Churn Flow Research Articles

Multi-Scale Long-Range Magnitude and Sign Correlations in Vertical Upward Oil–Gas–Water Three-Phase Flow

Abstract In this article we apply an approach to identify the oil–gas–water three-phase flow patterns in vertical upwards 20 mm inner-diameter pipe based on the conductance fluctuating signals. We use the approach to analyse the signals with long-range correlations by decomposing the signal increment series into magnitude and sign series and extracting their scaling properties. We find that the magnitude series relates to nonlinear properties of the original time series, whereas the sign series relates to the linear properties. The research shows that the oil–gas–water three-phase flows (slug flow, churn flow, bubble flow) can be classified by a combination of scaling exponents of magnitude and sign series. This study provides a new way of characterising linear and nonlinear properties embedded in oil–gas–water three-phase flows.

Assessment of a hybrid CFD model for simulation of complex vertical upward gas–liquid churn flow

Gas–liquid multiphase flow can be observed within different industrial processes, and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) can be utilized as a tool for scrutiny of this kind of flows. Although the CFD simulations of multiphase are computationally-demanding, they can deliver a great deal of information. But, the larger point is whether the available CFD multiphase flow models are able to deliver a realistic solution for a complex flow pattern like churn flow? And if yes, to what extent are the results accurate?To shed light on these issues, the Eulerian–Eulerian MultiFluid VOF model offered by ANSYS FLUENT 15 (2015. 15.0 User's Guide, ANSYS Inc.) was used to simulate high flow rate air–water multiphase flow in a 76.2mm-diameter pipe upstream of an elbow in the vertical-horizontal configuration. In the simulations, superficial gas velocity ranged from 10.3m/s to 33.9m/s, and two superficial liquid velocities of 0.3, and 0.79m/s were employed.From the CFD simulations, data such as phase distributions, mean void fractions, and average void fraction time series were extracted. They were then compared to experimental Wire Mesh Sensor (WMS) data formerly obtained. Interestingly, evaluation of the model revealed that it was successful in terms of capturing different liquid structures present within the flow and delivering void fraction data which were in agreement with those of experiments.

Structures in gas–liquid churn flow in a large diameter vertical pipe

Gas–Liquid two phase co-current flow in a vertical riser with an internal diameter of 127 mm was investigated in the churn flow pattern. This paper presents detailed experimental data obtained using a Wire Mesh Sensor. It shows that the most obvious features of the flow are huge waves travelling on the liquid film. Wisps, large tendrils of liquid and the product of incomplete atomisation, which had previously detected in smaller diameter pipes, have also been found in the larger diameter pipe employed here. The output of the Wire Mesh Sensor has been used to determine the overall void fraction. When examined within a drift flux framework, it shows a distribution coefficient of ∼1, in contrast to data for lower gas flow rates. Film thickness time series extracted from the Wire Mesh Sensor output have been examined and the trends of mean film thickness, that of the base film and the wave peaks are presented and discussed. The occurrence of wisps and their frequencies have been quantified.

Two-phase flow in short horizontal rectangular microchannels with a height of 300 μm

The two-phase flow in a narrow short horizontal channel with a rectangular cross section is studied experimentally. The channel has a width of 10, 20, or 30 mm and a height of 300 μm. The specifics of formation of such two-phase flows are investigated. It is demonstrated that the regions of bubble and churn flow regimes grow and constrain the region of jet flow as the channel gets wider. The boundaries of the regions of annular and stratified flow regimes remain almost unaltered.

SCADOP: Phenomenological modeling of dryout in nuclear fuel rod bundles

Analysis and prediction of dryout is of important consequence to safety of nuclear fuel clusters of boiling water type of reactors. Traditionally, experimental correlations are used for dryout predictions. Since these correlations are based on operating parameters and do not aim to model the underlying phenomena, there has been a proliferation of the correlations, each catering to some specific bundle geometry under a specific set of operating conditions. Moreover, such experiments are extremely costly. In general, changes in tested bundle geometry for improvement in thermal-hydraulic performance would require re-experimentation. Understanding and modeling the basic processes leading to dryout in flow boiling thus has great incentive. Such a model has the ability to predict dryout in any rod bundle geometry, unlike the operating parameter based correlation approach. Thus more informed experiments can be carried out. A good model can, reduce the number of experiments required during the iterations in bundle design.In this paper, a phenomenological model as indicated above is presented. The model incorporates a new methodology to estimate the Initial Entrained Fraction (IEF), i.e., entrained fraction at the onset of annular flow. The incorporation of this new methodology is important since IEF is often assumed ad-hoc and sometimes also used as a parameter to tune the model predictions to experimental data. It is highlighted that IEF may be low under certain conditions against the general perception of a high IEF due to influence of churn flow. It is shown that the same phenomenological model is applicable to tubes as well as rod bundles. For application to rod bundles, the flow field was calculated using subchannel methodology. The model developed has been validated against experimental data in tubes and rod bundles. In the process a computer code SCADOP has been developed for analysis of dryout in rod bundles.

The characteristics of premature and stable critical heat flux for downward flow boiling at low pressure in a narrow rectangular channel

Flow instability and critical heat flux (CHF) especially for downward flow of water in a vertical narrow rectangular channel heated from both sides were experimentally investigated. The gap, width, heated width, and heated length of the channel were 2.35, 40, 30, and 350mm, respectively. The flow boiling was developed as the wall heat flux was increased for the imposed mass flux of 500 and 1000kgm−2s−1 for high inlet subcooling (52–74K) conditions under atmospheric pressure. In this paper, the unstable boiling flow was investigated by monitoring the channel pressure drop and high speed visualization for side view of boiling (HSV-SVB) with the back-lighting method. The results showed that an irremovable pressure drop fluctuation was involved in the flow boiling after the distinct initiating point called as the onset of pressure drop fluctuation (OPDF). We determined that coalescence of bubble (or vapor) layers on opposing heated surfaces triggered the OPDF, since an abrupt increase of pressure drop was occurred as the expansion of the liquid–vapor interface became bounded by the other layer on the opposite side. The fluctuation was amplified as the exit quality was increased and the flow regime passed through the unstable slug or churn flow. For a low inlet throttling condition, premature CHF was induced at the maximum fluctuation during those flow regimes. On the other hand, stable CHF was obtained in the re-stabilized flow regime as the annular flow was developed only for large inlet throttling conditions with an additional pressure drop across the valve of more than 0.4bar for our experimental configuration.

Simulation of flooding waves in vertical churn flow

A transient simulation of flooding waves in the churn flow of air and water in a vertical pipe is performed by the means of two-fluid modelling approach with interface sharpening. The gas and liquid phases are considered immiscible and incompressible with no mass transfer between them. Inter-phase coupling of momentum is realized via interface drag force which is based on the interface area density and the relative velocity between the phases. Surface tension effects are modelled with the Continuum Surface Model. The flow is assumed isothermal. Turbulence is modelled for each phase separately using the two-equation eddy viscosity approach. Results are compared with the reported experimental data for churn flow regime in a vertical pipe (Wang et al., 2011a). Reynolds numbers of the gas flow are in the range from 6000 to 10,000, while the liquid mass flow rate upwards ranges from 25 to 32g/s. Prediction of critical and maximum amplitudes of the flooding waves show good agreement with experimental values. Results for wave frequencies indicate significant deviations, which can be attributed to the choice of the liquid inlet model.

The effect of surfactants on upward air–water pipe flow at various inclinations

In this work, we extend our previous efforts on the effect of surfactants on air-water flow in a vertical pipe by also considering pipe inclinations between 20° (with respect to horizontal) and vertical. For air–water flow, independent of the inclination, there is a regular annular flow at large gas flow rates, and an irregular churn or slug flow at low gas flow rates. Closely related to the transition between regular and irregular flow, although not necessarily coinciding with it, there is a minimum in the pressure gradient as a function of the gas flow rate. In gas wells, surfactants are used to shift this minimum to lower gas flow rates, which allows a stable gas production up to lower reservoir pressures. In this work, we investigate how the pipe inclination affects air–water flow without and with surfactants. Surfactants generate foam, which decreases the density and increases the thickness of the film at the pipe wall. For vertical flow, we previously established that surfactants increase the pressure gradient at high gas flow rates, decrease the pressure gradient at low gas flow rates, shift the minimum in the pressure gradient to lower gas flow rates, and shift the transition between regular and irregular flow to lower gas flow rates. The new results described in this paper show that for large gas flow rates, both the flow with and without surfactants is unaffected by the inclination. At low gas velocities, however, in inclined pipes the surfactants are much less effective at shifting the transition between irregular flow and regular flow and at shifting the minimum in the pressure gradient than in vertical pipes. The foam causes a regular film morphology at the top wall of the pipe, but is unable to make the morphology of the bottom liquid film regular. As a result, at low gas flow rates the relative decrease of the pressure gradient due to surfactants is smaller for smaller inclinations from horizontal. This larger relative decrease for vertical flow compared to inclined flow is related to an increased foam formation and therefore a smaller mass density of the film in vertical flow.

Flow of two immiscible fluids in a periodically constricted tube: Transitions to stratified, segmented, churn, spray, or segregated flow

We study the flow of two immiscible, Newtonian fluids in a periodically constricted tube driven by a constant pressure gradient. Our volume-of-fluid algorithm is used to solve the governing equations. First, the code is validated by comparing its predictions to previously reported results for stratified and pulsing flow. Then, it is used to capture accurately all the significant topological changes that take place. Initially, the fluids have a core-annular arrangement, which is found to either remain the same or change to a different arrangement depending on the fluid properties, the pressure driving the flow, or the flow geometry. The flow-patterns that appear are the core-annular, segmented, churn, spray, and segregated flow. The predicted scalings near pinching of the core fluid concur with similarity predictions and earlier numerical results [I. Cohen et al., “Two fluid drop snap-off problem: Experiments and theory,” Phys. Rev. Lett. 83, 1147–1150 (1999)]. Flow-pattern maps are constructed in terms of the Reynolds and Weber numbers. Our result provides deeper insights into the mechanism of the pattern transitions and is in agreement with previous studies on core-annular flow [Ch. Kouris and J. Tsamopoulos, “Core-annular flow in a periodically constricted circular tube, I. Steady state, linear stability and energy analysis,” J. Fluid Mech. 432, 31–68 (2001) and Ch. Kouris et al., “Comparison of spectral and finite element methods applied to the study of interfacial instabilities of the core-annular flow in an undulating tube,” Int. J. Numer. Methods Fluids 39(1), 41–73 (2002)], segmented flow [E. Lac and J. D. Sherwood, “Motion of a drop along the centreline of a capillary in a pressure-driven flow,” J. Fluid Mech. 640, 27–54 (2009)], and churn flow [R. Y. Bai et al., “Lubricated pipelining—Stability of core annular-flow. 5. Experiments and comparison with theory,” J. Fluid Mech. 240, 97–132 (1992)].

Adiabatic two-phase gas–liquid flow behaviors during upward flow in a vertical circular micro-channel

A two-phase air–water flow experiment was carried out to obtain flow pattern, void fraction, and pressure drop data from a vertical micro-channel, which was a fused silica tube with a diameter of 0.53mm and a length of 320mm. The adiabatic two-phase flow behaviors during vertical upward direction were experimentally investigated, and consequently, a buoyancy effect can be detected in this work. A flow visualization study was performed, leading to observation of slug flow, throat–annular flow, churn flow, annular flow, and annular–rivulet flow. The shape of the interfacial surface in the slug flow pattern was deformed during vertical upward flow, which was different from the bullet-shaped gas slug observed in the horizontal channel. The flow visualization results also indicate that the flow pattern map for vertical upward flow is not completely compatible with that for horizontal flow. Image analysis was performed to determine the void fraction, which increases linearly with increasing volumetric quality. The vertical upward flow gave a lower void fraction than the horizontal flow. The frictional pressure drop can be increased when the churn flow is formed in the channel. In addition, vertical upward flow can result in higher pressure drop when compared with the horizontal channel.

Visualization study of condensation of ethanol–water mixtures in trapezoidal microchannels

A visualization experiment is carried out to investigate the ethanol–water vapor mixtures condensation flow patterns in an array of microchannels under a wide range of concentration (2–60%). The text microchannel is a trapezoidal silicon channel with a hydraulic diameter of 165.87μm and a length of 50mm. Along the flow direction, annular, annular-streak, annular-streak-droplet, churn, injection, droplet-injection and bubble flow patterns are observed in the vapor mixtures condensation under different inlet ethanol mass concentration (60%, 31%, 20%, 6%, 4% and 2%), which is obviously different from pure steam condensation. The equivalent surface free energy differences under various vapor conditions and vapor–surface temperature differences are calculated quantitatively. The experimental results show that flow patterns are closely related to the equivalent surface free energy differences. A correlation based on the critical quality is proposed to indicate the injection two-phase flow patterns transition.

Comparison and generalization of R410A and R134a distribution in the microchannel heat exchanger with the vertical header

This article presents the experimental results of R410A and R134a distribution in the vertical header of a reversible outdoor microchannel heat exchanger. Two-phase refrigerant enters into the test header through multiple parallel microchannel tubes in the bottom pass and exits through multiple parallel microchannel tubes in the top pass, representing the flow in the outdoor microchannel heat exchanger of a reversible system under heat pump mode. The difference in fluid properties between R410A and R134a causes the difference in flow patterns and refrigerant distribution results. Non-dimensional analysis shows that the inertia of R410A is higher than that of R134a, with the following results: (1) at low qualities (churn flow), more liquid R410A reaches the top tubes, so R410A distribution is a little better than R134a; (2) at high qualities (semi-annular flow), more bottom tubes are bypassed by the liquid film of R410A, so R410A distribution is worse than R134a, even though more liquid reaches the top tubes for R410A. The distribution results of R410A and R134a are generalized with coefficient of variation, flow regime map, and a distribution function.

Time-resolved fast-neutron radiography of air-water two-phase flows in a rectangular channel by an improved detection system.

In a previous work, we have demonstrated the feasibility of high-frame-rate, fast-neutron radiography of generic air-water two-phase flows in a 1.5 cm thick, rectangular flow channel. The experiments have been carried out at the high-intensity, white-beam facility of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Germany, using an multi-frame, time-resolved detector developed for fast neutron resonance radiography. The results were however not fully optimal and therefore we have decided to modify the detector and optimize it for the given application, which is described in the present work. Furthermore, we managed to improve the image post-processing methodology and the noise suppression. Using the tailored detector and the improved post-processing, significant increase in the image quality and an order of magnitude lower exposure times, down to 3.33 ms, have been achieved with minimized motion artifacts. Similar to the previous study, different two-phase flow regimes such as bubbly slug and churn flows have been examined. The enhanced imaging quality enables an improved prediction of two-phase flow parameters like the instantaneous volumetric gas fraction, bubble size, and bubble velocities. Instantaneous velocity fields around the gas enclosures can also be more robustly predicted using optical flow methods as previously.

A novel drag force coefficient model for gas–water two-phase flows under different flow patterns

A novel drag force coefficient model has been developed to study gas–water two-phase flows. In this drag force coefficient model, the terminal velocities were calculated through the revised drift flux model. The revised drift flux is different from the traditional drift flux model because the natural curve movement of the bubble was revised through considering the centrifugal force. Owing to the revisions, the revised drift flux model was to extend to 3D. Therefore it is suitable for CFD applications. In the revised drift flux model, the different flow patterns of the gas–water two-phase flows were able to be considered. This model innovatively realizes the drag force being able to cover different flow patterns of gas–water two-phase flows on bubbly flow, slug flow, churn flow, annular flow and mist flow. Through the comparisons of the numerical simulations to the experiments in vertical upward and downward pipe flows, this model was validated.

Interrogating the effect of an orifice on the upward two-phase gas–liquid flow behavior

Experiments are reported on an air–water mixture flowing through an orifice in a vertical pipe. Time series of cross-sectionally averaged void fractions have been measured at nine axial positions by using a conductance probe technique. A series of six orifices with different thicknesses and apertures were employed. The Probability Density Function, the Power Spectral Density of the time series of cross sectionally averaged void fractions and the cross-correlation of time series from adjacent probes have been obtained to determine the effect of the orifice on the flow characteristics. The diameter area ratio and the thickness of the orifice have a higher influence on bubbly than on slug and churn flows. The recovery length is about 20, 10 and 7 pipe diameter downstream the orifice for these three flow patterns respectively. Homogenization effect needs a minimum liquid superficial velocity. Its position occurs depends on the value of this velocity and on the orifice fractional open area.Just downstream the orifice, the structure velocity increases for the bubbly and slug flows and decreases for churn flow. For bubble and slug flows, there is persistency of the frequency when passing through the orifice from the upstream to the downstream pipe.

Experimental investigation of effective parameters on geyser periodicity in a vertical heated system

Geysering-induced instabilities are capable of acting as a heat sink in the event of a loss of coolant circulation under nuclear accident conditions, especially for the passive residual heat removal system which is governed by natural processes. But the sensitivity of geysering to a variety of parameters is an important consideration in determining its effectiveness as a cooling mechanism. In this paper, an experimental study was made of geyser boiling performance in a vertical heated system with a long rising pipe and heat source located at the bottom. The effects of heat flux (2.0×104Wm−2⩽Qin⩽8.0×104Wm−2), subcooled temperature (5K<ΔTsub<80K), coolant inventory (12.5%⩽Hv⩽87.5%) and geometry ratio (L/D=55, 83) on the period and intensity of geyser boiling under the conditions with no circulation were investigated. Two vertical pipes of total length of 1750mm and 2650mm with inside and outside diameters of 32 and 38mm were employed with distilled water as a working fluid. Four flow patterns of bubbly flow, slug flow, churn flow and mist packet annular flow were observed and new definitions were proposed for the observed intermittent flow process through visualized method, i.e., thermal storage, subcooled boiling, superheated boiling, vapor eruption and liquid refilling. It was revealed that the period of geyser boiling decreased sharply by increasing the heat load until it became very low and then completely disappeared. The geyser period increased from approximately 23.9–58s by increasing the upper water subcooling from 5K to 78K but changed slightly as the coolant inventory ratio ranged from 12.5% to 87.5%. A larger geometry ratio was a favorable factor for geysering which illustrated that geysering occurred more easily at a larger geometry ratio. In addition, flow pattern map for two-phase flow conditions in vertical channels based on geometry ratios and input powers were presented.

Experimental investigation of interfacial structures within churn flow using a dual wire-mesh sensor

A challenging area in the field of multiphase flow is the study of churn flow. According to the multiphase flow community, churn flow has not been widely investigated in intermediate and large diameter pipes at high gas and liquid flow rates. The present work deals with an experimental study of upward vertical air–water flow in a 76.2mm I.D. pipe. Superficial gas velocities ranging from 10 to 38m/s and four superficial liquid velocities (0.30, 0.46, 0.61 and 0.76m/s) were employed. The experimental data points are mostly located in churn flow and at the transition between churn and annular flow. A dual 16×16 Wire Mesh Sensor (WMS) was used to obtain the temporal/spatial variations of phase distributions over the pipe cross-section at one specific axial location (L/D=236).Sequences of phase distributions, axially sliced images, virtual 3-D images as well as void fraction time-series were used to distinguish between different interfacial structures such as slugs and huge waves. Results showed that huge waves occur with either a continuous gas core with a distinct boundary between two phases or a core with a gas–liquid mixture. Furthermore, velocities and frequencies of interfacial structures were obtained. Results are qualitatively and quantitatively consistent with the previous findings available in literature.

On the effect of liquid viscosity on interfacial structures within churn flow: Experimental study using wire mesh sensor

In the churn flow regime, periodical interfacial structures such as liquid slugs and huge waves can coexist and undoubtedly, a phase property such as liquid viscosity can dominate the behavior of these structures. Regrettably, neither are the characteristics of churn flow widely understood nor have the effects of liquid viscosity on gas–liquid flow received enough attention.A Wire Mesh Sensor (WMS) with a 16×16 spatial resolution was employed to discover the effects of liquid viscosity on the behavior of churn flow in a vertical 76.2mm pipe. Three liquid viscosities of 1, 10, and 40cP, and superficial liquid velocities of 0.46, 0.61, and 0.76m/s were employed; whereas, superficial gas velocity ranged from 10 to 27m/s. Different techniques such as Probability Density Function (PDF), and 2-D and 3-D image reconstruction methods were applied to study the flow. It was noticed that increasing liquid viscosity not only affected the flow pattern but also the appearance frequencies of interfacial structures.

Analysis of dynamic of two-phase flow in small channel based on phase space reconstruction combined with data reduction sub-frequency band wavelet

A new method of nonlinear analysis is established by combining phase space reconstruction and data reduction sub-frequency band wavelet. This method is applied to two types of chaotic dynamic systems (Lorenz and Rössler) to examine the anti-noise ability for complex systems. Results show that the nonlinear dynamic system analysis method resists noise and reveals the internal dynamics of a weak signal from noise pollution. On this basis, the vertical upward gas–liquid two-phase flow in a 2mm×0.81mm small rectangular channel is investigated. The frequency and energy distributions of the main oscillation mode are revealed by analyzing the time–frequency spectra of the pressure signals of different flow patterns. The positive power spectral density of singular-value frequency entropy and the damping ratio are extracted to characterize the evolution of flow patterns and achieve accurate recognition of different vertical upward gas–liquid flow patterns (bubbly flow: 100%, slug flow: 92%, churn flow: 96%, annular flow: 100%). The proposed analysis method will enrich the dynamics theory of multi-phase flow in small channel.

Ultrasonic measurements of sand particle erosion in gas dominant multiphase churn flow in vertical pipes

Solid particle erosion can result in major pipeline failures, economic losses and more importantly safety and environmental issues. Erosion in multiphase flow is not widely understood and previous work has mostly focused on cases where the carrier fluid is single phase. There are different multiphase flow regimes, and amid them, churn flow appears frequently in piping systems such as risers, jumpers and flow spools. Furthermore, elbows have broad applications in the oil and gas industry, and they are subject to sand particle erosion damage. Therefore, the study of erosion in elbows, while the superficial velocities of the carrier fluids are in the range so that the flow pattern is churn flow, is of utmost importance. Experimental tests were carried out in order to investigate sand particle erosion in a 76.2mm ID standard vertical–horizontal (V–H) elbow. A novel non-intrusive ultrasonic device was implemented to attain erosion patterns under different flow conditions. The effects of superficial gas and liquid velocities, particle size and liquid viscosity on erosion rate were investigated. The results are compared to the available data of erosion rates in a horizontal–horizontal (H–H) elbow with the same size of the elbow employed here. The most striking outcome to emerge from the comparisons is that erosion rates in the V–H elbow are significantly higher than those in the H–H elbow.