Experimental and Numerical Studies on the Drift Velocity of Two-Phase Gas and High-Viscosity-Liquid Slug Flow in Pipelines

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raymond A. Eghorieta ◽  
Victor Pugliese ◽  
Ekarit Panacharoensawad
Keyword(s):  
Drift Velocity ◽  
Slug Flow ◽  
High Viscosity ◽  
Liquid Slug ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Numerical Studies

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.

Numerical Simulation of Two-Phase Slug Flows in Microchannels

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Mehdizadeh ◽  
S. A. Sherif ◽  
W. E. Lear
Keyword(s):  
Surface Tension ◽  
Slug Flow ◽  
Stokes Equations ◽  
Pressure Fluctuations ◽  
Water Interface ◽  
Liquid Slug ◽  
Complex Flow ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Air Water Interface ◽  
Slug Flows

In this paper the Navier-stokes equations for a single liquid slug have been solved in order to predict the circulation patterns within the slug. Surface tension effects on the air-water interface have been investigated by solving the Young–Laplace equation. The calculated interface shape has been utilized to define the liquid slug geometry at the front and tail interfaces of the slug. Then the effects of the surface tension on the hydrodynamics of the two-phase slug flow have been compared to those where no surface tension forces exist. The importance of the complex flow field features in the vicinity of the two interfaces has been investigated by defining a non-dimensional form of the wall shear stress. The latter quantity has been formulated based on non-dimensional parameters in order to define a general Moody friction factor for typical two-phase slug flows in microchannels. Moreover, the hydrodynamics of slug flow formation has been examined using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The volume-of-fluid (VOF) method has been applied to monitor the growth of the instability at the air-water interface. The lengths of the slugs have been correlated to the pressure fluctuations in the mixing region of the air and water streams at an axisymmetric T-junction. The main frequencies of the pressure fluctuations have been investigated using the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) method.

Drift-Velocity Closure Relationships for Slug Two-Phase High-Viscosity Oil Flow in Pipes

SPE Journal ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 17 (02) ◽  
pp. 593-601 ◽  
Author(s):  
B.C.. C. Jeyachandra ◽  
B.. Gokcal ◽  
A.. Al-Sarkhi ◽  
C.. Sarica ◽  
A.K.. K. Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Drift Velocity ◽  
Velocity Model ◽  
High Viscosity ◽  
Inviscid Fluid ◽  
Flow Loop ◽  
Oil Viscosity ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Flow Models ◽  
Inclination Angles ◽  
Inclined Pipes

Summary The drift velocity of a gas bubble penetrating into a stagnant liquid is investigated experimentally in this paper. It is part of the translational slug velocity. The existing equations for the drift velocity are either developed by using the results of Benjamin (1968) analysis assuming inviscid fluid flow or correlated using air/water data. Effects of surface tension and viscosity usually are neglected. However, the drift velocity is expected to be affected by high oil viscosity. In this study, the work of Gokcal et al. (2009) has been extended for different pipe diameters and viscosity range. The effects of high oil viscosity and pipe diameter on drift velocity for horizontal and upward-inclined pipes are investigated. The experiments are performed on a flow loop with a test section with 50.8-, 76.2-, and 152.4-mm inside diameter (ID) for inclination angles of 0 to 90°. Water and viscous oil are used as test fluids. New correlation for drift velocity in horizontal pipes of different diameters and liquid viscosities is developed on the basis of experimental data. A new drift-velocity model/approach are proposed for high oil viscosity, valid for inclined pipes inclined from horizontal to vertical. The proposed comprehensive closure relationships are expected to improve the performance of two-phase-flow models for high-viscosity oils in the slug flow regime.

P031 Study on the Gas-Liquid Two-Phase Slug Flow in Micro-Tubes : High Viscosity Fluid Case

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015.90 (0) ◽  
pp. 449
Author(s):  
Yuki Yamaguchi ◽  
Hisato Minagawa ◽  
Ryo Kurimoto ◽  
Takahiro Yasuda
Keyword(s):  
Slug Flow ◽  
High Viscosity ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Viscosity Fluid

Pressure drop of two-phase liquid-liquid slug flow in square microchannels

2018 ◽  
Vol 191 ◽  
pp. 398-409 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Ładosz ◽  
Philipp Rudolf von Rohr
Keyword(s):  
Pressure Drop ◽  
Slug Flow ◽  
Liquid Slug ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Phase Liquid

Surface Tension Effects on Liquid Flow in Small Plastic Tubes When Gas Bubbles are Present

2005 ◽  
Vol 219 (8) ◽  
pp. 853-857 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. R. Myers ◽  
H. M. Cave ◽  
S. P. Krumdieck
Keyword(s):  
Surface Tension ◽  
High Pressure ◽  
Pressure Drop ◽  
Liquid Flow ◽  
Slug Flow ◽  
Small Diameter ◽  
Gas Bubbles ◽  
Flow Regimes ◽  
Liquid Slug ◽  
Two Phase

Two-phase intermittent gas and liquid slug flow in small diameter glass and plastic tubes was studied. Two distinct flow regimes and the transition phenomena were identified. A modified Hagen-Poiseuille relation was derived to describe the extremely high pressure drop due to the surface tension effects of pinned slug flow.

Liquid slug holdup in horizontal and slightly inclined two-phase slug flow

2000 ◽  
Vol 27 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 27-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ghassan H Abdul-Majeed
Keyword(s):  
Slug Flow ◽  
Liquid Slug ◽  
Two Phase

Modelling of Pressure Fluctuation With Cross Flow in a Tight-Lattice Rod Bundle

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weizhong Zhang ◽  
Hiroyuki Yoshida ◽  
Kazuyuki Takase
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Simulation ◽  
Pressure Gradient ◽  
Pressure Fluctuation ◽  
Slug Flow ◽  
Reactor Core ◽  
Approximate Model ◽  
Differential Pressure ◽  
Liquid Slug ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Simulation Code

An approximate model is presented which permits the prediction in detail of the unsteady differential pressure fluctuation behavior between subchannels in the nuclear reactor core. The instantaneous fluctuation of differential pressure between two subchannels in gas-liquid slug flow regime is deemed as a result of the intermittent nature slug flow in each subchannel. The model is based on the detailed numerical simulation result of two-phase flow that pressure drop occurs mainly in liquid slug region and in the bubble region it is negligibly small. The instantaneous fluctuation of differential pressure between the two subchannels is associated with pressure gradient in the liquid slug for each channel. In addition to a hydrostatic gradient, acceleration and frictional gradients are taken into account to predict pressure gradient in the liquid slug. This model temporarily used in conjunction with the numerical simulation code works satisfactorily to reproduce numerical simulation results for instantaneous fluctuation of differential pressure between two modeled subchannels.

Use of Two-Phase CFD Simulations to Develop a Boiling Heat Transfer Prediction Method for Slug Flow Within Microchannels

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirco Magnini ◽  
John R. Thome
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Liquid Film ◽  
Slug Flow ◽  
Boiling Heat Transfer ◽  
Prediction Method ◽  
Liquid Slug ◽  
Modeling Framework ◽  
Cfd Simulations ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Elongated Bubble

This work presents a new boiling heat transfer prediction method for slug flow within microchannels, which is developed and benchmarked against the results of two-phase CFD simulations. The proposed method adopts a two-zone decomposition of the flow for the sequential passage of a liquid slug and an evaporating elongated bubble. The heat transfer is modeled by assuming transient heat conduction across the liquid film surrounding an elongated bubble and sequential conduction/convection within the liquid slug. Embedded submodels for estimating important flow parameters, e.g. bubble velocity and liquid film thickness, are implemented as “building blocks”, thus making the entire modeling framework totally stand-alone. The CFD simulations are performed by utilizing ANSYS Fluent v. 14.5 and the interface between the vapor and liquid phases is captured by the built-in Volume Of Fluid algorithm. Improved schemes to compute the surface tension force and the phase change due to evaporation are implemented by means of self-developed functions. The comparison with the CFD results shows that the proposed method emulates well the bubble dynamics during evaporation, and predicts accurately the time-averaged heat transfer coefficients during the initial transient regime and the terminal steady-periodic stages of the flow.

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