A new model for predicting liquid holdup in two-phase flow under high gas and liquid velocities

Document Type : Article

Authors

Petroleum Engineering College, Yangtze University, 430100, Wuhan Campus, No. 111, Caidian Street, Caidian District, Hubei Province, China.; The Multiphase Flow Laboratory of Gas Lift Innovation Centre, CNPC, 430100, Wuhan Campus, No. 111, Caidian Street, Caidian District, Hubei Province, China.; The Branch of Key Laboratory of CNPC for Oil and Gas Production, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434023, China.

Abstract

Existing liquid holdup models are generally based on low gas and liquid velocities. In order to extend the applicable range of existing liquid holdup prediction models and improve its prediction accuracy, a of gas-liquid two-phase flow experiment was carried out using a pipe of inner diameter 60mm and length of 11.5m. The superficial gas and liquid velocity ranges were 14.07~56.50m/s and 0.205~1.426m/s, respectively. The results indicate that the liquid holdup decreases with the increase of the superficial gas velocity and increases with the increase of the superficial liquid velocity.
A new annular flow model for calculating low liquid holdup in horizontal pipe was developed and presented considering the relationships between the friction factor ratio of liquid phase and gas-liquid interface as well as the superficial Reynolds number of gas and liquid. The predictions of the model are found to be accurate with an average absolute error of 4.8%. Further, on the basis of the Beggs-Brill model and the horizontal pipe model established in this paper, a new liquid holdup model for different angles was given. It was observed the resultant model is also accurate, and has an average absolute error of 10%.

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References

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Scientia Iranica
Volume 26, Issue 3
Transactions on Chemistry and Chemical Engineering (C)
May and June 2019
Pages 1529-1539

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