Loading...
Droplet size characterization in three-phase horizontal pipe flow
Karatayev, Kanat
Karatayev, Kanat
Citations
Altmetric:
Advisor
Editor
Date
Date Issued
2023
Date Submitted
Collections
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Embargo Expires
Abstract
The challenges related to droplet size characterization of dispersed liquid phase in another continuous liquid phase in multiphase pipe flow to proper optimize the pipeline flow system and flow assurance management have been raised for years. The existence of the dispersed phase changes the flow pattern and increases the effective viscosities of the dispersions, leading to significantly higher-pressure losses in multiphase flow in pipes. In addition, the presence of gas phase flow along the liquid-liquid mixture flow causes additional complications in predicting multiphase flow behavior due to additional turbulence in pipe flows and changes in flow pattern. Experimental studies were conducted to investigate the effect of the dispersed phase fraction on the droplet characteristics in oil-water two-phase flow, and the effects of the gas phase on the phase inversion point in oil-water pipe flows and the droplet characterization of the dispersed liquid phase in the liquid mixture. The experimental setup includes a 2-inch clear PVC (polyvinyl chloride) horizontal pipe, which can be utilized for single-phase, two-phase, and three-phase flow studies. As a result of experimental studies and open-source literature data, new theoretical models were developed to predict the maximum droplet size and Sauter mean diameter of the dispersed liquid phase in the liquid mixture for oil-water two-phase and gas-oil-water three-phase turbulent flows in a horizontal pipe.
The droplet size of the dispersed phase in oil-water two-phase pipe flow showed a strong relation with the dispersed phase fraction for the same liquid mixture velocity, i.e., larger droplet sizes were observed with an increase of the dispersed phase fraction. The oil-water phase inversion point was not affected by the liquid mixture velocity. In addition, the oil-water phase inversion point was not affected by the presence of the gas phase in the gas-oil-water three-phrase pipe flow system. On the other hand, the dispersed phase droplet size generally decreased with increasing the superficial gas velocity. Comprehensive model evaluation was carried out in this study for the droplet size characterization. This work provides new insights into the droplet size characterization in gas-oil-water three-phase flows and fill a critical gap in understanding and modeling liquid droplet size in the liquid mixture in gas-oil-water three-phase flows that will potentially enhance the accuracy of the heat and mass transfer estimations in gas-oil-water three-phase flows in pipes.
Associated Publications
Rights
Copyright of the original work is retained by the author.