The flow of slugs in horizontal, two-phase pipelines
- Chevron Petroleum Company, Houston, TX (US)
- Illinois Univ., Urbana, IL (USA). Dept. of Chemical Engineering
The flow characteristics in horizontal slug flow are studied experimentally in a 150-mm-dia pipeline. If a frame of reference is taken as moving with the translational velocity of the slug, measurements of the Froude number in the liquid film ahead of the slug were always greater than unity while the Froude number within the slug was in general less than unity. This illustrates a change in flow from super to subcritical flow and the presence of a hydraulic jump. Different types of flow are noticed using high-speed video equipment and these types closely resemble those reported by open-channel hydraulics tests. The distribution of gas in the slug body is only homogeneous at high-mixture velocities and the effect of buoyancy on the gas is more noticeable at low gas velocities. The liquid fraction in the slug is shown to be directly dependent on the Froude number in the liquid film. The ratio of the translational velocity of the slug to the mixture velocity decreases continuously from 2.0 at low-mixture velocities to 1.25 and a mixture velocity of approximately 3 m/s. After this point, it remains constant at 1.25.
- OSTI ID:
- 5886600
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Energy Resources Technology; (USA), Vol. 112:1; ISSN 0195-0738
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Experimental studies of interfacial area in a horizontal slug flow
Horizontal slug flow modeling and metering