Two-phase slug flow in horizontal and near horizontal pipes is a common occurrence in many engineering applications and industrial operations. The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of separator pressure fluctuations on terrain slugging and slug flow characteristics, namely slug frequency, mean slug length, maximum slug length and slug length variance at the lower elbow (dip) and downstream of a hilly-terrain pipeline. This investigation is based on experimental data acquired from a Tulsa University Fluid Flow Projects (TUFFP) multi-phase flow loop. Inferential statistical analyses such as Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and F-distribution are carried out to compare between the slug flow characteristics generated under the fluctuated separator pressure and constant separator pressure conditions. Results revealed that separator pressure has an appreciable effect on terrain slugging at the lower elbow. During the separator pressure decline, slug initiation is promoted due to the increase of slip velocity which enhances the wave growth and wave coalescence which are the two primary mechanism of slug initiation at a dip. On the other hand, during the separator pressure increase, the analyses show slug suppression. Under the slug growth flow behavior at lower elbow, the mean slug velocity, mean slug length and maximum slug length increased during separator pressure decline condition, and decreased during the separator pressure increase condition. Furthermore, separator pressure has a significant decreasing effect on slug frequency, maximum slug length and slug length variance downstream of the hilly-terrain section. The statistical analysis shows mixed results of decreasing and increasing trends on mean slug lengths under the fluctuated separator pressure when compared with constant separator pressure conditions.
Separator pressure fluctuation effect on terrain slugging in a hilly-terrain two-phase flow pipeline
2006
18 Seiten, 15 Quellen
Aufsatz (Konferenz)
Englisch
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