2D CFD modelling of the drift flux velocity in two-phase Air-Newtonian slug-flow pattern flow along horizontal pipelines

The present study analyzes the drift velocity of a synthetic oil in horizontal two-phase slug flow pipelines, by evaluating the effect of some physical properties, such as density and dynamic viscosity, and pipeline characteristics, such as the length of the pipe, due to its applications in various industries as in the O&G industry processes. This was achieved by using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tool approaches. The STAR-CCM+ software was utilized to simulate a half circular pipeline with a symmetry plane in a 2D mesh model, analyzing three different turbulence models. This model was fixed with a mesh independence test to obtain an accurate number of cells for the grid. The CFD results were compared with the experimental data gathered by the Tulsa University Fluid Flow Project (2018) research group. The drift velocity results achieved with a reasonable accuracy level in the pipeline, with error values under 15%. A dimensionless analysis for the experimental and CFD Reynolds numbers was done, concluding that the drift velocity within the pipe is dominated by viscous forces that overcome the inertial forces.

• Autores: Alarcón López, Mariana
• Tipo de recurso: Trabajo de grado de pregrado
• Fecha de publicación: 2018
• Institución: Universidad de los Andes
• Repositorio: Séneca: repositorio Uniandes
• Idioma: eng
• OAI Identifier: oai:repositorio.uniandes.edu.co:1992/39202
• Acceso en línea: http://hdl.handle.net/1992/39202
• Palabra clave: Flujo bifásico; Dinámica de fluidos computacional; Ingeniería
• Rights: openAccess
• License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/