Prediction of High Viscosity Liquid/Gas Two-Phase Slug Length in Horizontal and Slightly Inclined Pipelines

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Omar Shaaban ◽  
Eissa Al-Safran
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Optimization ◽  
Flow Behavior ◽  
Mechanistic Model ◽  
High Viscosity ◽  
Oil Well ◽  
Liquid Slug ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Flow Closure

Abstract The production and transportation of high viscosity liquid/gas two-phase along petroleum production system is a challenging operation due to the lack of understanding the flow behavior and characteristics. In particular, accurate prediction of two-phase slug length in pipes is crucial to efficiently operate and safely design oil well and separation facilities. The objective of this study is to develop a mechanistic model to predict high viscosity liquid slug length in pipelines and to optimize the proper set of closure relationships required to ensure high accuracy prediction. A large high viscosity liquid slug length database is collected and presented in this study, against which the proposed model is validated and compared with other models. A mechanistic slug length model is derived based on the first principles of mass and momentum balances over a two-phase slug unit, which requires a set of closure relationships of other slug characteristics. To select the proper set of closure relationships, a numerical optimization is carried out using a large slug length dataset to minimize the prediction error. Thousands of combinations of various slug flow closure relationships were evaluated to identify the most appropriate relationships for the proposed slug length model under high viscosity slug length condition. Results show that the proposed slug length mechanistic model is applicable for a wide range of liquid viscosities and is sensitive to the selected closure relationships. Results revealed that the optimum closure relationships combination is Archibong-Eso et al. (2018) for slug frequency, Malnes (1983) for slug liquid holdup, Jeyachandra et al. (2012) for drift velocity, and Nicklin et al. (1962) for the distribution coefficient. Using the above set of closure relationships, model validation yields 37.8% absolute average percent error, outperforming all existing slug length models.

Modeling Two-Phase Flow Inside an Electrical Submersible Pump Stage

2011 ◽  
Vol 133 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lissett Barrios ◽  
Mauricio Gargaglione Prado
Keyword(s):  
Drag Coefficient ◽  
Bubble Size ◽  
Flow Behavior ◽  
Mechanistic Model ◽  
Force Balance ◽  
Submersible Pump ◽  
Bubble Behavior ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Operational Conditions ◽  
Electrical Submersible Pump

Dynamic multiphase flow behavior inside a mixed flow electrical submersible pump (ESP) has been studied experimentally and theoretically for the first time. The overall objectives of this study are to determine the flow patterns and bubble behavior inside the ESP and to predict the operational conditions that cause surging. The theoretical study includes a mechanistic model for the prediction of the flow behavior inside the pump. The model comprises a one-dimensional force balance to predict occurrence of the stagnant bubbles at the channel intake. This model depends on two important variables, namely the stagnant bubble size and the bubble drag coefficient. The bubble size has been measured and a physically based correlation is presented. A new correlation for the drag coefficient is proposed as a function of rotational speed and Reynolds number. The model enables the prediction of the operational envelope of the ESP, namely the transition to surging.

Development of an Efficient Phase Separator for Space and Ground Applications

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiongjun Wu ◽  
Greg Loraine ◽  
Chao-Tsung Hsiao ◽  
Georges L. Chahine
Keyword(s):  
Swirling Flow ◽  
Flow Behavior ◽  
Space Station ◽  
Low Flow ◽  
Design Parameters ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Flow Rates ◽  
Void Fractions ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Phase Separator

The limited amount of liquids and gases that can be carried to space makes it imperative to recycle and reuse these fluids for extended human operations. During recycling processes gas and liquid phases are often intermixed. In the absence of gravity, separating gases from liquids is challenging due to the absence of buoyancy. This paper discusses a phase separator that is capable of efficiently and reliably separating gas-liquid mixtures of both high and low void fractions in a wide range of flow rates that is applicable to reduced and zero gravity environments. The phase separator consists of two concentric cylindrical chambers. The fluid introduced in the space between the two cylinders enters the inner cylinder through tangential slots and generates a high intensity swirling flow. The geometric configuration is selected to make the vortex swirl intense enough to lead to early cavitation which forms a cylindrical vaporous core at the axis even at low flow rates. Taking advantage of swirl and cavitation, the phase separator can force gas out of the liquid into the central core of the vortex even at low void fraction. Gas is extracted from one end of the cylinder axial region and liquid is extracted from the other end. The phase separator has successfully demonstrated its capability to reduce mixture void fractions down to 10−8 and to accommodate incoming mixture gas volume fractions as high as 35% in both earth and reduced gravity flight tests. The phase separator is on track to be tested by NASA on the International Space Station (ISS). Additionally, the phase separator design exhibits excellent scalability. Phase separators of different dimensions, with inlet liquid flow rates that range from a couple of GPMs to a few tens of GPMs, have been built and tested successfully in the presence and absence of the gravity. Extensive ground experiments have been conducted to study the effects of main design parameters on the performance of the phase separator, such as the length and diameter of the inner cylinder; the size, location, and layout of injection slots and exit orifices, etc., on the swirling flow behavior, and on the gas extraction performance. In parallel, numerical simulations, utilizing a two-phase Navier-Stokes flow solver coupled with bubble dynamics, have been conducted extensively to facilitate the development of the phase separator. These simulations have enabled us to better understand the physics behind the phase separation and provided guideline for system parts optimization. This paper describes our efforts in developing the passive phase separator for both space and ground applications.

Design and Performance of Slug Damper

2008 ◽  
Vol 130 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Reinoso ◽  
Luis E. Gomez ◽  
Shoubo Wang ◽  
Ram S. Mohan ◽  
Ovadia Shoham ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Flow Rate ◽  
Liquid Flow ◽  
Liquid Flow Rate ◽  
Liquid Velocity ◽  
Flow Behavior ◽  
Mechanistic Model ◽  
Gas Velocity ◽  
Flow Loop ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Superficial Gas Velocity

This study investigates theoretically and experimentally the slug damper as a novel flow conditioning device, which can be used upstream of compact separation systems. In the experimental part, a 3 in. ID slug damper facility has been installed in an existing 2 in. diameter two-phase flow loop. This flow loop includes an upstream slug generator, a gas-liquid cylindrical cyclone (GLCC©, ©The University of Tulsa, 1994) attached to the slug damper downstream and a set of conductance probes for measuring the propagation of the dissipated slug along the damper. Over 200 experimental runs were conducted with artificially generated inlet slugs of 50 ft length (Ls/d=300) that were dumped into the loop upstream of the slug damper, varying the superficial liquid velocity between 0.5 ft/s and 2.5 ft/s and superficial gas velocity between 10 ft/s and 40 ft/s (in the 2 in. inlet pipe) and utilizing segmented orifice opening heights of 1 in., 1.5 in., 2 in., and 3 in. For each experimental run, the measured data included propagation of the liquid slug front in the damper, differential pressure across the segmented orifice, GLCC liquid level, GLCC outlet liquid flow, and static pressure in the GLCC. The data show that the slug damper/GLCC system is capable of dissipating long slugs, narrowing the range of liquid flow rate from the downstream GLCC. Also, the damper capacity to process large slugs is a strong function of the superficial gas velocity (and mixture velocity). The theoretical part includes the development of a mechanistic model for the prediction of the hydrodynamic flow behavior in the slug damper. The model enables the predictions of the outlet liquid flow rate and the available damping time, and in turn the prediction of the slug damper capacity. Comparison between the model predictions and the acquired data reveals an accuracy of ±30% with respect to the available damping time and outlet liquid flow rate. The developed model can be used for design of slug damper units.

scholarly journals Flow Patterns Transition Law of Oil-Water Two-Phase Flow under a Wide Range of Oil Phase Viscosity Condition

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Wang ◽  
Wei Cheng ◽  
Kai Li ◽  
Chen Lou ◽  
Jing Gong
Keyword(s):  
Two Phase Flow ◽  
Stratified Flow ◽  
High Viscosity ◽  
Flow Patterns ◽  
Intermittent Flow ◽  
Neutral Stability ◽  
Phase Flow ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Oil Water

A systematic work on the prediction of flow patterns transition of the oil-water two-phase flows is carried out under a wide range of oil phase viscosities, where four main flow regimes are considered including stratified, dispersed, core-annular, and intermittent flow. For oil with a relatively low viscosity, VKH criterion is considered for the stability of stratified flow, and critical drop size model is distinguished for the transition of o/w and w/o dispersed flow. For oil with a high viscousity, boundaries of core-annular flow are based on criteria proposed by Bannwart and Strazza et al. and neutral stability law ignoring that the velocity of the viscous phase is introduced for stratified flow. Comparisons between predictions and quantities of available data in both low and high viscosity oil-water flow from literatures show a good agreement. The framework provides extensive information about flow patterns transition of oil-water two-phase flow for industrial application.

A Choking Model With Thermal Non-Equilibrium for Initially Subcooled Water

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lv Yufeng ◽  
Zhao Minfu ◽  
Li Weiqing
Keyword(s):  
Bubbly Flow ◽  
Flow Regimes ◽  
Critical Flow ◽  
Vapor Bubbles ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Subcooled Water ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Frictional Forces ◽  
Flow Closure ◽  
Non Equilibrium

Mechanical non-homogeneous and thermal non-equilibrium phenomenon exists in two-phase critical flow compared with single phase flow. A one-dimensional two-fluid critical flow model is developed for initially subcooled water flowing in pipe or orifices. The model accounts for thermal nonequilibrium between the liquid and vapor bubbles and for interphase relative motion. In this model, an improved correlation to calculate flashing inception location and surperheat is proposed. The model consists of six conservation equations as well as a seventh equation representing bubble growth in bubbly flow. Closure of the set of governing equations is performed with constitutive relationships which determine the interfacial momentum terms due to mass exchange, wall to liquid and wall to vapour frictional forces, liquid to gas interfacial force and interfacial heat transfer rate. The model considers the development of three flow regimes, namely, bubbly, churn and annular flow regimes. Model predictions compare favorably with experimental data over a wide range of pressures and pipe diameters and lengths.

scholarly journals Effect of the Flow Rate on the Relative Permeability Curve in the CO2 and Brine System for CO2 Sequestration

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1543
Author(s):  
Gu Sun Jeong ◽  
Seil Ki ◽  
Dae Sung Lee ◽  
Ilsik Jang
Keyword(s):  
Relative Permeability ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
Flow Behavior ◽  
Co2 Injection ◽  
Displacement Efficiency ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Flow Rates ◽  
Injection Flow ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Co2 Flow

The relative permeabilities of CO2 and brine are important parameters that account for two-phase flow behavior, CO2 saturation distribution, and injectivity. CO2/brine relative permeability curves from the literature show low endpoint CO2 permeability values and high residual brine saturation values. These are the most distinguishing aspects of the CO2/brine relative permeability from oil/water and gas/oil. In this study, this aspect is investigated experimentally by employing a wide range of CO2 injection flow rates. As a result, all the measurements align with previous studies, having low endpoint relative permeability and high residual brine saturation values. They have obvious relationships with the changes in CO2 flow rates. As the CO2 flow rate increases, the endpoint relative permeability increases, the residual brine saturation decreases, and they converge to specific values. These imply that a high CO2 injection flow rate results in high displacement efficiency, but the improvement in efficiency decreases as the flow rate increases. The reasons are identified with the concept of the viscous and capillary forces, and their significance in the CO2 injection into a reservoir is analyzed.

Quantitative Visualization of Vapor Bubble Growth in Diabatic Vapor-Liquid Microchannel Slug Flow

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Todd A. Kingston ◽  
Justin A. Weibel ◽  
Suresh V. Garimella
Keyword(s):  
Flow Regime ◽  
Vapor Bubble ◽  
Slug Flow ◽  
Flow Boiling ◽  
Flow Behavior ◽  
Circular Cross Section ◽  
Vapor Flow ◽  
Liquid Slug ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Vapor Liquid

Slug flow is a commonly encountered flow regime in microchannels due to the influence of surface tension and vapor confinement at small length scales. Few experimental studies have considered diabatic vapor-liquid slug flow, owing to difficulties in generating a well-controlled and repeatable slug flow regime; generation of vapor by wall heating typically leads to large, stochastic variations in the vapor bubble characteristics. To facilitate the study of flow behavior and vapor-liquid interfaces under precisely controlled conditions, a diabatic, one-component, two-phase microchannel flow was generated by separately injecting HFE-7100 vapor and liquid into a T-junction. Injection at independently controllable liquid and vapor flow rates allows the creation of vapor-liquid slug flow patterns in a downstream borosilicate microchannel of circular cross-section with a 500 μm inside diameter. The outside surface of the microchannel was coated with a 100 nm-thick layer of indium tin oxide (ITO) to generate a uniform wall heat flux via Joule heating while allowing full optical access for flow visualization. The growth of individual vapor bubbles was quantitatively visualized at different imposed heat fluxes, in terms of the percentage change in vapor bubble length along the heated microchannel. The results demonstrate the ability of the T-junction to generate diabatic, one-component, two-phase microchannel slug flow that is suitable for generating results for the validation of flow boiling models.

Design and Performance of Slug Damper

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Reinoso ◽  
Luis E. Gomez ◽  
Shoubo Wang ◽  
Ram S. Mohan ◽  
Ovadia Shoham ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Flow Rate ◽  
Liquid Flow ◽  
Liquid Flow Rate ◽  
Liquid Velocity ◽  
Flow Behavior ◽  
Mechanistic Model ◽  
Gas Velocity ◽  
Flow Loop ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Superficial Gas Velocity

A novel flow conditioning device, namely, the slug damper, which can be used upstream of compact separation systems, is investigated theoretically and experimentally. In the experimental part, a 3” ID slug damper facility has been installed in an existing 2” diameter two-phase flow loop. This flow loop includes an upstream slug generator, a Gas-Liquid Cylindrical Cyclone (GLCC©) attached to the slug damper downstream, and a set of conductance probes for measuring the propagation of the dissipated slug along the damper. Over 200 experimental runs were conducted with artificially generated inlet slugs of 50 ft length (Ls/d = 300) that were dumped into the loop upstream of the slug damper, varying the superficial liquid velocity from 0.5 to 2.5 ft/s and superficial gas velocity between 10 to 40 ft/ (in the 2” inlet pipe) and utilizing segmented orifice opening heights of 1”, 1.5”, 2” and 3”. For each experimental run, the measured data included: propagation of the liquid slug front in the damper, differential pressure across the segmented orifice, GLCC liquid level, GLCC outlet liquid flow and static pressure in the GLCC. The data prove that the slug damper is capable of dissipating long slugs, ensuring fairly constant liquid flow rate into the downstream GLCC. Also, the damper capacity to process large slugs is a strong function of the superficial gas velocity (and mixture velocity). The theoretical part includes the development of a mechanistic model for the prediction of the hydrodynamic flow behavior in the slug damper. The model enables the predictions of the outlet liquid flow rate and the available damping time, and in turn the prediction of the slug damper capacity. Comparison between the model predictions and the acquired data reveals an accuracy of 30% with respect to the available damping time and outlet liquid flow rate. The developed model can be used for design of slug damper units in the field.

A Mechanistic Model for Countercurrent Steam-Water Flow

1980 ◽  
Vol 102 (4) ◽  
pp. 688-693 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Segev ◽  
R. P. Collier
Keyword(s):  
Liquid Film ◽  
Flow Behavior ◽  
Mechanistic Model ◽  
Heated Wall ◽  
Vapor Flow ◽  
Momentum Exchange ◽  
Test Parameters ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Theoretical Predictions ◽  
Liquid Film Flow

A one-dimensional model has been developed to describe the flow behavior of a liquid film draining down a heated wall, in the presence of countercurrent vapor flow. The effects of nonequilibrium void generation at the walls and condensation of countercurrent vapor on the penetrating liquid film interface, as well as on the bypassed liquid, have been considered. The momentum exchange is described by a correlation, assumed to apply at the entrance region, where the amount of liquid film flow is limited by the net vapor upflow. Theoretical predictions were compared with over 600 test results, obtained in 1/15- and 2/15-scale models of a PWR downcomer, over a wide range of test parameters. The comparisons exhibit a fairly good agreement.

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