Abstract
We introduce a flow meter to monitor the flow rate of individual phases in gas-liquid flows. The meter combines pressure data from a Venturi tube and void fraction data from a twin-plane capacitive sensor. By the twin geometry of the capacitive sensor it is possible to cross-correlate the two signals and estimate gas flow rate. A simple algebraic approach, which considers no-slip condition between phases and disregards influence of gas phase, combines pressure fluctuations of the Venturi meter with the measured phase fraction to estimate liquid flow rate. The proposed meter has been tested in horizontal air-water flow loops, 1-inch and 2-inches internal pipe diameter, in permanent and transient regimes. Calculated values were compared to reference measurements. The proposed meter performs well determining liquid flow rate, independent of the flow pattern, in the whole measured range with some more discrepancies at lower values of liquid flow rate. Gas flow rate presented good agreement with reference measures whereas here mainly slug flow pattern has been investigated. RMSD% in steady-state condition was 6.5% for liquid and 20.6% for gas, being satisfactory for many applications, considering the fact the introduced flow rate meter operates without the need for any adjustment based on reference measurements or previous knowledge/assumption of the gas/vapor quality parameter, as has been usual for other similar recent developments.
Highlights
Multiphase flows are found in a broad range of areas, like in nature, medicine, biology and engineering process
Liquid flow rate is estimated by an arithmetical approach combining void fraction, pressure and temperature readings
Gas flow rate is calculated by cross-correlating signals of the capacitive sensor and by the estimative of gas density via temperature readings
Summary
Multiphase flows are found in a broad range of areas, like in nature, medicine, biology and engineering process. Multiphase flows are present in exploration, production and transport of oil and gas. An established method to estimate the individual phase flow rate is the arrangement of phase separators with single-phase flow meters, e.g., Vortex, Coriolis and ultrasound sensors [2]. Separators bring some drawbacks considering the physical space occupied and the time response of the system. They occupy a large physical space in the flow plant - their weight can reach 15,000 kg making difficult the use of the technique in individual wells [3]. Since the phases are separated by gravity, an unpredictable time is necessary to have a good separation and reliable measurements, elevating the time response of the system
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