Modeling of vertical core annular flows and application to heavy oil production

摘要

Ths use of core annular flow pattern may be attractive as an artificial lift method in heavy oil wells. This flow pattern can be induced through the lateral injection of relatively small quantities of water, in order to get a lubricated oil core along the pipe. Firctional pressure drop measurements for upward vertical core flow in a 1 in. pipe, using a 17.6 Pa.s, 963 kg/m~3 oil and water at room tempe4rature reported a decrease by more than 1000 times with respect to single phase oil flow, being comparable to the flow of water alone in the pipe at mixture flow rate. The total pressure drop was reduced by more than 45 times. The frictional pressure drop model includes both irreversible and buoyancy terms. The voolumetric fraction of the core was determined from a kinematic wave model of the interfacial waves and validated with direct holdup measurements from different sources. The resultant pressure drop model was adjusted to fit our data and shows excellent agreement with data from another source.