Determination of rheological properties of crude oil blends

Abstract

The article presents an overview of widely applicable methods of calculation of viscosity of liquid mixtures, as well as rheology characterisation of crude oil. It is focused on the evaluation of rheological properties, particularly in order to assess the flow conditions in pipelines at different temperatures and flow rates, especially in the case of waxy crude oils. A specific calculation procedure was proposed and described, suitable for practical purposes, i.e. field implementation in the form of a spreadsheet calculator. Using this method, it is possible to calculate the rheological properties of a mixture of known components at a given temperature over a range of shear gradients corresponding to a specified range of flow rates in a circular pipeline of specified diameter. The proposed calculation method was verified on the properties of specific types of oils and their mixtures.