Slug frequency for a gas-liquid viscous flow in vertical pipes

Magit, Keziah; Hann, David; Hewkandamby, buddhika; Kisha, Wigdan

Abstract

Slug frequency is an important parameter for designing industrial installations with intermittent gas-liquid flows. The literature contains several empirical correlations to predict this parameter, but most studies have focused on air and water, with scarce data on viscous liquid phases. Understanding the effect of liquid viscosity on slug flow is critical for sizing pipelines and designing preprocessing equipment. To address this gap, a study experimentally investigated the effects of high oil viscosity on slug frequency in vertical pipes using air-silicon oil (ranging from 4.8 cP to 234 cP) as the operating fluid. Data collection employed Electrical Capacitance Tomography (ECT) to measure void fraction over time, and superficial gas velocities within a certain range of 0.07≤U_sg≤2.4m/s were utilized in the experiment. The results revealed that increasing the viscosity of the fluid led to the dominance of slug flow and a strong correlation between slug frequency and liquid viscosity. While existing correlations based on Strouhal number and input liquid fraction, as well as Lockhart Martinelli parameters, predicted slug frequency well, they were only valid for specific conditions close to the data used to develop them. Consequently, a new empirical correlation has been proposed based on an extended range of the available experimental database.

Citation

Magit, K., Hann, D., Hewkandamby, B., & Kisha, W. (2024, August). Slug frequency for a gas-liquid viscous flow in vertical pipes. Paper presented at 10th World Conference on Experimental Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Rhodes Island, Greece

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (unpublished)
• Conference Name: 10th World Conference on Experimental Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics
• Start Date: Aug 26, 2024
• End Date: Aug 30, 2024
• Acceptance Date: Aug 19, 2024
• Publication Date: Aug 26, 2024
• Deposit Date: Dec 6, 2024
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Book Title: ExHFT-10: 10th World Conference on Experimental Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics- Program
• Keywords: Slug frequency. Viscous flow, Vertical pipes, Gas-liquid flow
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/42821200
• Publisher URL: https://www.exhft-10.gr/conference-programme/#