Water Cut and Pipe Diameter Effects on Liquid Accumulation
Yasser Al-Saadi, Research Assistant, Ph.D. Student
The objective of this project is to experimentally study liquid accumulation in a 6-in ID inclined pipe under low liquid loading conditions. The study focuses on the impact of pipe diameter scale-up, and the effects of water cut and water film distribution in three-phase flow, at inclination angles of ±2˚. The TUFFP 6-in ID low pressure flow loop is utilized for the experimental work and the measurements include the pressure gradient, liquid holdup, and flow pattern characteristics.
The experimental study is conducted in two phases. The first phase is conducted for air-water flow to study the effect of pipe diameter scale-up on flow characteristics and liquid accumulation. The second phase focuses on three-phase flow and analyzing the impact of water cut variation on liquid accumulation. The distribution of the water phase in liquid film is analyzed during the three-phase flow testing. The acquired data from the experiments will be benchmarked with previous data from smaller pipe diameter facilities. Available models for the onset of liquid accumulation will be validated, and attempts will be made to improve or develop a model, if necessary. The modeling work will also include the distribution of water film and the onset of water dispersion in the oil film for three-phase flow.