The onshore and offshore production of oil and natural gas is characterized by the multiphase flow in ducts and pipes, which are interconnected by various equipments such as wellhead, pumps, compressors, processing platforms, among others. The transport of oil and oil products is essential to the viability of the sector, but is susceptible to failures, that can cause great environmental damage. Considering this necessity of the transportation sector of oil and derivatives, leakage in pipelines with curved connections, are the object of study for various researchers. In this sense, this work contributes to the study of three-phase flow (oil-water-gas) in a curved pipe (90°) using Computational Fluid Dynamics. The physical domain is constituted by two tubes of 4 meters trenched by a 90° curve, with the poring whole in the curvated accessory. The mathematical model is based on a particle model, where the oil is considered as a continuous phase and the water and gas as a particulate phase. The SST (Shear Stress Transport) turbulence model was adopted. All simulations were carried out using the Ansys CFX® 12.1 commercial code. Results of the pressure, velocity and volumetric fraction of the phases are presented and discussed. © 2016 Trans Tech Publications.
