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A New Liquid Holdup Correlation for Geothermal Wells

Journal Article · · Geothermics
Simulation of two-phase flow in geothermal wellbores requires use of empirical correlations for liquid holdup and for friction factor. Use of currently available correlations often yields widely differing results for geothermal wells. A new liquid holdup correlation is devised for cased wellbores using high-quality discharge and downhold pressure and temperature data from flowing geothermal wells. The latter dataset encompasses a wide range of wellbore diameters, discharge rates and flowing enthalpies. The measured wellhead pressure for wells in the dataset display excellent agreement with the pressures computed by using the new holdup correlation. Finally, an example illustrating the use of the holdup correlation to match downhole pressure and temperature profiles and well characteristic data is given.
Research Organization:
Idaho National Laboratory (INL)
Sponsoring Organization:
DOE - EE
DOE Contract Number:
AC07-99ID13727
OSTI ID:
912277
Report Number(s):
INEEL/JOU-04-01879
Journal Information:
Geothermics, Journal Name: Geothermics Journal Issue: 6 Vol. 33; ISSN GTMCAT; ISSN 0375-6505
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English