Modeling Gas-Liquid Flow in Pipes: Flow Pattern Transitions and Drift-Flux Modeling
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Two-phase gas-liquid flow in pipes is of great practical importance in petroleum engineering. This work focuses on the determination of flow pattern transitions and drift-flux modeling in gas-liquid flow. Using the data in the Stanford Multiphase Flow Database as well as other data from the literature, we investigate transition predictions in mechanistic models and the use of the drift-flux model for holdup calculations. The flow pattern prediction in the Petalas & Aziz (1998) mechanistic model is evaluated. Other transition criteria are also compared with experimental data. Barnea's (1986) model is shown to give the best results for prediction of the transition to dispersed bubble flow. It is demonstrated that this transition in the Petalas & Aziz (1998) mechanistic model can be improved by tuning a parameter used in their model. Approximation of the interfacial friction factor in stratified flow via the gas/wall friction factor is recommended for use in the transition predictions from stratified flow. For the transition to annular-mist flow, a holdup based transition criterion is shown to give reasonable results. The effects of fluid properties on flow pattern transitions are also presented using the data of Weisman et al. (1979). Fluid properties are shown to have less effect on flow pattern transitions than the inclination angle of the pipe.Use of the drift-flux model over multiple flow patterns is investigated next. Using the in situ gas volume fraction to represent the flow pattern information, we fit the drift-flux model parameters C0 (distribution parameter) and Vd (drift velocity) as linear functions of · G (in situ gas volume fraction). The method proposed in this work is shown to provide much better gas volume fraction predictions than previous methods. However, a general correlation is not given in this work, since the resulting correlation for Vd is not entirely consistent with expected behavior at high · G. Approximate results for the effects of inclination angle on Vd are also presented. Using our current data (measured in pipe diameters of 1-2 inches), the drift-flux model used in Eclipse is evaluated. A modification of the user-definable parameters in the model is suggested to improve the performance of the Eclipse model at high · G.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Date created | June 2001 |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Chen, Yuguang |
|---|---|
| Primary advisor | Durlofsky, Louis J. |
| Degree granting institution | Stanford University, Department of Petroleum Engineering |
Subjects
| Subject | School of Earth Energy & Environmental Sciences |
|---|---|
| Genre | Thesis |
Bibliographic information
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Preferred citation
- Preferred Citation
- Chen, Yuguang. (2001). Modeling Gas-Liquid Flow in Pipes: Flow Pattern Transitions and Drift-Flux Modeling. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at: https://purl.stanford.edu/pp071qb9526
Collection
Master's Theses, Doerr School of Sustainability
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