Dynamic Simulation of Gas-Liquid Homogeneous Flow in Natural Gas Pipeline Using Two-Fluid Conservation Equations

Abstract

Homogeneous two-phase flows are frequently encountered in a variety processes in the petroleum and gas industries. In natural gas pipelines, liquid condensation occurs due to the thermodynamic and hydrodynamic imperatives. During horizontal, concurrent gas-liquid flow in pipes, a variety of flow patterns can exist. Each pattern results from the particular manner by which the liquid and gas distribute in the pipe. The objective of this study is to simulate the non-isothermal, one-dimensional, transient homogenous two-phase flow gas pipeline system using two-fluid conservation equations. The modified Peng-Robinson equation of state is used to calculate the vapor-liquid equilibrium in multi-component natural gas to find the vapor and liquid compressibility factors. Mass transfer between the gas and the liquid phases is treated rigorously through flash calculation, making the algorithm capable of handling retrograde condensation. The liquid droplets are assumed to be spheres of uniform size, evenly dispersed throughout the gas phase. The method of solution is the fully implicit finite difference method. This method is stable for gas pipeline simulations when using a large time step and therefore minimizes the computation time. The algorithm used to solve the nonlinear finite-difference thermo-fluid equations for two phase flow through a pipe is based on the Newton-Raphson method. The results show that the liquid condensate holdup is a strong function of temperature, pressure, mass flow rate, and mixture composition. Also, the fully implicit method has advantages, such as the guaranteed stability for large time step, which is very useful for simulating long-term transients in natural gas pipeline systems.