Experimental Analysis and Model Evaluation of High-Liquid-Viscosity Two-Phase Upward Vertical Pipe Flow

SPE Journal ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (03) ◽  
pp. 712-735 ◽  
Author(s):  
F.. Al-Ruhaimani ◽  
E.. Pereyra ◽  
C.. Sarica ◽  
E. M. Al-Safran ◽  
C. F. Torres
Keyword(s):  
Pressure Gradient ◽  
Production System ◽  
Two Phase Flow ◽  
High Viscosity ◽  
Mechanistic Models ◽  
Phase Flow ◽  
Liquid Viscosity ◽  
Vertical Pipe ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
High Viscosity Oil

Summary Understanding the behavior of two-phase flow is a key parameter for a proper oil/gas-production-system design. Mechanistic models have been developed and tuned to model the entire production system. Most existing two-phase-flow models are derived from experimental data with low-viscosity liquids (μL < 20 mPa·s). However, behavior of two-phase flow is expected to be significantly different for high-viscosity oil. The effect of high liquid viscosity on two-phase flow is still not well-studied in vertical pipes. In this study, the effect of high oil viscosity on upward two-phase gas/oil-flow behavior in vertical pipes was studied experimentally and theoretically. A total of 149 air/high-viscosity-oil and 21 air/water experiments were conducted in a vertical pipe with an inner diameter (ID) of 50.8 mm. Six different oil viscosities—586, 401, 287, 213, 162, and 127 mPa·s—were considered. The superficial-liquid and -gas velocities were varied from 0.05 to 0.7 m/s and from 0.5 to 5 m/s, respectively. Flow pattern, pressure gradient, and average liquid holdup were measured and analyzed in this study. The experimental results were used to evaluate different flow-pattern maps, mechanistic models, and correlations for two-phase flow. Significant discrepancies between experimental and predicted results for pressure gradient were observed.

High-Viscosity Liquid/Gas Flow Pattern Transitions in Upward Vertical Pipe Flow

SPE Journal ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (03) ◽  
pp. 1155-1173
Author(s):  
Eissa Al-Safran ◽  
Mohammad Ghasemi ◽  
Feras Al-Ruhaimani
Keyword(s):  
Flow Pattern ◽  
Two Phase Flow ◽  
Bubble Diameter ◽  
High Viscosity ◽  
Transition Model ◽  
Phase Flow ◽  
Liquid Viscosity ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Flow Pattern Transition ◽  
Transition Models

Summary High-viscosity liquid two-phase upward vertical flow in wells and risers presents a new challenge for predicting pressure gradient and liquid holdup due to the poor understanding and prediction of flow pattern. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of liquid viscosity on two-phase flow pattern in vertical pipe flow. Further objective is to develop new/improve existing mechanistic flow-pattern transition models for high-viscosity liquid two-phase-flow vertical pipes. High-viscosity liquid flow pattern two-phase flow data were collected from open literature, against which existing flow-pattern transition models were evaluated to identify discrepancies and potential improvements. The evaluation revealed that existing flow transition models do not capture the effect of liquid viscosity, resulting in poor prediction. Therefore, two bubble flow (BL)/dispersed bubble flow (DB) pattern transitions are proposed in this study for two different ranges of liquid viscosity. The first proposed transition model modifies Brodkey's critical bubble diameter (Brodkey 1967) by including liquid viscosity, which is applicable for liquid viscosity up to 100 mPa·s. The second model, which is applicable for liquid viscosities above 100 mPa·s, proposes a new critical bubble diameter on the basis of Galileo's dimensionless number. Furthermore, the existing bubbly/intermittent flow (INT) transition model on the basis of a critical gas void fraction of 0.25 (Taitel et al. 1980) is modified to account for liquid viscosity. For the INT/annular flow (AN) transition, the Wallis transition model (Wallis 1969) was evaluated and found to be able to predict the high-viscosity liquid flow pattern data more accurately than the existing models. A validation study of the proposed transition models against the entire high-viscosity liquid experimental data set revealed a significant improvement with an average error of 22.6%. Specifically, the model over-performed existing models in BL/INT and INT/AN pattern transitions.

Slug frequency in high viscosity oil-gas two-phase flow: Experiment and prediction

2017 ◽  
Vol 54 ◽  
pp. 109-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yahaya D. Baba ◽  
Archibong E. Archibong ◽  
Aliyu M. Aliyu ◽  
Abdulhaqq I. Ameen
Keyword(s):  
Two Phase Flow ◽  
High Viscosity ◽  
Phase Flow ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Flow Experiment ◽  
High Viscosity Oil ◽  
Oil Gas

scholarly journals Study on the Pressure Drop Variation and Prediction Model of Heavy Oil Gas-Liquid Two-Phase Flow

Geofluids ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Shanzhi Shi ◽  
Jie Li ◽  
Xinke Yang ◽  
Congping Liu ◽  
Ruiquan Liao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pressure Drop ◽  
Heavy Oil ◽  
Total Pressure ◽  
Two Phase Flow ◽  
High Viscosity ◽  
Phase Flow ◽  
Liquid Viscosity ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
New Model ◽  
Oil Gas

To explore the pressure drop variation with the viscosity of heavy oil gas-liquid two-phase flow, experiments with different viscosity gas-liquid two-phase flows are carried out. The experimental results show that the total pressure drop increases with increasing liquid viscosity when the superficial gas and liquid flow rates are the same. The liquid superficial velocity is 0.52 m/s, and the superficial gas velocity is 12 m/s in the vertical and inclined pipes, as there is a negative friction pressure drop when the superficial gas and liquid velocities are small. Additionally, the increased range of the total pressure drop decreases with increasing liquid viscosity. Considering the heavy oil gas-liquid two-phase flow, a prediction model of the pressure drop in high-viscosity liquid-gas two-phase flow is established. The new model is verified by experimental data and compared with existing models. The new model has the smallest error, basically within 15%. Based on the prediction of the wellbore pressure distribution of four wells in the BeiA oilfield, the new model prediction results are closer to the measured results, and the error is the smallest. The new model can be used to predict pressure drops in high-viscosity gas-liquid two-phase flow.

scholarly journals Estimating slug liquid holdup in high viscosity oil-gas two-phase flow

2019 ◽  
Vol 65 ◽  
pp. 22-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Archibong-Eso ◽  
N.E. Okeke ◽  
Y. Baba ◽  
A.M. Aliyu ◽  
L. Lao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Two Phase Flow ◽  
High Viscosity ◽  
Phase Flow ◽  
Liquid Holdup ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
High Viscosity Oil ◽  
Oil Gas

Effects of Inclination on Flow Characteristics of High Viscosity Oil/Gas Two Phase Flow

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benin Chelinsky Jeyachandra ◽  
Cem Sarica ◽  
Hong-Quan Zhang ◽  
Eduardo Javier Pereyra
Keyword(s):  
Two Phase Flow ◽  
Flow Characteristics ◽  
High Viscosity ◽  
Phase Flow ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
High Viscosity Oil ◽  
Oil Gas

Pipe Inclination Effects on Slug Flow Characteristics of High Viscosity Oil-Gas Two-Phase Flow for Near Horizontal Pipes

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samet Ekinci ◽  
T. B. Aydin ◽  
C. Sarica ◽  
E. Pereyra ◽  
T. Kim
Keyword(s):  
Slug Flow ◽  
Two Phase Flow ◽  
Flow Characteristics ◽  
High Viscosity ◽  
Phase Flow ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Horizontal Pipes ◽  
High Viscosity Oil ◽  
Oil Gas ◽  
Pipe Inclination

An experimental study of the inclination angle (±2° from horizontal) effects on high viscosity oil and gas two-phase flow has been conducted, and the available multiphase flow models/correlations have been evaluated using the acquired data. The effect of pipe inclination on the slug flow characteristics of highly viscous oil-gas two-phase flow was studied based on 1,040 data points covering a wide range of experimental conditions and liquid viscosities in a 50.8-mm-ID pipe at 2° downward and upward inclinations from horizontal. The oil viscosity ranged from 155 cP to 587 cP. Superficial liquid and gas velocities varied from 0.1 m/s to 0.8 m/s and from 0.1 m/s to 5 m/s, respectively. The basic two-phase flow parameters and slug flow characteristics have been analyzed and compared with the past studies conducted for near horizontal pipes.

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