Abstract: The oil-gas-water three-phase separator is an important production equipment for the treatment of high water-content crude oil in oilfield. FLUENT software was used to simulate the separation effect of the separators with different weir plate heights of 3.50 m, 3.30 m, 3.25 m, 3.15 m and 3.00 m respectively at a central platform in Chengdao Oilfield. The velocity fields of oil-gas-water phases and the concentration distribution chart of three phases inside the separators were obtained, and the separation effect at different oil weir plate heights was analyzed. According to the concentration distribution of gas, oil and water at the gas, oil and water outlets, the preferred oil weir plate height to meet the production index requirements for oil, gas and water separation was determined to be 3.30 m. The research shows that the oil weir plate height of separators affects the separation effect of the separators. Adjusting the height of the oil weir plate can solve the problem of high water alarm triggering in the separators and ensure the separation effects as well.

Key words: three-phase separator, height of oil weir plate, separation effect, numerical simulation, optimization