Slug flow characterization in horizontal annulus

Abstract

In order to characterise slug flows in annuli channels and highlight the effect of the eccentricity on the flow behaviours, experiments were conducted in two horizontal annuli setups (i) concentric and (ii) fully eccentric using air and water as the testing fluids. The range of air and water superficial velocities investigated were 0.45-3.49 m/s and 0.15-2.77 m/s respectively. Slug parameters measured using conductance probes designed for this study include slug length, translational velocity, slug frequency and slug holdup. It is found that the slug translational velocity is unaffected by the annulus eccentricity, however parameters including slug frequency, slug holdup and slug lengths have a higher value in the fully eccentric annulus when compared with the concentric one. We introduced a new definition of hydraulic diameter, which reconciles the correlation between the dimensionless mean slug length and the mixture velocity of the horizontal annuli with different setups.

Study on the Hydrodynamic Evolution Mechanism and Drift Flow Patterns of Pipeline Gas–Liquid Flow

“…For example, slug flow will produce shock vibration during pipeline flow, resulting in pipeline fatigue failure [7,8]. Therefore, studying the hedging flow characteristics and flow pattern evolution of gas-liquid slug flows has significant engineering application prospects [9][10][11].…”