Pressure Drop of Horizontal Air–Water Slug Flow in Different Configurations of Corrugated Pipes

Abstract

Corrugated pipes have regularly shaped and spaced cavities on their internal walls that can induce dynamic changes in the flow, such as pressure drop increases. Petroleum offshore production pipelines are an example of an industrial application of corrugated pipes, known as flexible lines. From the hydrodynamic standpoint, slug flow is reckoned as the most common flow pattern inside those lines. A number of previous studies proposed correlations to predict two-phase flow pressure drops in smooth pipes. However, limited researches have evaluated the pressure drops associated to liquid-gas slug flow in corrugated pipes. In this work, experiments were carried out to analyze the pressure drops in horizontal air-water slug flow under different configurations of corrugated pipes. The tests were performed in three different internal diameters of corrugated pipe (26, 40 and 50 mm) with different cavity widths (1.2, 1.6 and 2.0 mm). The effects of the internal diameters and the cavity widths on slug flow pressure drop were analyzed. Results demonstrated that the pressure drop increases with increasing the cavity widths. The experimental data were fitted and a pressure drop correlation using the concept of multiplier factor was proposed. Comparisons between predictions and experimental data showed 10% accuracy.

Slug Regime Transitions in a Two-Phase Flow in Horizontal Round Pipe. CFD Simulations

“…The velocity difference between the two phases increases at a higher gas quantity [11]. The flow pattern in corrugated pipes is significantly more complex than flow in smooth ones [12]. In this paper, only the flow in smooth pipes is considered.…”