Pressure drop in three‐phase oil–water–gas horizontal co‐current flow: experimental data and development of prediction models

Spedding, P.L.; Murphy, Adrian; Donnelly, G.F.; Bénard, Emmanuel; Doherty, Andrew

doi:10.1002/apj.165

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…The fluctuation of pressure drop has been observed between 0.4 to 0.6 (fo). Similar results have been reported in the literature, where the pressure drop increased during the phases inversion [10,14].…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 92%

“…Thus, the life of the pipe system would reduce. On the other hand, if the oil is the continuous phase, the effective viscosity of the liquid mixture would increase, which would increase the pressure drop, thereby, resulting in the increase in the energy requirement of the system [10,11]. The increase or decrease in the water cut can change the continuous liquid phase to the dispersed phase and vice versa.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For the case of horizontal to upward vertical flow, the phase inversion process could be influenced by the restriction offered by the bend. The experimental work on phase inversion in three-phase flow in straight pipes has been carried out by Spedding et al [10] and Pietrzak et al [14]. However, studies on the phase inversion during three-phase flow in the horizontal pipe upstream of 90° bend have not been reported.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Oil-Water Phase Inversion in the Horizontal Section of Upstream 90° Bend during Gas-Oil-Water Three-Phase Flow

Yaqub

Pendyala

Rusli

2019

KEM

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The gas, oil and water co-current flow in pipes either flow in separate layers or in the form of a mixture. Other than gas, the liquid mixtures are common during the transportation of oil. In liquid mixtures, one liquid acts as a continuous phase and the other liquid dispersed in it. The phase inversion in three-phase flow majorly depends on the superficial velocity of individual phases, the volume fraction of liquid phases in total liquid and the internal diameter of the pipe. Pipe bends and fittings are commonly used in pipe networks for the diversion and distribution of flow. The 90° elbow bends are commonly used in such systems, where they change the flow direction from horizontal to vertical and vice versa. For the case of horizontal to upward vertical flow, the bend offers restriction to the flow compared to the straight pipe. Therefore, the process of phase inversion gets effected upstream 90° bend. In the current work, the phase inversion process during three-phase horizontal flow upstream 90° bend has been studied. The internal diameter of the pipe was 0.1524 m and the bend radius to diameter ratio (r/d) was 1. The range of superficial velocities are 0.5-5, 0.08-0.4, and 0.08-0.4 for oil-gas and water respectively. The continuous liquid phase and its effect on pressure drop have been studied at various oil to liquid volume ratios (fo). The results show the different oil-water relationships and the liquid holdup occurred due to the bend.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Oil-Water Phase Inversion in the Horizontal Section of Upstream 90° Bend during Gas-Oil-Water Three-Phase Flow

Yaqub

Pendyala

Rusli

2019

KEM

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“…The test section in this facility was a stainless steel pipe that was 38 m long and had a 77.92 mm internal diameter. A further study was reported by Spedding et al [42] (see bottom-left frame of Figure 13). The oil properties for the 0.0259 m ID facility were ρ 0 = 828.5 kg m −3 and µ 0 = 0.0122 kg m −1 s −1 , while, for the 0.0501 m ID apparatus, they were ρ 0 = 854.2 kg m −3 and µ 0 = 0.0395 kg m −1 s −1 , all at 24 • C. However, their results do not show the phenomenon observed in the present work, where the pressure drop for the air-water flow is higher than for the air-oil flow.…”

Section: Comparison With Literature Datamentioning

confidence: 53%

Comparative Study of Air–Water and Air–Oil Frictional Pressure Drops in Horizontal Pipe Flow

Guzmán,

Pérez,

Rivera

et al. 2024

Fluids

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Experimental data for frictional pressure drop using both air–water and air–oil mixtures are reported, compared and used to evaluate predictive methods. The data were gathered using the 2-inch (54.8 mm) flow loop of the multiphase flow facility at the National University of Singapore. Experiments were carried out over a wide range of flow conditions of superficial liquid and gas velocities that were varied from 0.05 to 1.5 m/s and 2 to 23 m/s, respectively. Pressure drops were measured using pressure transducers and a differential pressure (DP) cell. A hitherto unreported finding was achieved, as the pressure drop in air–oil flow can be lower than that in air–water flow for the higher range of flow conditions. Using flow visualization to explain this phenomenon, it was found that it is related to the higher liquid holdup that occurs in the case of air–oil around the annular flow transition and the resulting interfacial friction. This additional key finding can have applications in flow assurance to improve the efficiency of oil and gas transportation in pipelines. Models and correlations from the open literature were tested against the present data.

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“…The phenomena become more complicated with the addition of more phases to the flow. − The bend affects the local phase velocities and relative position of each phase. , The interrelationship of centrifugal and gravitational forces is important owing to the difference in the densities of fluids. Furthermore, the slip between the fluids increases due to the separation created by the centrifugal force. , The flow orientation influences the relative position of fluids .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental Investigation of Three-Phase Flow Regime Transition in a Large Diameter 90° Bend and the Resultant Pressure Drop Prediction

Yaqub

Pendyala

2022

Ind. Eng. Chem. Res.

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The use of 90° bend is common in pipeline networks to connect the horizontal and vertical pipes in different orientations. The gas–oil–water flow pattern experiences a significant change while flowing through the bend. The centrifugal and gravitational forces influence the upstream flow pattern and transform it into a different type in the downstream pipe. An experimental study is conducted to identify flow pattern transformation in horizontal to vertical upward bend having an (R/d) ratio of 1. Each phase velocity affects the flow patterns; hence, the superficial velocities have been varied in the range of 0.5–5, 0.08–0.36, and 0.08–0.36 m/s for gas, oil, and water, respectively. The three-phase flow patterns in the bend’s horizontal and vertical legs have been identified and discussed in detail. Flow regime transition maps are plotted, and the variation in flow patterns with the change in superficial velocities of fluids has been analyzed. The pressure drop has been analyzed, and the prediction model for total pressure drop across the bend has been developed. The comparison of the experimental and predicted results showed close agreement.

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Pressure drop in three‐phase oil–water–gas horizontal co‐current flow: experimental data and development of prediction models

Cited by 10 publications

References 24 publications

Oil-Water Phase Inversion in the Horizontal Section of Upstream 90° Bend during Gas-Oil-Water Three-Phase Flow

Oil-Water Phase Inversion in the Horizontal Section of Upstream 90° Bend during Gas-Oil-Water Three-Phase Flow

Comparative Study of Air–Water and Air–Oil Frictional Pressure Drops in Horizontal Pipe Flow

Experimental Investigation of Three-Phase Flow Regime Transition in a Large Diameter 90° Bend and the Resultant Pressure Drop Prediction

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