1. Pressure Drop of Horizontal Air–Water Slug Flow in Different Configurations of Corrugated Pipes
- Author
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Moisés A. Marcelino Neto, Ana Luiza Beltrão Santana, and Rigoberto E. M. Morales
- Subjects
Pressure drop ,Materials science ,Mechanical Engineering ,0103 physical sciences ,0208 environmental biotechnology ,Air water ,02 engineering and technology ,Mechanics ,010306 general physics ,Slug flow ,01 natural sciences ,020801 environmental engineering - Abstract
Corrugated pipes (CP) have regularly shaped and spaced cavities on their internal walls that can induce dynamic changes in the flow, such as increased pressure drops. Offshore petroleum production pipelines are an example of an industrial application of CPs, known as flexible lines. Slug flow is the most challenging flow pattern in those lines due to its complex hydrodynamics. A number of previous studies proposed correlations to predict the two-phase flow pressure drops in smooth pipes (SPs). However, limited researches have evaluated the pressure drops associated with liquid–gas slug flow in CPs. In this work, experiments to analyze the pressure drops in horizontal air–water slug flow under different configurations of CPs were carried out. The tests were performed in three different CP internal diameters (IDs) (26, 40, and 50 mm) with different cavity widths (1.2, 1.6, and 2.0 mm). The effects of the internal diameters and the cavity widths on the pressure drops associated with slug flow were analyzed. Results demonstrated that the pressure drops increase with increasing cavity widths. The experimental data were fitted and a pressure drop correlation using the concept of multiplier factor was proposed. Comparisons between predictions and the experimental data proved to be within ±10% accuracy.
- Published
- 2020
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