ABSTRACT

Liquid holdup in slugs is a critical slug flow characteristic for predicting average liquid holdup and pressure gradient in two-phase pipeline systems and for designing downstream separation and process facilities. Liquid holdup in slugs in high viscosity two-phase pipe flow is poorly understood and inadequately predicted. The objective of this study is to experimentally investigate the effect of high liquid viscosity on slug liquid holdup in horizontal pipes and develop a simple physical model. In addition, a new empirical non-linear regression correlation is proposed to predict the bubble fraction in slugs in high viscosity liquid (180–587 cp) horizontal flow. A validation and comparison study of the proposed empirical correlation with an independent high viscosity data set showed high accuracy and outperformance over the existing correlations.

Keywords:
production logging, test section, upstream oil & gas, fraction, multiphase 16, machine learning, production control, production monitoring, slug liquid holdup, slug front
Subjects:
Well & Reservoir Surveillance and Monitoring, Pipelines, Flowlines and Risers, Production logging
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2013. BHR Group 2013 Multiphase 16
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