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TUALP Abstract
 

Jarl Øystein Tengesdal (Master of Science in Petroleum Engineering)
Predictions of Flow Patterns, Pressure Drop, and Liquid Holdup in Vertical Upward Two Phase Flow
(126 pp.)
Directed by Dr. Z. Schmidt and Dr. C. Sarica
(182 words)

A comprehensive mechanistic model is formulated to predict flow patterns, pressure drop and liquid holdup in vertical upward two-phase flow. The model identifies five flow patterns: bubble, dispersed bubble, slug, chum and annular flows.

The flow pattern prediction models are a modified Bamea, et al.^6,7 model for dispersed bubble and annular flows, Chokshi et al. model¹³ for bubbly flow, and a new model for chum flow. Separate mechanistic models for each flow pattern are proposed. A new hydrodynamic model for chum flow has been developed, while Chokshi, et al' s.¹³ slug flow model has been modified. Chokshi, et al.¹³ and Ansari, et al.² models have been adopted for bubbly and annular flows, respectively.

The model is evaluated using the expanded Tulsa University Fluid Flow Projects (TUFFP) well data bank of 2052 well cases covering a wide range of field data. The model is also compared with the Ansari, et al.², Chokshi, et al.¹³ and Hasan & Kabif²³ mechanistic models, and the Aziz, et al.⁴ and Hagedorn & Brown²⁰ correlation. The comparison results show that the proposed model performs best and agrees well with the data.

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Last updated September 04, 2012