STUDY ON PRESSURE DROP AND LIQUID VOLUME FRACTION OF THE OIL-GAS FLOW IN A VERTICAL PIPE USING CFX AND THE BEGGS AND BRILL CORRELATION: VISCOSITY EFFECTS

Abstract

Two-phase liquid-gas flows are common in several industrial processes. Since oil and gas are simultaneously produced in most petroleum reservoirs, the two-phase flow occurs in petroleum transport as well. Depending on the petroleum viscosity, a large amount of energy is needed to move the oil-gas mixture, resulting in significant expenses. The present work aims to investigate the influence of oil viscosity on pressure drop and liquid volume fraction of the upward two-phase flow of different types of oil in a vertical pipe. This study was accomplished using Computational Fluid Dynamic techniques, and Beggs and Brill correlation. The numerical simulations were performed using the application Ansys CFX 13.0, in which governing equations were solved utilizing the finite volume method. The results of pressure drop and liquid volume fraction obtained by both methods were analyzed and discussed. The numerical results for the pressure drop show that the CFX value was approximately 24% lower than that predicted by the Beggs and Brill correlation in the worst case. The liquid volume fraction decreased along the pipe length due to the viscosity effects of the oil.