Horizontal oil-water two-phase dispersed flow velocity profile study by ultrasonic doppler method

Abstract

Flow velocity is an important parameter in oil-water two-phase flow, which is closely related to the oil production estimation and production safety. In recent years, pulse-wave Doppler is widely studied because it can obtain the velocity profile along the ultrasound beam. In this paper, a new Pulse-wave Doppler system based on the industrial bus was designed to measure the velocity profile of oil-water two-phase flow. This system was used to study the velocity profile of a horizontal tube oil-water two-phase flow, the flow patterns include dispersion of oil in water and water (Do/w & w), oil in water emulsion (O/W), dual dispersions of water in oil and oil in water (Dw/o & Do/w) and water in oil emulsion (W/O). The velocity profile obtained was compared with the Laser Doppler Velocimetry (LDV) data under similar flow conditions. The results showed that, in water continuous flow patterns, the velocity profile of the two-phase flow can be described by a modified Nikuradse equation that describes the velocity profile of single phase pipe flow; in oil continuous flow patterns, the velocity profile also can be described by a modified Nikuradse equation with different parameters.