STUDIES OF THE SLUG-ANNULAR REGIME TRANSITION IN TWO-PHASE FLOW EN HORIZONTAL PIPES

摘要

This paper discusses an investigation of the slug-annular transition in two-phase (air-water and air-oil) flow in a 78 mm internal diameter horizontal tube. The experiments were conducted at pressures of approximately 0.1 and 0.3 MPa (abs). The air and liquid superficial velocities ranged between 5.0-24.0 m/s and 0.05-0.2 m/s, respectively. The transition was investigated using visual observation (aided by video photography), evaluation of pressure drop and average holdup data, studies of slug body holdup, and axial view photography. It was concluded that the slug-annular transition occurred when the slug body holdup fell to around 30%. Using a standard holdup correlation to predict this condition led to satisfactory predictions of the transition.