Development of a fast transient simulator for gas-liquid two-phase flow in pipes

The objective of this study is to develop a simplified transient model and a simulator for gas-liquid two-phase flow in pipelines. The reliable predictions of liquid holdup and pressure drop are essential for pipeline design in oil and gas industry. In this study, the drift-flux approach is utilized to calculate liquid holdups. A modification of the power law correlation presented by Al-sarkhi and Sarica (2009) is suggested for pressure drop calculation. The proposed approach and correlation are continuous and flow pattern independent. Additionally, the developed model is simple and presents an easy tuning capability with either experimental data or synthetic data coming from steady state simulators. The simplicity of the model allows quick implementation yielding in a faster simulator as compared to available commercial software. The developed simulator is tested with Vigneron et al. (1995) experimental data, which include two transient conditions; liquid flow rate changes and gas flow rate changes. The results of simulation are compared with OLGA (OiL and GAs simulator supplied by SPT group) simulations and show fair agreement in terms of liquid holdups and pressures. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.