Drag reduction phenomenon in viscous oil‐water dispersed pipe flow: Experimental investigation and phenomenological modeling

An experimental study on drag‐reduction phenomenon in dispersed oil‐water flow has been performed in a 26‐mm‐i.d. Twelve meter long horizontal glass pipe. The flow was characterized using a novel wire‐mesh sensor based on capacitance measurements and high‐speed video recording. New two‐phase pressure gradient, volume fraction, and phase distribution data have been used in the analysis. Drag reduction and slip ratio were detected at oil volume fractions between 10 and 45% and high mixture Reynolds numbers, and with water as the dominant phase. Phase‐fraction distribution diagrams and cross‐sectional imaging of the flow suggested the presence of a higher amount of water near to the pipe wall. Based on that, a phenomenology for explaining drag reduction in dispersed flow in a flow situation where slip ratio is significant is proposed. A simple phenomenological model is developed and the agreement between model predictions and data, including data from the literature, is encouraging. © 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2012     

Pressure Drop in Liquid‐liquid Two Phase Horizontal Flow: Experiment and Prediction

The present study is aimed at an investigation of the pressure drop characteristics during the simultaneous flow of a kerosene‐water mixture through a horizontal pipe of 0.025 m diameter. Measurements of pressure gradient were made for different combinations of phase superficial velocities ranging from 0.03–2 m/s such that the regimes encountered were smooth stratified, wavy stratified, three layer flow, plug flow and oil dispersed in water, and water flow patterns. A model was developed, which considered the energy minimization and pressure equalization of both phases.     

Analytic Model of Laminar‐Turbulent Transition for Bingham Plastics

It is often desirable to operate industrial pipelines transporting non‐Newtonian materials near the transition from laminar to turbulent flow. For the commonly used Bingham plastic model, the Hedström technique overestimates turbulent flow friction losses because it does not take account of viscous‐layer thickening. In the present paper, the Wilson‐Thomas model is applied to predict the transition point for Bingham plastics. Laminar and turbulent friction losses are calculated to show that conditions at transition depend only on the Hedström number. The results are approximated by simplified fit functions. Comparison with existing empirical correlations and experimental data from various sources shows satisfactory agreement.     

Pipeline Flow Behavior of Water‐in‐Oil Emulsions with and without a Polymeric Additive in the Aqueous Phase

New experimental results are presented on the pipeline flow behavior of water‐in‐oil (W/O) emulsions with and without a polymeric additive in the aqueous phase. The emulsions were prepared from three different oils of different viscosities (2.5 mPa s for EDM‐244, 6 mPa s for EDM‐Monarch, and 5.4 mPa s for Shell Pella, at 25 °C). The W/O emulsions prepared from EDM‐244 and EDM‐Monarch oils (without any polymeric additive in the dispersed aqueous phase) exhibited drag reduction behavior in turbulent flow. The turbulent friction factor data of the emulsions fell well below the Blasius equation. The W/O emulsions prepared from EDM‐244 oil exhibited stronger drag reduction as compared with the EDM‐Monarch oil. The W/O emulsions prepared from Shell Pella oil exhibited negligible drag reduction in turbulent flow and their friction factor data followed the Blasius equation. The Shell Pella emulsions were more stable than the EDM‐244 and EDM‐Monarch emulsions. When left unstirred, the EDM‐244 and EDM‐Monarch emulsions quickly coalesced into separate oil and water phases whereas the Shell Pella emulsions took a significantly longer time to phase separate. The Shell Pella oil emulsions were also milkier than the EDM emulsions. The addition of a polymer to the dispersed aqueous phase of the W/O emulsions had a significant effect on the turbulent drag reduction behavior.     

Dispersed oil–water–gas flow through a horizontal pipe

An experimental study of three‐phase dispersed flow in a horizontal pipe has been carried out. The pressure drop over the pipe strongly increases with increasing bubble and drop volume fraction. Because of the presence of drops the transition from dispersed bubble flow to elongated bubble flow occurs at a lower gas volume fraction. The gas bubbles have no significant influence on the phase inversion process. However, phase inversion has a strong effect on the gas bubbles. Just before inversion large bubbles are present and the flow pattern is elongated bubble flow. During the inversion process the bubbles break‐up quickly and as the dispersed drop volume fraction after inversion is much lower than before inversion, a dispersed bubble flow is present after inversion. (When inversion is postponed to high dispersed phase fractions, the volume fraction of the dispersed phase can be as high as 0.9 before inversion and as low as 0.1 after inversion.) © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2009     

Characteristics of the boundary layer with hydrogen combustion with variations of thermal conditions on a permeable wall

The paper describes a numerical study of the influence of thermal and boundary conditions on the structure of laminar and turbulent diffusion flames in the cases with hydrogen injection through a porous surface and with hydrogen combustion in an air flow. Two types of boundary conditions are compared: with a given constant temperature T _w = const over the length of the porous surface for arbitrary intensities of fuel injection and with a constant temperature T′ = const of the fuel injected through the porous wall. The first case occurs during combustion of a liquid fuel whose burning surface temperature remains unchanged. Injection of gaseous fuel usually leads to the second case with T′ = const. Despite significant differences in velocity and temperature profiles, the skin friction coefficients in the laminar flow are close to each other in these two regimes. In the turbulent regime, the effect of the thermal boundary conditions on friction and heat transfer is more pronounced. Moreover, the heat flux to the wall as a function of fuel-injection intensity is characterized by a clearly expressed maximum. A principal difference of the effect of combustion on friction and heat transfer in the laminar and turbulent flow regimes is demonstrated. __________ Translated from Fizika Goreniya i Vzryva, Vol. 45, No. 3, pp. 3–11, May–June, 2009.     

Mean and turbulent fluctuating velocities in oil-water vertical dispersed flows

Experiments of oil-water upward and downward flows have been carried out in a 38 mm ID pipe to investigate the modifications of turbulent flow characteristics by the presence of dispersed phase, i.e., mean and turbulent velocity profile of the continuous phase and mean velocity profile of the dispersed phase. Results for both oil-in-water (o/w) and water-in-oil (w/o) dispersions are presented. In o/w upward flow, the axial mean velocity profiles are found to be flatter than in single-phase flow and then change to centre peaked as the input oil fraction increases; a flatter profile is seen in w/o upward flow. In downward flow, the presence of oil drops always tends to flatten the continuous phase velocity profile in o/w dispersions, while a slightly centre peaked profile is observed in all cases of w/o systems. For both upward and downward flows, the presence of the dispersed phase tends to flatten the turbulence intensity profile and to result in a more uniform distribution of the turbulent energy over the pipe cross-section. It is also found that turbulence is more likely to be enhanced in the pipe centre area, where the volume fraction and the size of the dispersed phase are larger, while suppressed in the area close to the wall. Turbulence intensity is increased with mixture velocity and is slightly higher in upward than in downward flows. The current study suggests that local dispersed phase fraction and size as well as dispersed phase velocity seem to affect turbulence characteristics in oil-water flows. Previous models based on particle-laden flows for the prediction of turbulence enhancement or suppression were examined and agreement was found to depend on the type of dispersion (i.e., whether oil or water constitute the continuous phase).     

Incipient motion of a small particle in the viscous boundary layer at a pipe wall

A force balance is derived for a hemispherical particle in the viscous boundary layer at the wall of a horizontal pipe conveying Newtonian fluid; the hemisphere, of radius much less than that of the pipe, rests on the bottom with its flat face against the wall. The drag on the hemisphere is calculated from the creeping flow field of Price (Q. J. Mech. Appl. Math. Pt. 1 (1993)). This yields a prediction of the maximum velocity gradient at the wall for equilibrium, with limiting friction between the hemisphere and the wall. It is shown that the flow field of Price predicts a zero lift force but the validity of this, for actual flows, is questioned. Use of a hemisphere formulates a relevant well-posed problem, capable of mathematical solution. However, the flow field around real particles, e.g. sand, is complex, because of their irregular shapes, but the hemisphere work gives a qualitative indication of the behaviour of irregular particles. For turbulent flow in a pipe it is pertinent to consider a particle wholly within the viscous sub-layer, because it is isolated from significant turbulence and therefore hard to move; for such flow, the theory gives Eq. (21) to predict the critical pipe velocity, v_C, for incipient motion of the hemisphere. For laminar flow, the wall shear rate is readily obtained from the parabolic velocity profile leading to Eq. (26) for v_C. The flow field of Price (and therefore the force acting on the hemisphere) is valid only for creeping flow (i.e. very low particle Reynolds number). Modifications to the force balance are tentatively suggested to account for inertial components to the drag force. The predictions of critical velocity are tested against our data for the incipient motion of small hemispheres at pipe walls in hydraulic conveying as well as new and previously published data for both hydraulic and pneumatic conveying. The new method of predicting incipient motion works well for both the pneumatic and hydraulic conveying of hemispheres and sand shaped particles but it overpredicts the critical velocity for more rounded particles. The dependency of critical velocity on particle shape is under-researched.     

Estimation of mixing volumes in buoyant miscible displacement flows along near‐horizontal pipes

We present a methodological framework for estimating the degree of mixing between successive miscible fluids pumped along a near‐horizontal pipe. Either or both of the fluids can be non‐Newtonian, of Herschel–Bulkley type. Overall it is considered that the objective is to minimise mixing. In laminar regimes our estimates are based on front velocity of the leading displacement front. In turbulent regimes the spreading mechanism is dispersion. In addition to the estimates of mixing volumes/lengths, we also predict a minimal flow rate necessary in order to achieve a successful displacement of the residual fluid. © 2013 Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering     

Transitional flow in a Rushton turbine stirred tank

The way in which the single phase flow of Newtonian liquids in the vicinity of the impeller in a Rushton turbine stirred tank goes through a laminar‐turbulent transition has been studied in detail experimentally (with Particle Image Velocimetry) as well as computationally. For Reynolds numbers equal to or higher than 6000, the average velocities and velocity fluctuation levels scale well with the impeller tip speed, that is, show Reynolds independent behavior. Surprising flow structures were measured—and confirmed through independent experimental repetitions—at Reynolds numbers around 1300. Upon reducing the Reynolds number from values in the fully turbulent regime, the trailing vortex system behind the impeller blades weakens with the upper vortex weakening much stronger than the lower vortex. Simulations with a variety of methods (direct numerical simulations, transitional turbulence modeling) and software implementations (ANSYS‐Fluent commercial software, lattice‐Boltzmann in‐house software) have only partial success in representing the experimentally observed laminar‐turbulent transition. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 63: 3610–3623, 2017     

Phase distribution in dispersed liquid–liquid flow in vertical pipe: Mean and turbulent contributions of interfacial force

We applied an Eulerian–Eulerian two‐fluid model on an upward dispersed oil–water flow in vertical pipe with 80 mm diameter and 2.5 m length. The numerical profiles of the radial distribution of the oil drops at 1.5 m from the inflow are compared to the experimental data of Lucas and Panagiotopoulos (Flow Meas Instrum. 2009;20:127–135) This article analyzes the roles of turbulence and interfacial forces on the phase distribution phenomenon. In liquid–liquid flow the relative velocity is low and the distribution of the dispersed phase is mainly governed by the turbulence. This work highlights the important role of the turbulent contribution obtained by averaging the added mass force on the radial distribution profiles of the oil drops. The numerical results present improved profiles of the dispersed phase comparing to the experimental data when this turbulent contribution is taken into account in the momentum balance. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 63: 4214–4223, 2017     

Phase Inversion and Associated Phenomena in Oil‐Water Vertical Pipeline Flow

Phase inversion and its associated phenomena are experimentally investigated in co‐current upward and downward oil‐water flow in a vertical stainless steel test section (38 mm I.D.). Oil (ρ_o=828 kg/m³, µ_o=5.5 mPa s) and tap water are used as test fluids. Two inversion routes (w/o to o/w and o/w to w/o) are followed in experiments where either the mixture velocity is kept constant and the dispersed phase fraction is increased (type I experiments), or the continuous phase flow rate is kept constant and that of the dispersed phase is increased (type II experiments). By monitoring phase continuity at the pipe centre and at the wall it was found that phase inversion does not happen simultaneously at all locations in the pipe cross‐section. In type I experiments, the velocity ratios (U_o/U_w) where complete inversion appeared acquired the same constant value in both flow directions, although the phase inversion points, based on input phase fractions, were different. In contrast to previous results in horizontal flows, frictional pressure gradient was found to be minimum at the phase inversion point. The interfacial energies of the two dispersions before and after phase inversion, calculated from the measured drop sizes, were found to be different in contrast to the previously suggested criterion of equal energies for the appearance of the phenomenon. In type II experiments the phase inversion point was found to depend on mixture velocity for low and medium velocities but not for high ones. In all cases studied an ambivalent region, commonly reported for inversion in stirred vessels, was not observed.     

Micromechanic modeling and analysis of the flow regimes in horizontal pneumatic conveying

Pneumatic conveying is an important technology for industries to transport bulk materials from one location to another. Different flow regimes have been observed in such transportation processes, but the underlying fundamentals are not clear. This article presents a three‐dimensional (3‐D) numerical study of horizontal pneumatic conveying by a combined approach of discrete element model for particles and computational fluid dynamics for gas. This particle scale, micromechanic approach is verified by comparing the calculated and measured results in terms of particle flow pattern and gas pressure drop. It is shown that flow regimes usually encountered in horizontal pneumatic conveying, including slug flow, stratified flow, dispersed flow and transition flow between slug flow and stratified flow, and the corresponding phase diagram can be reproduced. The forces governing the behavior of particles, such as the particle–particle, particle‐fluid and particle‐wall forces, are then analyzed in detail. It is shown that the roles of these forces vary with flow regimes. A general phase diagram in terms of these forces is proposed to describe the flow regimes in horizontal pneumatic conveying. © 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2011     

TURBULENT FLOW IN A PIPE WITH INTERMITTENT ROUGH PATCHES: AN ANALOGUE OF ANNULAR TWO-PHASE FLOW

The response of turbulent pipe flow to sudden changes in wall roughness and flow cross-sectional area has been studied experimentally and numerically. Changes typical of those encountered by the gas phase in annular gas-liquid flow have been considered. The results show that the flow field and the pressure field can be significantly distorted at these transitions. Good agreement has been obtained between the measured results and those calculated using the Harwell-FLOW3D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code.     

Laminar and turbulent flow in annuli of unit eccentricity

Experimental results are presented for the flow of water in eccentric annuli having unit eccentricity in the laminar, transition and turbulent flow regimes at Reynolds numbers between 200 and 20,000. In both the laminar and turbulent regimes the interesting result is obtained that, for a given Reynolds number, the friction factor is a minimum at a diameter ratio of about 0.750. The experimental results are compared with previous theoretical analyses in the laminar region, and with previous experimental data at Reynolds numbers exceeding 20,000 in the turbulent region. A further interesting result relates to the transition region where, at intermediate diameter ratios, the transition from laminar to turbulent flow becomes more diffuse. This appears to be a consequence of the gradual change from laminar to turbulent flow brought about by the variation in local Reynolds number from zero to a maximum value within the eccentric annulus. It is believed that sufficent experimental data are now available for the pressure gradient to be predicted for flow in eccentric annuli of unit eccentricity over a relatively wide range of Reynolds number.     

Foam generation in a rotor—stator mixer: schaumerzeugung in einem rotor—stator mischer

The foaming process of an aqueous liquid system with surface active agents and thickeners in a rotor-stator mixer has been studied.The foaming capacity of a rotor—stator mixer may be represented by a so-called mixing characteristic. The foamabilities of several liquid systems have been measured as a function of the mixer geometry and the rotational speed.The hydrodynamics in a rotor-stator mixer is characterized by a Newton—Reynolds relationship. The mechanism of foaming and the dependence of several mixing parameters are different for the turbulent and laminar flow regions. The mixing process is evaluated in both regimes. In the transition region from turbulent to laminar the foaming is very poor in comparison with that in the turbulent and laminar flow regimes.     

Laminar,transitional and turbulent flow of Herschel–Bulkley fluids in concentric annulus

An integrated approach is presented for the flow of Herschel–Bulkley fluids in a concentric annulus, modelled as a slot, covering the full range of flow types, laminar, transitional, and turbulent flows. Prior analytical solutions for laminar flow are utilized. Turbulent flow solutions are developed using the Metzner–Reed Reynolds number after determining the local power law parameters as functions of flow geometry and the Herschel–Bulkley rheological parameters. The friction factor is estimated by modifying the pipe flow equation. Transitional flow is solved introducing transitional Reynolds numbers which are functions of the local power law index. Thus, an integrated, complete and consistent set, combining analytical, semi‐analytical and empirical equations, is provided which describe fully the flow of Herschel–Bulkley fluids in concentric annuli, modelled as a slot. The comparison with experimental and simulator data from various sources shows very good agreement over the entire range of flow types.     

A method for reducing the deposition of small particles from turbulent fluid by creating a thermal gradient at the surface

The present paper suggests the use of thermophoretic phenomena to decrease the rate of particle deposition onto pipe walls from a turbulent flow. When a tube is externally heated; the particles will be subjected to thermal force within the laminar sublayer in a direction away from the surface preventing or reducing their deposition. A theory proposed by EI-Shobokshy and Ismail (1980) has been used for estimating the deposition velocity. The thermal velocity component was calculated and the effective velocity of particles approaching the wall surface computed. The results present the relationship between particle penetration and particle size at different values of pipe wall temperature and Re. The experimental results showed a good agreement with theoretical results for particle sizes 6 -10 μm diameter, Re = 6000 – 8000 and pipe wall temperatures 50 – 150°C.     

Magnetic resonance imaging study of complex flow of viscoelastic fluids

NMR imaging techniques have been applied to investigate complex fluid dynamics in pipes and in annular flow conditions. In this application, aimed to simulate drilling and production operations, two lines have been set up to reproduce, at small laboratory scale, respectively, a pipe flow and an annular flow that are typical flow geometries in oilfield wells during drilling. NMR imaging measurements have been performed inside a horizontal‐bore magnet with a fluid flow assured in a velocity range of 10–100 cm s^?1. The studies were dedicated to investigate the different flow regimes associated to circulating viscous polymer solutions applied in drilling mud formulations. Early transitions from laminar to turbulent regime were observed at very low Reynolds number (in a range between 300 and 500, to be compared with the theoretical transition value greater than 2100). © 2010 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2011     

On the prediction of the phase distribution of bubbly flow in a horizontal pipe

Horizontal bubbly flow is widely encountered in various industrial systems because of its ability to provide large interfacial areas for heat and mass transfer. Nonetheless, this particular flow orientation has received less attention when compared to vertical bubbly flow. Owing to the strong influence due to buoyancy, the migration of dispersed bubbles towards the top wall of the horizontal pipe generally causes a highly asymmetrical internal phase distributions, which are not experienced in vertical bubbly flow. In this study, the internal phase distribution of air-water bubbly flow in a long horizontal pipe with an inner diameter of 50.3 mm has been predicted using the population balance model based on direct quadrature method of moments (DQMOM) and multiple-size group (MUSIG) model. The predicted local radial distributions of gas void fraction, liquid velocity and interfacial area concentration have been validated against the experimental data of Kocamustafaogullari and Huang (1994). In general, satisfactory agreements between predicted and measured results were achieved. The numerical results indicated that the gas void fraction and interfacial area concentration have a unique internal structure with a prevailing maximum peak near the top wall of the pipe due to buoyancy effect.