A novel method for the 3D dynamic simulation of oil field station process flows

With accelerating digitalization across various industries, the demand for digital simulation of oilfield surface engineering process flows has increased substantially. Existing simulation methods—primarily limited to two-dimensional (2D) schematics and three-dimensional (3D) animation—fail to adequately capture the logical relationships and dynamic interactions among equipment within these processes. To address these limitations, this study proposes a novel method for constructing topological models and dynamically simulating 3D process flows in oilfields. The proposed approach employs directed graph theory to design the topological model among oilfield equipment, thereby establishing logical connections between discrete process units. Furthermore, it integrates the 3D model of the oilfield station with its surrounding geographical environment. The method uses breadth-first search, recurrence relations, and 3D dynamic symbols to achieve real-time visualization and interactive simulation of station process flows. Finally, a case study was conducted at the Joint Processing Station No. 81 of the Second Oil Production Plant in Xinjiang, China. The simulation results indicate that the proposed method effectively satisfies the requirements for real-time process flow simulation in oilfields, offering a novel solution for enhancing the operational efficiency and safety management of oilfield surface facilities.