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Intermittent two-phase flows are commonly encountered in the petroleum industry. Much attention has been focused by several researchers on intermittent flows existing at low superficial gas velocities (

Gas-liquid multiphase flow can be observed within different industrial processes, and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) can be utilized as a tool for scrutiny of this kind of flows. Although the CFD simulations of multiphase are computationally-demanding, they can deliver a great deal of information. But, the larger point is whether the available CFD multiphase flow models are able to deliver a realistic solution for a complex flow pattern like churn flow? And if yes, to what extent are the results accurate?To shed light on these issues, the Eulerian-Eulerian MultiFluid VOF model offered by ANSYS FLUENT 15 (2015 15.0 User's Guide, ANSYS Inc.) was used to simulate high flow rate air-water multiphase flow in a 76.2 mm-diameter pipe upstream of an elbow in the vertical-horizontal configuration. In the simulations, superficial gas velocity ranged from 10.3 m/s to 33.9 m/s, and two superficial liquid velocities of 0.3, and 0.79 m/s were employed. From the CFD simulations, data such as phase distributions, mean void fractions, and average void fraction time series were extracted. They were then compared to experimental Wire Mesh Sensor (WMS) data formerly obtained. Interestingly, evaluation of the model revealed that it was successful in terms of capturing different liquid structures present within the flow and delivering void fraction data which were in agreement with those of experiments.

Annular two-phase flow has been vastly investigated because of its large and deep involvement in industrial processes, particularly in nuclear engineering and petroleum production facilities. Much effort has been devoted to investigating upward flows involving the flow patterns, void fraction, as well as local interfacial characteristics. However, research for vertical downward two-phase flow, especially of the interfacial characteristics, are comparatively scarce. In order to gain insight on void fraction, interfacial structures and characteristics frequencies, experimental work was performed in downward annular two-phase flow with water and air as process fluids at low pressure conditions. A flow loop, including a 76 mm ID, 16.5 m long vertical pipe, has been instrumented. A state2 of-the-art instrument for two-phase flow measurements based on the fluid conductivity, namely dual Wire-Mesh Sensor (WMS) has been utilized to acquire the experimental data. A total of 43 data points have been acquired at superficial liquid velocities that ranged from 0.005 m/s to 0.10 m/s and superficial gas velocities that varied from 10 m/s to 31 m/s. The effects of liquid viscosity on the measured parameters are also investigated using two different viscosities of 1 and 10 cP. Analysis of time series void fraction data from the dual Wire-Mesh sensors allows the determination of cross-sectional averaged void fraction, local time averaged void fraction distribution, liquid phase distribution around the tube periphery, interfacial structure frequencies, pseudo 3D reconstruction as well as Probability Density Function (PDF) and Power Spectral Density (PSD). The experimental results indicate that the interfacial shape and frequencies are significantly altered by the superficial gas velocity. Comparisons between mechanistic model predictions and the acquired experimental data show a maximum absolute average relative error of approximately 7% for the cross-section void fraction.

In gas well production, liquid is produced in two forms, droplets entrained in the gas core and liquid film flowing on the tubing wall. For most of the gas well life cycle, the predominant flow pattern is annular flow. As gas wells mature, the produced gas flow rate reduces decreasing the liquid carrying capability initiating the condition where the liquid film is unstable and flow pattern changes from fully cocurrent annular flow to partially cocurrent annular flow. The measurement and visualization of annular flow and liquid loading characteristics is of great importance from a technical point of view for process control or from a theoretical point of view for the improvement and validation of current modeling approaches. In this experimental investigation, a Wire-Mesh technique based on conductance measurements was applied to enhance the understanding of the air-water flow in vertical pipes. The flow test section consisting of a 76 mm ID pipe, 18 m long was employed to generate annular flow and liquid loading at low pressure conditions. A 16×16 wire configuration sensor is used to determine the void fraction within the cross-section of the pipe. Data sets were collected with a sampling frequency of 10,000 Hz. Physical flow parameters were extracted based on processed raw measured data obtained by the sensors using signal processing. In this work, the principle of Wire-Mesh Sensors and the methodology of flow parameter extraction are described. From the obtained raw data, time series of void fraction, mean local void fraction distribution, characteristic frequencies and structure velocities are determined for different superficial liquid and gas velocities that ranged from 0.005 to 0.1 m/s and from 10 to 40 m/s, respectively. In order to investigate dependence of liquid loading phenomenon on viscosity, three different liquid viscosities were used. Results from the Wire-Mesh Sensors are compared with results obtained from previous experimental work using Quick Closing Valves and existing modeling approaches available in the literature.

In the churn flow regime, periodical interfacial structures such as liquid slugs and huge waves can coexist and undoubtedly, a phase property such as liquid viscosity can dominate the behavior of these structures. Regrettably, neither are the characteristics of churn flow widely understood nor have the effects of liquid viscosity on gas-liquid flow received enough attention. A Wire Mesh Sensor (WMS) with a 16×16 spatial resolution was employed to discover the effects of liquid viscosity on the behavior of churn flow in a vertical 76.2 mm pipe. Three liquid viscosities of 1, 10, and 40 cP, and superficial liquid velocities of 0.46, 0.61, and 0.76 m/s were employed; whereas, superficial gas velocity ranged from 10 to 27 m/s. Different techniques such as Probability Density Function (PDF), and 2-D and 3-D image reconstruction methods were applied to study the flow. It was noticed that increasing liquid viscosity not only affected the flow pattern but also the appearance frequencies of interfacial structures.

Fluid flowing through pipelines often encounters fittings such as elbows. Although it is true that two-phase flow patterns observed in elbows are qualitatively the same as those seen in straight pipes, the presence of a pipe elbow can modify relative positions and local velocities of the two phases as they are subjected to forces in addition to those encountered in a straight pipe. That redistribution can affect pressure drop values, chemical inhibitor concentration and distribution to the top of the pipe, as well as the erosion pattern occurring from solid particles such as sand that is entrained in oil and gas transportation pipelines. In this work, a Wire-Mesh Sensor technique based on conductance measurements of void fraction was applied to investigate two-phase pipe flow through a standard elbow. The horizontal flow test section, consisting of a 76 mm ID, 18 m long pipe, was employed to generate stratified-wavy and annular flow conditions. Two 16×16 Wire-Mesh configuration sensors were positioned either 0.9 m upstream or 0.6 m downstream of the bend. The experiments were conducted at different liquid and gas superficial velocities that ranged from 0.03 m/s to 0.2 m/s and from 9 m/s to 34 m/s, respectively. The effects of liquid viscosity on the measured parameters are also investigated using two different viscosities of 1 and 10 cP. Stratified-slug transition, stratified wavy and annular flow patterns were observed visually in the clear section placed upstream of the Wire-Mesh sensors. Analysis of time series void fraction data from the dual Wire-Mesh sensors allows the determination of mean void fraction, local time average void fraction distribution, liquid phase distribution around the tube periphery, interfacial structure velocities, as well as Probability Density Function characteristic signatures within the cross-section of pipe before and after the elbow. The results indicate that the distribution of gas and liquid phases and interfacial velocities are significantly altered even 20 diameters downstream of the elbow.

A wire mesh sensor (WMS) is an intrusive device used to investigate multi-phase flows. The WMS measures the instantaneous local electrical conductivity of multiphase flows at different measuring points. There is a significant difference in the electrical conductivity of the employed fluids (in this work air and water, conductivity of water is much higher than that of air). Using the difference in the electrical conductivity, the WMS provides the local void fraction. The WMS utilized in this work includes two identical planes of parallel 16×16 grid of wires. The separation distance between these two planes is 32 mm. The WMS was installed in a 76.2 mm (3-inch) diameter vertical pipe to extract information such as void fraction distribution, structure velocity, and slug/churn flow structure. The superficial gas (air) velocity (VSG) ranged from 10 to 38.4 m/s. Liquid (water) superficial velocities (VSL) of 0.30, 0.46, 0.61 and 0.76 m/s were employed. To study the effects of viscosity on the slug/churn flow structure, Carboxyl Methyl Cellulose (CMC) was added to water to increase the liquid viscosity without altering its density. Each experiment was performed for 60 seconds. An operation frequency for the WMS of 10 kHz (totally 600,000 frames per experiment) was used for all experiments.

In gas well production, liquid is produced in two forms, droplets entrained in the gas core and liquid film flowing on the tubing wall. For most of the gas well life cycle, the predominant flow pattern is annular flow. As gas wells mature, the produced gas flow rate reduces decreasing the liquid carrying capability initiating the condition where the liquid film is unstable and flow pattern changes from fully co-current annular flow to partially co-current annular flow. The measurement and visualization of annular flow and liquid loading characteristics is of great importance from a technical point of view for process control or from a theoretical point of view for the improvement and validation of current modeling approaches. In this experimental investigation, a Wire-Mesh technique based on conductance measurements was applied to enhance the understanding of the air-water flow in vertical pipes. The flow test section consisting of a 76 mm ID pipe, 18 m long, was employed to generate annular flow and liquid loading at low pressure conditions. A 16×16 wire configuration sensor is used to determine the void fraction within the cross-section of the pipe. Data sets were collected with a sampling frequency of 10,000 Hz. Physical flow parameters were extracted based on processed raw measured data obtained by the sensors using signal processing. In this work, the principle of Wire-Mesh Sensors and the methodology of flow parameter extraction are described. From the obtained raw data, time series of void fraction, mean local void fraction distribution, characteristic frequencies and structure velocities are determined for different liquid and gas superficial velocities that ranged from 0.005 to 0.1 m/s and from 10 to 40 m/s, respectively. In order to investigate dependence of liquid loading phenomenon on viscosity, three different liquid viscosities were used. Results from the Wire-Mesh Sensors are compared with results obtained from previous experimental work using Quick Closing Valves and existing modeling approaches available in the literature.

Sand erosion is a severe problem that many oil and gas producers have to deal with. Therefore, it is desirable to have a model that can predict erosion for various operating conditions. Predicting erosion is a complex problem due to the number of parameters that are involved. The complexity of predicting erosion increases when producing or transporting multiphase fluids through pipelines. It is well known that the characteristics of multiphase flow affect sand erosion in the pipelines. This work specifically concentrates on measuring multiphase-slug characteristics using a measurement technique based on wire-mesh sensor. A 16 x 16 dual wire-mesh sensor is installed before a standard 76.2 mm (3-inch) bend for a horizontally oriented pipe. The distance by which the dual Wire Mesh Sensors are separated is 32 mm. The local void fraction is extracted where horizontal and vertical wires of the sensor intersect, utilizing the differences in conductance between two different fluids. The fluids used in these multiphase experiments were air and either water or water-CMC mixture to increase the liquid viscosity. Experiments were conducted, where superficial gas velocity ranged from 9.1 m/s to 35 m/s, and superficial liquid velocity was 0.76 m/s. Three different liquid viscosities (1 cP, 10 cP and 40 cP) were used for performing the experiments. The void fraction data obtained using the dual Wire Mesh Sensors is utilized to achieve the interfacial velocities of the liquid slug. Further analysis of the data is conducted to obtain other slug characteristics such as the liquid slug body length distribution, and frequency of the slugs. Additionally, liquid slug fronts and slug tails were identified. The differences in the characteristics of slug flow and pseudo-slug flow are addressed. Finally, the slug characteristics were utilized in order to enhance the understanding of sand particle impact velocities with the pipe wall in the horizontal pipelines.

Slug flow is a very common flow pattern encountered during the production of petroleum fluids. Likewise, pipe bends are often used to change the direction of the fluids during transportation. This work focuses on comparing various slug characteristics before and after a pipe bend. For this investigation, a dual Wire Mesh Sensor (WMS) is utilized. Measurements are made by placing the sensor before and after the bend. In order to obtain higher spatial and temporal resolution of the signals, a sampling frequency of 10,000 Hz is used. Experiments were conducted in a 76.2 mm (3-inch) diameter pipe utilizing air and water as fluids. Effect of fluid viscosity is also studied by conducting the experiments using three different liquid viscosities: 1, 10 and 40 cP. The experiments were conducted with superficial gas velocity ranging from 9.1 m/s to 35 m/s, and superficial liquid velocity ranged from 0.45 to 0.76 m/s. The three-dimensional time series void data from the Wire-Mesh sensor before and after the bend are analyzed to obtain averaged void fractions, structure of the slugs, void in liquid slugs, bubble size distributions, and radial profiles of gas velocity. Also, this study presents the differences in the void fraction distributions in slugs and pseudo slugs. Since pseudo slugs occur between slug and annular regimes, this information can further the understanding of the effect of flow characteristics on erosion occurring from solid particles for this flow pattern. Finally, from this comprehensive analysis the influence of the bend on the gas and liquid distributions over the cross-section has been discussed.