The upward vertical flow of oil‐water mixtures has been investigated in a 37‐ft. length of cellulose acetate butyrate tubing of inside diameter 1.038‐in. Flow pattern, holdup and pressure drop data were obtained for water mixtures with 0.936, 20.1 and 150 centipoise oils at superficial water velocities ranging from 0.10 to 10.0 ft./sec.
The oil‐water mixtures exhibited a behavior similar to that of air‐water mixtures studied previously. The flow patterns observed at constant superficial water velocity with increasing oil‐water ratio were: drops of oil in water, slugs of oil in water, froth, and drops of water in oil. Holdup of the phase forming the continuous medium was observed but to a much lesser extent than with the air‐water system. Curves of pressure drop versus oil‐water ratio exhibited a minimum, a maximum and a second minimum at low water velocities; a single minimum at intermediate water velocities; and a steady increase at superficial water velocities above about 5 ft./sec.
A friction factor based upon the properties and the superficial velocity of the water is correlated with the superficial velocity of the oil and a Reynolds number based on the properties and superficial velocity of the water. This shows that the pressure drop due to friction and other irreversibilities is essentially independent of the viscosity of the oil except under conditions where the oil is the continuous phase.
Results of measurements of pressure drop and holdup are reported over a range of air and water rates for the upward vertical flow of air‐water mixtures in a 1.50 inch I.D. tube with average air densities ranging from 0.092 to 0.552 lb./ft.3 Superficial water velocities were between 0.0695 and 7.35 ft./sec.The data are analyzed by the method first suggested by Govier, Radford and Dunn and later used by Govier and Short. This involves the division of the flow range into four regimes on the basis of the pressure drop curves (to aid correlation of flow pattern and holdup data) and the separation of the unit pressure drop into hydrostatic and irreversible components. A superficial friction factor is calculated from the irreversible component of the unit pressure drop.The average density of the gas phase has a more or less marked effect on all three regime transitions. The transitions all shift similarly to lower air‐water discharge volume ratios with increasing gas phase density. While the flow patterns were not directly observed in the investigation here reported, the flow pattern transitions would be expected to behave similarly.Over the range investigated, the gas phase density has little or no effect on the superficial friction factor. The holdup ratio is unaffected by the gas phase density in Regimes I and II but is significantly affected in Regimes III and IV.
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