Sensitivity analysis of crude oil’s physical properties to total freezing time

The physical parameters of crude oil are one of the main factors affecting the heat transfer of phase change. A mathematical model for a hot oil overhead pipeline was established, taking latent heat impact, the non-Newtonian properties of crude oil, and nature convection heat transfer into account. Compared with the experimental data, the model and the solution method were correct. A criterion was made to estimate the crude oil total freezing in a pipeline by tracking the change trajectory of the maximum temperature point. The effects of the crude oil with average properties on the total freezing time in a pipeline were analyzed, and the sensitivity of the different influencing factors was investigated by orthogonal test.