Gas-liquid flow regimes in a novel rocking and rolling flow loop

Abstract

Predicting two-phase flow pattern characteristics and flow transition is fundamental to address several industrial problems, e.g. for the oil and gas industry. In order to fulfil the upscaling from the laboratory to the industrial scale, resource-efficient flow testing facilities which closely replicate industrial flow characteristics are needed. To address this, we introduce a new experimental device named as the Rocking and Rolling Ring Flow Loop (3RFL), which is size, cost, and time-efficient. In the present work, we employ the 3RFL apparatus at atmospheric pressure and temperature, with air and water as working fluids. However, the ultimate goal of our work is to build an experimental set-up capable of capturing the under-pressure reactive multiphase flow (gas-liquid–solid) dynamics typical of flow assurance in oil production and transportation. At the moment, the 3RFL can induce different flow regimes by adjusting the system control parameters such as rocking angle, rocking rate, and liquid volume fraction, all without requiring a pump. We observe three flow regimes, and analyse the impact of control parameters on their emergence. Our findings reveal that flow regime transitions are influenced by the competition between gravitational and centrifugal forces, which arise due to the curvature of the tube. Among three employed modelling strategies, namely mechanistic modelling, total energy minimization and a combined approach, we find that the total energy minimization model best compares to the experimental liquid height.