. thermodynamic equilibrium is instantaneous,
2. Joule-Thompson cooling and heating effects are neglected,
3. pressure changes take place isothermally,
4. mercury is incompressible, and
5. tubing in the system has no volume.
The phase behavior of the fluid mixtures is calculated with the Peng-
Robinson equation of state (EOS).
Data Input
Data are entered as strings. In this way it is possible for the
data entry module to check the validity of each number as it is
entered before adding it to the string. By validity is meant, for
example, that if the required input is numeric, only numbers may be
entered. The 25m line is used for data input. Since data are checked
for validity and type when they are entered, a characteristic "beep" is
sounded if there is a data input error. Error checking does not
preclude one's making a mistake: for example, error checking will
not allow toggling valve 50, since there is no valve 50 in the system;
it will, however, allow opening enough valves to create a loop that
could result in an unrecoverable material balance error.
Graphic Screen
The PVT lab simulator makes extensive interactive use of
screen graphic capabilities. The visual cell is drawn large on the
screen with an oversized viewport so that it may be seen easily. Fig.
2 is a typical screen display. Vapor and liquid volumes in the cell
are reported digitally on the screen in cc's and visually as
proportional areas within the cell viewport. Yellow mottled with
randomly-moving grey dots represents the vapor phase; brown
represents the liquid phase; and grey represents mercury. The
interfaces of the phases in the cell are reported accurately according
to their relative volumes, although the interfaces are shown straight
rather than curved.
By opening the appropriate valve the pressure in the cell or
anywhere in the system may be seen. Valve position is reported
either as green (valve open) or red (valve closed). Pump status is
reported by the color of the pump base either as red (pump on) or
194
SPE 16502
green (pump oft). Pressure gauges are continuously updated and the ·
back-pressure regulator (BPR) set pressure is displayed digitally on
the BPR. All vessels and components have descriptive labels and all
valves have numbers. Vessel labels and valve numbers may be
displayed independently as 'desired. There is a block on the right of
the screen that reports the input temperatures relevant to the
experiment. A clock displays real time. The 25m line reports
program status and messages and is used for data input.
Program Operations
Program functions are implemented by pressing the appropriate
function key, Fl through FlO. The function of each of these
special-purpose keys is summarized briefly in Table 1. As shown in
Table 1, some function keys require data input, while others do not.
There are two basic operations: valves may be opened or
closed, and fluid may be injected or withdrawn by either the hand
pump (Hand Pump) or the motor-driven pump (Servo Pump). In
addition to these two basic operations, the following ancillary
operations may be performed:
• the circulating (LC) pump may be cycled (graphic effect
only),
• the BPR pressure may be set,
• the sample collection system may be evacuated,
• the gas chromatograph (GC) may be charged with the fluids
in the sampling system (this also resets the sample collection
system),
• the GC analysis may be displayed (if no sample has been
taken the analysis displayed is that of the visual cell), and
• vessel labels and valve numbers may be toggled on and off.
Everything that may be done in the laboratory (and therefore in the
simulator) is a combination of these operator actions.
Since data are entered as strings it is possible to use the
<BACKSPACE> key to return to the previous level of program
operation or to cancel a function key request altogether. This is
convenient if one decides not to perform a particular action.
Computation Of Phase Behavior
At the heart of the computation module of the simulator is the
Peng-Robinson equation-of-state (EOS)2• Since compositions,
volumes and temperatures are known by the simulator at all times, in
single-phase liquid or vapor regions the resulting pressure is
calculated directly by the EOS. In two-phase regions a flash
calculation is required. In a typical EOS flash calculation, pressure is
known and the EOS calculates phase volumes. Here the overall
system volume is fixed, whether in a charging vessel, the visual cell,
or either leg of the sampling system. Since the system volume is
fixed, the flash algorithm must iterate on pressure. It does this by
first iterating on phase composition in the standard way until vapor
and liquid fugacities are equal. Then it compares the sum of the
phase volumes predicted by the EOS to the fixed overall volume of
the system and adjusts the pressure until that sum matches the overall
volume of the fixed system, within some error criterion. This is
similar to what actually happens in the laboratory; we change the
overall system volume and circulate the fluids until equilibrium is
achieved. The result is an equilibrium pressure.
The equilibrium pressure algorithm described above is used
repeatedly by the simulator. If the volume of a charging vessel is
changed by injecting or withdrawing mercury, there must be a new
equilibrium pressure calculated. If a sample is taken through either
of the sampling lines, it is likely that the sample fluid will form two
phases in the low-pressure portion of the sampling system. In that
case, the pressure calculated is reported as the pressure in the gas
collection vessel (Gas Vessel).
SPE 16502 L.W. BOUETI, A. SAGEEV AND F.M. ORR
Computation Of Viscosity And Density
In the PVT laboratory, fluid viscosity is calculated by observing
the pressure drop of fluid flowing through a capillary tube of known
diameter and length. Poiseulle' s Law is used to calculate viscosity,
given the pressure drop and volumetric flowrate. The simulator uses
the correlation of Lohrenz, Bray and Clark3 to calculate viscosity.
Pressure drop is calculated based on the set flowrate of the motor-
driven pump (Servo Pump). If the motor-driven pump is started and
allowed to run sufficiently long, a stabilized pressure drop is achieved
and no further pressure drop is displayed on the screen. A finite time
is required for the pressure drop to stabilize because the contents of
the cell must be compressed to a pressure higher than that set for the
BPR. The change in cell volume required is calculated based on the
overall compressibility of the cell contents at the start of the
compression step. Because the change in pressure is usually small in
such steps, changes in phase composition are ignored. Then, from
the same data as those available in the laboratory, namely flowrate,
pressure drop and the physical dimensions of the capillary tube,
viscosity may be calculated.
Molar and mass densities may be calculated directly at any time
since the simulator continuously tracks the molar compositions and
volumes of all phases in all vessels.
Error Conditions
Error conditions in the simulator generally are of two types:
those which may actually happen in the laboratory and from which it
is difficult or impossible to recover, and those from which recovery
offers little or no teaching value on the simulator. Some errors in the
laboratory are nondestructive, such as venting a sample to atmosphere
or introducing two phases into the sampling system. When a
nondestructive error occurs in the simulator, the error is printed on
the 25rn line and program execution is terminated. Other errors in
the laboratory are more serious, such as exceeding the working
pressure of the system tubing or a vessel. The simulator. handles
such errors by presenting a graphic consequence of the actlon: the
screen "blows up" to accompanying sound effects.
Following a terminating error condition on the simulator the
graphic screen is restored and the 25rn line prints a closing message.
At this time, if the appropriate printer is attached to the system (see
Appendix A for hardware and software requirements), the full-
resolution color screen may be dumped to that printer. Otherwise,
pressing any key terminates the program. All terminating error
conditions are reported in the printed log of the session if that option
has been selected.
TYPICAL EXPERIMENTS
There are several types of experiments that may be run, such as
constant-composition expansion, depletion or differential liberation.
Recall that simulator operation is really a sequence of a few basic
operations. Therefore, the logical combination of a given series of
operations comprises an experiment.
Transfer Of Fluid From A Charging V~.ssel To The Visual Cell
An example system has been created that is shown in Table 2.
This system is an oil containing 50 mole percent n-Butane (n-C 4) and
50 mole percent n-Decane (n-C 10). Charging Vessel 1 contains C02 •
In our example we will first charge the cell (Visual Cell) with C02
from the charging vessel. Refer to Figs. 2 and 3 while performing
the following operations. Table 1 summarizes the special function
keys. Initially, all the valves in the system are closed.
• Press function key <F2>.
The 25rn line prompts "Enter valve:
• Enter the number "01" and press <ENTER>.
The color of Valve 1 changes from red (closed) to green
(open). The pressure on the gauge near Valve 8 now reads
1000.0 psia. This is the pre'ssure in the charging vessel. We
need to know the pressure in the charging vessel to ensure
that it is greater than or equal to the pressure in the cell
(Visual Cell).
195
3
• Using function key <F2>, close Valve 1.
The charging vessel is now isolated.
• Using function key <F2>, open Valve 8.
The pressure on the gauge near Valve 8 now reads 55.584
psia (Fig. 3a). This is the pressure in the cell (Visual Cell).
Since the cell pressure is so low relative to the charging vessel
pressure we will compress the cell contents to raise its
pressure. Since the hand pump has no mercury in it, we must
first isolate the cell (Visual Cell) and fill the hand pump with
mercury from the mercury supply vessel (Hg Supply).
• Using function key <F2>, close Valve 8.
The cell (Visual Cell) is now isolated.
• Using function key <F2>, open Valves 9 and 10.
The tubing from the hand pump to the mercury supply vessel
(Hg Supply) is now open.
• Press function key <FS>.
The 25rn line prompts "Enter injection volume (cc):
• Enter the number "-30" and press <ENTER>.
The simulator accepts the entry as a withdrawal and prompts
"Press <ENTER> to withdraw fluid."
• Press <ENTER>.
The simulator represents the withdrawal of 30 cc's of mercury
digitally on the hand pump. The color of the pump base
changes from green to red to indicate that the pump is "ON".
The 25rn line informs "Withdrawing fluid ..." during
withdrawal, which is scaled to take about ten seconds. Then
there is a "beep" and the color of the pump base changes from
red to green to indicate that the pump is "OFF". The volume
of mercury in the pump (Hand Pump) is 30 cc's and is
displayed digitally on the body of the pump.
• Using function key <F2>, close Valve 10.
The mercury supply vessel (Hg Supply) is now isolated.
• Using function key <F2>, open Valve 8.
The tubing from the Hand Pump to the cell (Visual Cell) is
now open.
• Press function key <FS>.
The 25rn line prompts "Enter injection volume (cc):
• Enter the number "5.147" and press <ENTER>.
The 25rn line prompts "Press <ENTER> to inject fluid."
• Press <ENTER>.
This discharges the specified volume of mercury (5.147 cc's)
into the cell (Visual Cell). (In an actual simulation or
experiment, this volume would be entered as a sequence of
mercury injections. We use only one volume step here for the
sake of simplicity). After the scaled ten-second delay, there is
a "beep" as the pump shuts off. Since the fluid in the cell
(Visual Cell) is now a single-phase liquid, no flash is required
and the simulator redraws the fluid levels in the cell. Now
there is a total hydrocarbon volume of 31.839 cc's in the cell
(Visual Cell). The liquid volume is shown on the screen as
31.839 cc's and the vapor volume is given as 0.000 cc's. The
pressure is now 999.5 psia (Fig. 3b).
• Using function key <F2>, close Valve 8.
The cell (Visual Cell) is now isolated.
• Using function key <F2>, open Valve 1.
4 SIMULATION OF PVT EXPERIMENTS
The tubing between the hand pump and the charging vessel is
now open.
• Using function key <F2>, open Valve 4.
The valve at the top of the charging vessel is now open.
• Using function key <F2>, open Valve 11.
The tubing from the top of the charging vessel to the cell
(Visual Cell) is now open. Since the pressures in both the
charging vessel and the cell are no longer isolated, an
equilibrium pressure must be achieved. The simulator
accomplished this by first calculating the compressibilities of
the fluids in each vessel. It is known that the change in
volume in one vessel is equal to the negative change in
volume in the other vessel. The equilibrium pressure is the
same for both vessels and is equal to the original pressure plus
the compressibility times the volume change in that vessel.
Thus the equilibrium pressure is easily calculated. The new
pressure, 999.9 psia, is reported on the gauge near Valve 8.
The procedure now is to inject a small volume of mercury into
the charging vessel using the hand pump. The pressure in the system
will rise slightly. Next a small volume of mercury is withdrawn from
the cell (Visual Cell) with the hand pump to bring the system
pressure back down to the original pressure, 1000.0 psia. This is
done in small steps, being careful not to exceed the working pressure
limits of either the system tubing or any of the vessels. When
enough fluid has been transferred into the cell (Visual Cell) by this
method, the charging operations continues. During the charge
operation, the transferred fluid is assumed to remain segregated from
the cell contents.
• Using function key <F2>, close Valve 11.
This isolates the cell from the charging vessel. Here the
simulator must recombine the contents of the cell, since
additional mass (C02 from the charging vessel) has been
added. The 25m line informs "Recombining the VC ... ".
Following recombination, the new overall composition of the
cell must be checked by the EOS. In our example it is still a
single-phase liquid. The pressure is reported as 999.7 psia
(Fig. 3c). The phase volume in the cell (Visual Cell) is
34.853 cc's of liquid.
• Using function key <F2>, close Valve 4.
This isolates the tubing leg between the charging vessel and
the cell.
• Using function key <F2>, close Valve 1.
The charging vessel is now completely isolated.
Constant Composition Expansion
The cell (Visual Cell) now c·ontains 20 mole percent C0 2 and
40 mole percent each of n-Butane (C 4) and n-Decane (C 10). The
volume of the COz-hydrocarbon mixture is 34.853 cc's. The pressure
in the cell is 999.7 psia. We know the pressure by opening Valve 8.
A constant-composition expansion may now be performed. Refer to
Figs. 2 and 4 while performing the following steps. Table 1
summarizes the special function keys.
• Using function key <F2>, open Valve 8.
The tubing from the hand pump to the cell is now open. The
pressure on the gauge near Valve 8 reads 999.7 psia.
• Press function key <FS>.
The 25m line prompts "Enter injection volume (cc):
• Enter the number "-30" and press <ENTER>.
The 25m line prompts "Press <ENTER> to withdraw fluid."
• Press <ENTER>.
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SPE 16502
The pump runs for ten seconds then "beeps" off. The. 25m
line informs "Coming to equilibrium ... " while the flash is
being calculated. When the flash is complete there is a "beep"
and the simulator redraws the fluid levels in the cell. Now
there is a total C02-hydrocarbon volume of 64.853 cc's in the
cell (Visual Cell). The liquid volume is shown on the screen
as 34.082 cc's and the vapor volume is given as 30.761 cc's.
The pressure is now 233.51 psia (Fig. 4).
• Press function key <F6>.
This operates the circulating (LC) pump. On the simulator
this has a graphic effect only. The color of the pump base
changes from green to red to indicate the pump is "ON". The
25m line informs "LC pump circulating ... ". The LC pump
runs for about ten seconds. There is a "beep" and the color of
the pump base changes from red to green to indicate the pump
is "OFF".
This sequence may be repeated as many times as desired.
There are few variations here: if the hand pump becomes filled (it
has a 30 cm3 capacity) it must be discharged into the mercury supply
vessel using a sequence similar to the charging of the hand pump
described previously.
Taking A Fluid Sample: Differential Liberation Experiment
At this point it is possible to· perform one step of a differential
liberation experiment. The starting condition is the same as that with
which we ended the constant-composition expansion. Refer to Figs.
2 and 5 while performing the following steps. Table 1 summarizes
the special function keys.
• Using function key <F2>, close Valve 9.
The hand pump is now isolated.
• Using function key <F2>, open Valve 7.
The tubing is now open between the cell (Visual Cell) and the
motor-driven pump (Servo Pump). These two operations were
necessary in order to set up the system to begin the
differential liberation experiment. All of the operations which
follow are part of that experiment.
• Press function key <F7>.
The 25m line prompts "Enter set pressure: The
BPR set pressure must be greater than or equal to the pressure
of the fluids to which it will be exposed when the sampling
line is opened to preclude fluid from flashing across the BPR.
Under these conditions, the flash would not be at constant
pressure. A reasonable set pressure is 235 psia.
• Enter the number "235" and press <ENTER>.
The new BPR set pressure, 235 psia, is displayed digitally on
the BPR.
• Using function key <F2>, open Valve 19.
The separator vial (Centrifuge Tube) and the gas vessel are
now ready to receive a sample.
• Press function key <F8>.
Pressing this function key resets the sample collection system
pressure to zero psia. This operation is scaled to take about
ten seconds. To simulate the action of a vaccuum pump, the
pressure in the sampling system, shown on the gauge at the
gas vessel, may be seen falling to zero psia.
• Using function key <F2>, open Valve 13.
From Fig. 5 it may be seen that the upper sample leg is in the
vapor region of the cell. In order to sample the upper phase,
Valves 13, 15 and 17 must be opened. When Valve 13 is
opened the cell pressure, 233.51 psia, is d_isplayed on both of
SPE 1502 L.W. BOUETI, A. SAGEEV AND F.M. ORR
the pressure gauges on the upper sample leg. These pressure
gauges will be used later to determine the increase in pressure
required in the cell (Visual Cell) in order to start fluid flowing
through the capillary tube.
• Using function key <F2>, open Valves 15 and 17.
The sampling system is now ready for a vapor sample to be
taken from the cell.
• Press function key <F3>.
Pressing this function key causes a small drop-down frame to
appear at the lower left-hand corner of the screen. The 25m
line prompts "Enter rate (cc/min): __". This is the flow
rate in cm3/min. for the motor-driven pump (Servo Pump).
• Enter the number "2" and press <ENTER>.
The 25m line now prompts "Enter max. delivery
(cc): __". This is the maximum delivery shutdown.
• Enter the number "22" and press <ENTER>.
Since the motor-driven pump flow totalizer is zero, the drop-
down frame is erased from the screen at this time. The values
that have been entered have been saved by the simulator. Had
there been flow previously through the pump, the 25m line
would have prompted, "Reset total delivery (Y/N)?" A single
keystroke, either a "Y" or an "N", would have performed the
requested action and the drop-down frame would have been
erased as before. The system is now ready for a vapor sample
to be taken.
• Press function key <F4>.
Pressing this function key starts the motor-driven pump (Servo
Pump). The pump base changes color from green to red to
indicate that the pump is running. A subsequent <F4>
function key request would immediately stop the pump. As
the pump runs, the drop-down frame is redrawn on the screen.
We may now watch as the delivery begins to climb. This is a
real-time function; the flow rate of 2.0 cm3 /min. takes exactly
one minute for each 2.0 cc's delivered.
Now we must watch the pressure gauges on the sample leg. At
first, the pressure at both gauges climbs until it reaches that of the
BPR set pressure, 235 psia. As the pump continues to deliver
mercury into the cell, the downstream pressure stops climbing. The
upstream pressure, however, continues to climb. This is because of
the higher pressure required in the cell due to the viscosity of the
fluid flowing through the capillary tube.
The pressure at the upstream gauge in this example finally
stabilizes when it reaches 246.38 psia. The pump delivery at this
point is about 7.8 cc's of mercury into the cell (Fig. 6). The pump
continues to deliver mercury to the cell until it has delivered 22.000
cc's, the maximum delivery shutdown volume. Then the pump shuts
off. This is announced by a "beep" and the color of the pump base
changes from red to green. With the flow of mercury into the cell
stopped, the pressure at the upstream gauge now falls off until it
reaches that of the BPR set pressure, 235 psia.
At this point the simulator must do some internal bookkeeping
and check the contents and condition of the fluids in both the cell and
the sampling system. In this example the vapor from the cell is a
single-phase vapor in the sampling system. Its pressure is calculated
by the EOS and displayed on the pressure gauge at the gas vessel. In
this example it is 4.666 psia (Fig. 7).
Next the fluid levels in the cell (Visual Cell) are changed to
reflect the volume of mercury that has been injected. The system is
now static. At this point it is possible to reset the motor-driven pump
(Servo Pump) flow totalizer and inject more mercury. In our
example we will now isolate the sampling system and determine the
composition of the sample we have taken.
• Using function key <F2>, close Valve 13.
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5
Now that the cell has been isolated, the simulator must
recombine the contents of the cell. The 25m line informs
"Recombining the VC " and there is a "beep" when the
calculation is complete.
• Using function key <F2>, close Valves 15 and 17.
This isolates the cell and the sample leg up to the BPR.
• Using function key <F2>, close Valve 19.
The separator vial (Centrifuge Tube) has now been isolated
from the gas vessel.
• Using function key <F2>, open Valves 20 and 21.
The sample in the gas vessel is now ready to be charged to
the gas chromatograph, using helium from the supply cylinder
(He Supply).
• Press function key <F9>.
This function key provides a graphic effect. There is about a
ten-second delay while the 25m line informs "Charging the
GC ... ". After the delay there is a "beep" and the sampling
system is reset to its original condition: the separator vial
(Centrifuge Tube) is changed out and the gas vessel is purged
with helium at atmospheric pressure. At this time another
sample may be taken.
• Using function key <F2>, close Valves 20 and 21.
The system is now completely isolated.
• Press function key <FlO>.
When this function key is pressed a drop-down frame appears
at the upper ·right-hand corner of the screen. The frame
displays the analysis from the GC. The analysis of the sample
taken in our example is shown in Fig: 8. The sample is all
vapor, comprising more than 75% C02 • The 25m line
prompts "Press ESC to continue ... ". When the <ESC> key is
pressed the sample analysis frame is erased and program
operations may continue.
At this point in the differential liberation experiment we would
continue as we have just done, by withdrawing mercury from the cell
(Visual Cell) to lower the pressure (constant composition expansion),
then taking another sample. This sequence could continue until there
is no more mercury left in the cell.
In the example presented there are two basic operations:
opening and closing valves, and starting and stopping pumps. Each
of the other operations was preliminary to performing one of the two
basic operations. By being c~eful we avoided the physical limits of
the apparatus: the cell has a finite volume, the hand pump has a finite
capacity and the vessels and tubing have working pressure limits.
SUMMARY
The example PVT experiments described here indicate that a
reasonably realistic simulation of the operation of a PVT laboratory
can be made based on use of the Peng-Robinson equation of state to
represent the volumetric properties of components and to calculate
phase equilibrium. A high resolution, full-color display of a scehmatic
of the experimental apparatus coupled to a program structure that
resolves system operations into a series of discrete steps, such as
opening a valve or operating a pump, allows the user to perform
simulated experiments that mimic closely the actions taken in a
typical PVT experiment. Because the simulated apparatus contains
equipment for density, viscosity and co"mposition measurements, the
PVT simulator can be used to perform experiments that range in
complexity from simple constant composition expansions to
multiple-contact phase behavior experiments including sampling of
the phases. Hence, the simulator described is a flexible tool for
instruction about procedures and observations typical of PVT
experiments used in the oil industry. •
6 SIMULATION OF PVT EXPERIMENTS SPE 16502

REFERENCES APPENDIX B: SETUP PROGRAM

An independent setup program allows the user to select
Orr, F. M., Jr. and Sageev, A., "Reservoir Characterization For The components for one or more of the charging vessels and/or the visual
C0 2 Enhanced Oil Recovery Process," U.S. Dept. of Energy cell from a menu of standard components. The standard components
Rep. No. DOE/MC/22042-5, March 1987. are listed in Table C 1 of Appendix C. The program keeps internal
tables of standard component properties. These properties are critical
Peng, D.-Y. and Robinson, D.B.: "A New Two-Constant Equation pressure (Pc ), temperature (Tc), and volume (Vc); molecular weight
Of State," Ind. Eng. Chern. Fund. (1976) 15 59-64. (MW); and acentric factor (ro). The program also prompts for all of
the system parameters necessary to operate the simulator. These
Lohrenz, J., Bray, B.O., and Clark, C.R.: "Calculating Viscosities of parameters are pressures for each charging vessel, am?ient
Reservoir Fluids From Their Compositions," J. Pet. Tech. temperature, charging vessel temperature, oven temperature, vtsual
(October 1964) 1171-6; Trans., AIME, 231. cell volume, and either the number of moles in the visual cell or the
visual cell pressure.
Reid, R.C., Prausnitz, J.M., and Sherwood, T.K.: The Properties of
Gases and Liquids, McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York Pseudocomponents may be entered instead of, or along with,
(1977) 629-665. standard components. When pseudocomponents are used, all of the
required component properties must be entered along with a name for
the pseudocomponent.
APPENDIX A: SUMMARY OF HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE
Finally, a parameter file is written by the setup program, which
REQUIREMENTS
is used by the simulator driver.
The PVT simulator was written to run on an 8-megahertz IBM
PC/AT with an Enhanced Graphic Adaptor (EGA) card installed.
The graphics portion of the program requires that the EGA card have APPENDIX C: SUMMARY OF STANDARD COMPONENT
installed 256 kilobytes of memory. An Enhanced Color Monitor is PROPERTIES
also required and allows use of the full 350 x 640 pixel, 16-color
Table C 1 summarizes the properties of the standard components
palette resolution offered by the hardware.
available in the PVT lab simulator's setup program4• These
Since the program is modular, use of another graphic system properties are contained as internal tables ~ithin the se~p program.
would require modification of the graphic module only and not of the Properties of the components selected as mput are wntten by the
entire program. Use of a computer with a different clock speed setup program to the parameter file which is used by the simulator
would affect only the time required for calculations. driver. The components in boldface type that are boxed in Table C1
For full-color screen dumps an IBM Color Jetprinter Model are those of the ternary system used as an example in
3852-2 is required. In order to drive the Color Jetprinter the
appropriate driver, supplied by IBM, must be installed when the
system is initialized. This is an optional piece of hardware in terms Table 2. Component Properties For Example PVT Experiment
of program requirements but is recommended. Any printer will
accept the output from the computer for the log of operations, so that Component Tc, oK. Pc• atm. vc• _]£_
lbmol.
MW (i)
feature may be used with or without the Color Jetprinter.
The PVT simulator runs within the MS-DOS operating C0 2 304.2 72.9 0.0342 44.01 0.225
environment, Version 3.10 or higher. PVT LAB was written in n-Butane 425.2 37.47 0.0702 58.124 0.193
Microsoft'I'M QuickBASIC Version 2.0, a compiled language. n-Decane 617.6 20.8 0.0679 142.286 0.489

Table 1. Description Of Function Keys

Table C1. Properties Of Standard Components
Key Description
Component Tc, oK. Pc• atm. v J!.:._ MW (i)
F1 Toggle vessel labels and valve numbers on/off c. lbmol.
Methane 190.7 45.8 0.0991 16.043 0.007
F2 Open/close a valve; requires data input Ethane 305.43 48.2 0.0788 30.070 0.091
F3 Set PSI pump rate and maximum delivery; Propane 369.9 42.01 0.0737 44.097 0.145
reset delivery totalizer; requires data input i-Butane 425.2 36.0 0.0724 58.124 0.193

F4 Start/stop the PSI pump

n-Butane 408.1 37.47 0.0702 58.124 0.176 J
i-Pentane 425.2 32.9 0.0679 72.151 0.193
F5 Set HIP pump .injection/withdrawal volume; n-Pentane 460.4 33.31 0.0675 72.151 . 0.227
requires data input Hexane 469.8 29.92 0.0688 86.178 0.251
F6 Start the LC pump sequence Heptane 507.9 27.01 0.0691 100.205 0.296
Octane 540.16 24.64 0.0690 114.232 0.351
F7 Set BPR set pressure; requires data input Nonane 568.6 22.5 0.0684 128.259 0.394
F8 Evacuate the sampling system to zero psia Decane 617.6 20.8 0.0679 142.286 0.489 J
Nitrogen 126.2 33.5 0.0514 28.013 0.040
F9 Charge the GC with fluid from the sampling
system C02 304.2 72.9 0.0342 44.01 0.225 J
H 2S 373.6 88.9 0.0459 34.076 0.100
FlO Display GC analysis; if no sample has been Toluene 592.0 41.6 0.0549 92.141 0.257
taken, display visual cell analysis Water 647.3 217.6 0.0500 18.015 0.348
co 133.05 34.5 0.0532 28.010 0.041
Oxygen 154.75 50.13 0.0382 31.999 0.0213

198
 SPE 1 6 50 2·4

12

11

------;==--~~
I I I
I I I
I
I
LC
Pump

Gas
Chromatograph
Centrifuge
Tube

Hand Pump Servo Pump

Hg Supply

Fig. 1-Experimental apparatus for PVT measurement.

? = Help l'lenu
Fig. 2-Simulator representation of PVT apparatus.

b c

Fig. 3-Transfer of fluids from a charging vessel to the PVT cell.

199
 Fig. 4-Constant composition
expansion.

Fig. 5-Differential liberation experiment: opening the sampling leg.

PSI PUMP
Rate (ccllllin)
2.800
ltax . deli very
22.888 cc
Tota 1 deli uery
8.153 cc

Fig. 6-Differential liberation experiment: capillary tube pressure drop.

Fig. ?-Differential liberation experiment: post-sampling equilibrium. Fig. 8-Gas chromatograph sample analysis.

200