International Journal of Energy and Environmental Science

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Evaluation of Liquid Film Thickness in Gas-Liquid Annular Flow in Horizontal Pipes Using Three Methods

Received: 04 March 2020    Accepted: 23 March 2020    Published: 03 September 2020
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Abstract

Experimental investigations on annular flow film thickness were conducted using a closed-loop horizontal pipe with an internal diameter of 2-inch (0.0504m). The aim is to progress the understanding of such flow and facilitate the optimum design of hydrocarbon production systems were such flow is encountered. Liquid film thickness was extensively investigated using three methods: the conductance probe sensors installed at the bottom of the pipe, conductivity ring sensors and triangular relationship model. From these methods, liquid film thickness was proven to decrease with increase in superficial gas velocity, while increases with increase in superficial liquid velocity. In comparison, the predicted triangular relationship liquid film thickness matched better with the liquid film thickness obtained from conductance probe sensors at all the flow conditions in the experiments, while the conductivity ring sensor results matched closely at superficial liquid velocity of 0.0505m/s and 0.0714m/s but overestimated at superficial liquid velocity of 0.0903m/s and 0.1851m/s. This has shown the impact of high superficial gas velocity on conductivity ring sensors in accounting for liquid film thickness.

DOI 10.11648/j.ijees.20200504.11
Published in International Journal of Energy and Environmental Science (Volume 5, Issue 4, July 2020)
Page(s) 57-65
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Film Thickness, Gas Velocity, Annular Flow, Sensors, Liquid Entrainment, Flow Rate

References
[1] Anderson, R. J and Russell, T. W. F., (1970) “Circumferential Variation of Interchange in Horizontal Annular Two-Phase Flow”, Ind. Engrg. Chem. Fundam. 9, 340-344.
[2] Butterworth, D. (1972) “Air-Water Annular Flow in a Horizontal Tube”, Prog. Heat Mass Transfer, 6, 235-251.
[3] Chien, S and Ibele, W., (1964) “Pressure Drop and Liquid Film Thickness of Two-Phase Annular and Annular-Mist Flows”, ASME J. Heat Transfer, 86, pp. 80-86.
[4] Chao, T, Dong, F and Shi, Y (2011) “Data Fusion for Measurement of Water Holdup in Horizontal Pipes by Conductivity Rings” IEEE, 978-1.
[5] Dallman, J. C, Jones, B. G and Hanratty, T.J (1979) “Interpretation of Entrainment Measurements in Annular Gas-Liquid Flows” Int. J. Heat and Mass Transfer, Vol. 2, pp. 681-693, Hemisphere, Washington, D.C.
[6] Falcone, G, Hewitt, G.F and Richardson, S.M (2003) “ANUMET: A Novel Wet Gas Flowmeter” SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Denver, Colorado, U.S.A. 5-8October.
[7] Hewitt, G.F and Hall-Taylor, N.S (1970) “Annular Two-Phase Flow” Pergamon Press.
[8] Kesana, N.R., Throneberry, J.M., Mclaury, B.S., Shirazi, S.A and Rybicki, E.F, (2012) “Effect of Particle Size and Viscosity on Erosion in Annular and Slug Flow” Proceedings of the ASME 2012 International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition IMECE2012, November 9-15, 2012, Houston, Texas, USA.
[9] Lin, P. Y (1985) “Flow Regime Transitions in Horizontal Gas-Liquid Flow”, PhD. Thesis, Univ. of Illinois, Urbana.
[10] Magrini, K. L, Sarica, C, Al-Sarkhi, A and Zhang, H, Q (2012) “Liquid Entrainment in Annular Gas/Liquid Flow in Inclined Pipes” accepted at SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Florence, Italy, 19-22 September 2010, Published on SPE Journal, June, 2012.
[11] Mantilla, I. (2008) “Mechanistic Modelling of Liquid Entrainment in Gas in Horizontal Pipes” PhD thesis, University of Tulsa, Tulsa, Oklahoma.
[12] Mantilla, I., Gomez, L., Mohan, R., Shoham, O., Kouba, G and Roberts, R. (2009) “Modelling of Liquid Entrainment in Gas in Horizontal Pipes, Proc., ASME 2009 Fluids Engineering Division Summer Meeting, Colorado, USA, Vol. 1, No FEDSM2009-78459, pp. 979-1007.
[13] McManus, H.N. Jr. “Local Liquid Distribution and Pressure Drops in Annular Two-Phase Flow, " paper 61-HYD-20 presented at the 1961 ASME Hydraulic Conference, Montreal, Canada.
[14] Osokogwu, U (2018) “Evaluation of Wave Frequency Correlations in Annular Flow in Horizontal Pipe” Journal of Scientific and Engineering Research, 5 (7), pp. 75-81.
[15] Osokogwu, Uche (2018) “Effects of Velocity on Pressure Gradient, Slip and Interfacial Friction Factor in Annular Flow in Horizontal Pipe” European Journal of Engineering Research and Sciences, Vol, 3, No. 8, August, pp. 5-11.
[16] Paleev, I. I and Filipovich, B. S., (1966) “Phenomena of Liquid Transfer in Two-Phase Dispersed Annular Flow”, Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer, 9, 1089.
[17] Pan, L. and Hanratty, T. J (2002) (b) “Correlation of Entrainment for Annular Flow in Horizontal Pipes” Int. J. Multiphase Flow, Vol. 28 (3), pp. 385-408.
[18] Pearce, D. L. and Fisher, S. A. (1979) A Theoretical Model for describing Horizontal Annular Flows, In Two-Phase Momentum, Heat and Mass Transfer in Chemical, Process and Energy Engineering Systems, pp. 327-333, Hemisphere/McGraw-Hill, Washington, D.C.
[19] Sergey, V. Alekseenko, Andrey, V. Cherdantsev, Mikhail, V. Cherdantsev, Sergey, V. Isaenkov, Sergey, M. Kharlamov and Dmitriy, M. Markovich (2014) “Formation of Disturbance Waves in Annular Gas-Liquid Flow” Kutateladze Institute of Thermophysics, Novosibirsk, Russia, Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk, Russia, 17th International Symposium on Applications of Laser Techniques to Fluid Mechanics, Lisbon, Portugal, 07-10 July, 2014.
[20] Setyawan, A., Indarto and Deendarlianto (2016) “The Effect of the Fluid Properties on the Wave Velocity and Wave Frequency of Gas-Liquid Annular Two-Phase Flow in a Horizontal Pipe” Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science, ELSEVIER, Vol. 71, pp 25-41.
[21] Shedd, T. A., (2001) “Characteristics of the Liquid Film in Horizontal Two-Phase Flow”, Thesis for Doctor of Phil. in Mechanical Engineering the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
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Author Information
  • Oil & Gas Engineering Centre, Cranfield University, Bedfordshire, UK

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  • APA Style

    Osokogwu Uche. (2020). Evaluation of Liquid Film Thickness in Gas-Liquid Annular Flow in Horizontal Pipes Using Three Methods. International Journal of Energy and Environmental Science, 5(4), 57-65. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijees.20200504.11

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    Osokogwu Uche. Evaluation of Liquid Film Thickness in Gas-Liquid Annular Flow in Horizontal Pipes Using Three Methods. Int. J. Energy Environ. Sci. 2020, 5(4), 57-65. doi: 10.11648/j.ijees.20200504.11

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    AMA Style

    Osokogwu Uche. Evaluation of Liquid Film Thickness in Gas-Liquid Annular Flow in Horizontal Pipes Using Three Methods. Int J Energy Environ Sci. 2020;5(4):57-65. doi: 10.11648/j.ijees.20200504.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijees.20200504.11,
      author = {Osokogwu Uche},
      title = {Evaluation of Liquid Film Thickness in Gas-Liquid Annular Flow in Horizontal Pipes Using Three Methods},
      journal = {International Journal of Energy and Environmental Science},
      volume = {5},
      number = {4},
      pages = {57-65},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijees.20200504.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijees.20200504.11},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijees.20200504.11},
      abstract = {Experimental investigations on annular flow film thickness were conducted using a closed-loop horizontal pipe with an internal diameter of 2-inch (0.0504m). The aim is to progress the understanding of such flow and facilitate the optimum design of hydrocarbon production systems were such flow is encountered. Liquid film thickness was extensively investigated using three methods: the conductance probe sensors installed at the bottom of the pipe, conductivity ring sensors and triangular relationship model. From these methods, liquid film thickness was proven to decrease with increase in superficial gas velocity, while increases with increase in superficial liquid velocity. In comparison, the predicted triangular relationship liquid film thickness matched better with the liquid film thickness obtained from conductance probe sensors at all the flow conditions in the experiments, while the conductivity ring sensor results matched closely at superficial liquid velocity of 0.0505m/s and 0.0714m/s but overestimated at superficial liquid velocity of 0.0903m/s and 0.1851m/s. This has shown the impact of high superficial gas velocity on conductivity ring sensors in accounting for liquid film thickness.},
     year = {2020}
    }
    

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    T1  - Evaluation of Liquid Film Thickness in Gas-Liquid Annular Flow in Horizontal Pipes Using Three Methods
    AU  - Osokogwu Uche
    Y1  - 2020/09/03
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    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijees.20200504.11
    T2  - International Journal of Energy and Environmental Science
    JF  - International Journal of Energy and Environmental Science
    JO  - International Journal of Energy and Environmental Science
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    EP  - 65
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2578-9546
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijees.20200504.11
    AB  - Experimental investigations on annular flow film thickness were conducted using a closed-loop horizontal pipe with an internal diameter of 2-inch (0.0504m). The aim is to progress the understanding of such flow and facilitate the optimum design of hydrocarbon production systems were such flow is encountered. Liquid film thickness was extensively investigated using three methods: the conductance probe sensors installed at the bottom of the pipe, conductivity ring sensors and triangular relationship model. From these methods, liquid film thickness was proven to decrease with increase in superficial gas velocity, while increases with increase in superficial liquid velocity. In comparison, the predicted triangular relationship liquid film thickness matched better with the liquid film thickness obtained from conductance probe sensors at all the flow conditions in the experiments, while the conductivity ring sensor results matched closely at superficial liquid velocity of 0.0505m/s and 0.0714m/s but overestimated at superficial liquid velocity of 0.0903m/s and 0.1851m/s. This has shown the impact of high superficial gas velocity on conductivity ring sensors in accounting for liquid film thickness.
    VL  - 5
    IS  - 4
    ER  - 

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