OIL-WATER FLOW IN HORIZONTAL PIPES: A FLOW PATTERN AND PRESSURE DROP STUDY

摘要

This article presents an experimental study of a liquid-liquid dispersed/stratified flow in a horizontal pipe. All the flows studied contain a highly concentrated layer of oil drops (light phase) under which flows a continuous layer of aqueous phase (heavy phase). Depending on the dispersed phase concentration, a third layer of pure oil may appear at the top of the pipe. The impact of the oil injection system has been studied and it appears that it plays a role in the transition, being one of the systems favoring the coalescence of the oil droplets. The evolution of the pressure drop is discussed. It is systematically greater than that obtained for a single water flow, confirming observations made by Elseth (2001), Nadler and Mewes (1995), and Angeli (1996) for a steel pipe. A correlation between the pressure loss and the experimental conditions (mixture velocity and phase ratio) is proposed. Two classical models, usually used for gas-liquid stratified flows (Lockart and Martinelli) and for fully dispersed flows (homogeneous model), are also tested and adjusted to dispersed/stratified flows.