Abstract
Slug flow is the flow pattern that more often is presented in two-phase flow. It has a complex physical configuration which has not been totally understood. For decades slug flow has been modeled by mechanistic approach with the use of the slug-unity concept. For this, slug length must be known. This parameter affects the determination of shear stresses and then the pressure drop calculations. In this work data are presented from experiments carried out in a two-phase flow equipment. Equipment has a pipe of 12 m length and a diameter of 0.01905 m, which can be inclined from 0 to 90°. The measured data were: (1) angle for which the Taylor bubble breaks contact with the pipe wall, (2) the characteristic lengths of the slug-unit, (3) pressure drop, and (4) presence of bubbles by means of optical sensors. It was found that Taylor bubbles break contact with the wall pipe at 45°. With the voltage signal from optical sensors it was possible to quantify velocities, lengths and frequency for the Taylor bubbles.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Andreussi P, Bendiksen K (1989) An investigation of void fraction in liquid slugs for horizontal and inclined gas–liquid pipe flow. Int J Multiphase Flow 15(6):937–949
Chew-Chen L (2001) Slug development/dissipation in an inclined pipeline with changing pipe ID. (SPE 68827)
Dukler AE, Hubbard MG (1975) A model for gas–liquid slug flow in horizontal and near horizontal tubes. Ind Eng Chem Sci Fundm 14(4):337–347
Gomez LE, Shoham O, Schmidt Z, Chokshi RN, Zenith R, Brown A, Northug T (1999) A unified mechanistic model for steady-state two-phase flow in wellbores and pipelines. Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE 56520)
Gregory GA et al (1978) Correlation of the Liquid volume fraction in the slug for horizontal gas–liquid slug flow. Int J Multiphase Flow 4:33–39
Hasan AR Kabir CS (1988) Predicting multiphase flow behavior in a deviated well. SPEDE 474, Trans AIME 285
Kaya AS, Sarica CY, Brill JP (2001) Mechanistic modeling of two phase flow in deviated Wells. Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE 72998), pp 156–165
Manolis IG (1995) High pressure gas–liquid slug flow. PhD thesis, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemical Technology, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, UK
Nicholson R et al (1978) Intermittent two phase flow in horizontal pipes: predictive models. Can J Chem Eng 56:653–663
Nydal OJ, Pintus S, Andreussi P (1992) Statistical characterization of slug flow in horizontal pipes. Int J Multiphase Flow 18(3):439–453
Taitel Y, Dukler AE (1977) A Model for slug frequency during gas–liquid flow in horizontal and near horizontal pipelines. Int J Multiphase Flow 3:585–596
Woods BD, Hanratty TJ (1996) Relation of slug stability to sheding rate. Int J Multiphase Flow 22(5):809–828
Woods BD, Fan Z, Hanratty TJ (2006) Frequency and development of slugs in a horizontal pipe at large liquid flows. Int J Multiphase Flow 2(20):902–925
Zukoski EE (1966) Influence of viscosity, surface tension, and inclination angle on motion of long bubbles in closed tubes. J Fluid Mech 25:821–837
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Benítez-Centeno, O.C., Cazarez-Candia, O., Moya-Acosta, S.L. (2012). Experimental Study of the Slug Flow. In: Klapp, J., Cros, A., Velasco Fuentes, O., Stern, C., Rodriguez Meza, M. (eds) Experimental and Theoretical Advances in Fluid Dynamics. Environmental Science and Engineering(). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-17958-7_23
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-17958-7_23
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-17957-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-17958-7
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)