Topic 2 - ADVANCED FLUID MECHANICS AND MODELLING

MULTIPHASE FLOW

Contents
1 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 3
1.1 FUNDAMENTAL DEFINITIONS .................................................................................... 3
1.1.1 Homogeneous ................................................................................................. 3
1.1.2 Heterogeneous ................................................................................................ 5
2 TWO PHASE GAS-LIQUID FLOW ............................................................................. 6
2.1 FLOW REGIMES AND FLOW PATTERNS ..................................................................... 6
2.2 CONCEPTS AND NOTATION IN TWO PHASE GAS-LIQUID FLOW ................................. 11
2.3 PRESSURE DROP IN TWO PHASE GAS-LIQUID FLOW .............................................. 12
2.4 NON-NEWTONIAN GAS-LIQUID FLOW ..................................................................... 20
2.4.1 Erosional Velocity .......................................................................................... 22
3 TWO PHASE LIQUID-SOLID FLOW ........................................................................ 26
3.1 SINGLE PARTICLE FLOW ........................................................................................ 26
3.1.1 Non-Spherical Shape ..................................................................................... 28
3.1.2 Particle Size Conventions .............................................................................. 29
4 TWO PHASE LIQUID-LIQUID FLOW ....................................................................... 35
4.1 PRESSURE DROP FOR SLUG, ANNULAR AND ANNULAR DROPLET FLOWS ................. 37
4.2 ANNULAR PLUG FLOW ........................................................................................... 40
5 BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................... 44
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Learning objectives
After studying this Topic, you should be able to:

• Sketch the flow patterns for two phase gas-liquid for both vertical and horizontal
pipelines.
• Calculate the quality, void fraction, mixture density and viscosity for a two phase gas-
liquid homogeneous mixture
• Calculate pressure drops for two phase gas-liquid flows
• Calculate maximum velocity for erosion limit in pipelines
• Describe why there are recommendations for maximum velocities in pipelines
• Determine the settling velocity of solid particles in liquids
• Calculate pressure drops for two phase liquid-liquid flow

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1 Introduction
The majority of our fluid mechanics studies confine themselves to flow of single phases
or where the fluid phase is considered homogeneous. Although we can apply theory for
variations in density, viscosity and other properties, the underlying assumption is that
these properties apply throughout the fluid region we are looking at. However in reality,
we have to deal with flow of fluids that are non-homogenous, where across any section
of a pipeline, we can identify regions that are occupied by more of one fluid than the
other. Typical situations would be:
• Gas and oil – thermodynamically, these would be in equilibrium and so we have
to account for phase’s changes occurring due to pressure and temperature
changes.
• Water and air – systems that occur in water transfer
• Slurries – liquid mixtures carrying solid particles. These are fluids which carry
solids such as sand. Drilling fluids which can also be classed as slurries, tend to
have a more homogenous make up and are often considered as a single fluid.
• Gases carrying solids – typically in pneumatic transport
If the mixture is well mixed, the homogenous properties can often be applied. But this
situation only really occurs if the velocities are such that allows the mixture to form in this
way. Added to the problem where transport lines change their orientation, then analysis
of multiphase systems becomes a challenge.

1.1 Fundamental Definitions

Defining terms and understanding what these terms mean is quite important especially
when you realise that there are many different ways to write down the mathematics for
fluid flow. In dealing with multiphase flow, we are faced with equations that usually relate
to one phase or the other phase, or the entire region where all phases are flowing.

1.1.1 Homogeneous
This is a volume of fluid where one phase is completely mixed into another and we
cannot point to a distinct region where one phase exists on its own. The classical
understanding of this phase is that we have one phase “dissolved” in the other.

If we take a volume of fluid, then the physical properties of the fluid volume are a true
mixture property. Properties such as the density, viscosity, specific heat capacity are
mixture properties that sometimes can be derived as functions of the molar composition
of the individual components in the mixture.

n
Density : ρmix = ∑w ρ i i
Mixture density is the weight (mass) fraction
i=1
x pure component density

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n
Specific Heat Capacity : c p = ∑w i c p Mass specific heat capacity (eg kJ/kgK) is the
mix i
i=1
mass fraction x pure component specific heat capacity.
Remember that heat capacity can be expressed as a molar term
as well and the mole fraction is used in that case.

Viscosity : Viscosity of mixtures be they gases or liquids is difficult to

predict. A common method is to use mole fractions:
n
ln (ηmix ) = ∑ xi ln (ηi )
i=1
where xi is the mole fraction of component i..

For gases, Herning and Zipperer suggest:

∑ (µ x i i
Mwti )
i=1
µmix = n

∑(x i
Mwti )
i=1
Where the molar mass (Mwt) of each component is included.

For many situations, we instinctively look at mixtures as homogeneous and use our
standard engineering tools in all aspects of our work. This is not wrong but there are
often consequences in making an assumption that a mixture is homogeneous or not. In
all our fluid mechanics studies so far, we have been dealing with homogeneous mixtures.

Note of caution – as you progress through this course, you may find alternative methods
to work out mixture properties, especially when we look at two phase gas/liquid flows.

1.1.2 Pressure Drop

One of the main uses of fluid mechanics is to work out the pressure drop from one end of
pipeline to the other. Remember that pressure drop is made up of several components
that we need to add together:
ΔPtotal = ΔPfriction + ΔPstatic + ΔPkinetic

The static pressure drop is due to the elevation change in the pipeline and would
normally be given by:
ΔPstatic = ρ ghsin θ ()
()
where hsin θ will be the vertical distance relative from the start of the pipeline

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ΔPkinetic =
(u 2
2
− u12 ) is the change in momentum for fluid at one end of the pipe to the
2g
other. You may recall that when dealing with pumps, that we sometimes forget to deal
with this term properly. This term must be included if we are transferring fluid from say a
reservoir where there is a pool of liquid into a pipeline. Normally, we would be pumping
from a relatively smaller storage tank into a pipeline and we can often neglect the kinetic
change.

The main reason for raising the kinetic pressure drop term is to deal with situations
where the velocity inside the pipe changes. In a two phase pipeline where we have flow
of a saturated gas and liquid (that is a liquid which is thermodynamically in equilibrium
with the gas) due to the drop in pressure with friction, the you can get liquid flashing off
generating more vapour. This increases the volume of vapour, which will be significantly
larger than the liquid it came from. The result is a rapid increase in the vapour velocity
and depending on the flow pattern a rise in the liquid velocity inside the pipe. What this
means is that there could be a change in the velocity and hence the kinetic pressure
loss.

1.1.3 Heterogeneous
This will be the normal description for a multiphase mixture in this chapter. In this mixture
there are discrete parts of the volume of fluid that are one type, and other parts which are
another type. If we take a sample in a beaker, then it is likely the phases making up this
mixture will separate out into distinct layers provided the density difference between
these phases allows it and the chemistry between the phases.

The physical properties in this case cannot be combined – we are after all going to
analyse each phase which makes up this mixture. However, there are properties which
are used to describe the mixture, especially for two phase mixtures.

There are two, two-phase mixtures that as petroleum engineers, we are likely to
encounter:
• Gas/Liquid Mixtures – where we have a gas phase and liquid phase together.
• Oil/Water – these are two liquids, one of which may form small droplets that are
dispersed into the other. Or we could have a layer of water below a layer of lighter
oil.

No matter what type of system (gas/liquid or liquid/liquid) we are looking at, we have a
set of common definitions:
• Flow Pattern –these are simply the picture of the distribution of one phase relative
to others in our pipeline, or vessel. We often refer to profile inside pipelines but
there are equivalent for mixtures in storage tanks, reservoirs.
• Slip Velocity – we can imagine a situation of a spherical mass falling through a
column of liquid. The presence of the sphere means that we have a two phase
mixture. What is apparent even from our simple model is that there will be two

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velocities, one for the sphere and the other for the liquid. The difference between
these two is the slip velocity.
• Residence Time – the time spent by one phase inside a vessel or pipeline is
called the residence time or retention time. For a liquid flowing into and out of a
vessel, the theoretical residence time is defined as Volume of Liquid/Volumetric
Flowrate. For multiphase flow mixtures, different phases can have different
residence times depending on what the slip velocity is.
• Hold-Up – the term Hold-Up is similar to residence time in that it describes the
quantity of one phase held back inside the pipeline for example.

2 Two Phase Gas-Liquid Flow

For the oil and gas industry, two phase gas-liquid flows are part of everyday operations,
especially those operations taking fluid from the well into the well bore and through
production tubing to the processing facility on the surface.

Many of the theories and governing equations were however developed for the power
generation industry, where water and steam are used to generate work.

2.1 Flow Regimes and Flow Patterns

The flow pattern map should be the starting point for analysis of multiphase flow. This
map simply takes in two parameters; usually related to the flux of one phase over the
other, and maps out boundaries to where the flow pattern inside the vessel changes.

In a horizontal pipe, we normally describe our two phase flow in one of 7 different ways:

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Figure 1: Horizontal pipe flow patterns of gas/liquid mixture

The transition between each of these flow patterns is not exact and depends on the
ability of the observer as to what they decide the regime is. Another issue is that a
complete flow map will need a good range of vapour and liquid flowrates. Workers in this
area often compile a composite flow map, plotting the vapour flux against the liquid flux
as per the example below.

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Figure 2: Flow map for air/water mixture in a horizontal 2.5cm pipe at 28°C, 1 bar
(after Baker 1954)

Figure 2 is a fairly standard flow map which plots the gas volumetric “flux” against the
liquid volumetric “flux”. A “flux” is simply the flowrate per unit cross sectional area. You
might question why the term “velocity” is not used instead of the word “flux”. In theory the
two are the same. The main difference is that the velocity is the “average velocity” and
not a vector property. Coming from the process engineering fluid flow point of view, you
should be familiar with the term “velocity” to mean the average velocity of a fluid.

For vertical pipes, there are also different flow regimes:

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Figure 3a: Vertical Pipe Flow Patters

Figure 3b: Vertical Pipe Flow Map

The horizontal and vertical flow patterns so far have been for fully developed flow where
the volume fraction of gas remains constant. In some situations which occur where
vapour is “flashed” off as a result of a drop in pressure or increase in temperature, then
the flow pattern along the tube will change. Typical examples will be:
• Boiling inside tubes for an evaporator
• Condensation – Liquidfied natural gas processing where gas is converted to
liquid.

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• Flow from oil production header to processing plant.

For example, the next two images show the changes occurring inside an evaporator tube
where the flow regime changes due to vaporization of the liquid within the pipe.

Figure 4: Flow regime for boiling in horizontal tube1

Figure 5: Flow regime for phase change in vertical pipeline

1  

[Link]
rizontal_and_Vertical_Tubes  

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2.2 Concepts and Notation in Two Phase Gas-Liquid Flow

Before launching into any analysis, it is worth spending some time looking at some
definitions. Remember that the definitions here are for a mixture of two different phases,
and not different chemical components. We defined these earlier.

• Quality – is defined as the vapour content in terms of mass to the total mass. In
other words, quality is the vapour mass fraction:

Gg
x=
Gl + Gg

Where G is the mass flowrate of the specific phase.

• Void Fraction – represents the time averaged volumetric flowrate of vapour as a

ratio of the total volumetric flowrate:

Vv
∫ dV
Vv
Defined as α = =
Vv +Vl ∫ dV
V
In a pipeline, if the length of pipeline over which the average is taken is the same,
which it should be, we get:

AvΔz Av
α= =
AvΔz + AlΔz Av + Al

• Homogeneous void fraction

Another term to calculate the void fraction you may see is to use the quality value
“x” and the velocity and density of the pure phases.

1
εH =
(
⎛ u 1− x ρ ⎞
1+ ⎜ v v
)
⎟
u
⎝ l x ρ l ⎠

Although that may look different, in fact ε H = α

The use of ε H may be easier if you already have the velocity and density values.

• Density of the Two Phase Mixture – the homogeneous density

The simplest way to calculate the mixture density is to use the void fraction –
( )
either the ε H or the α value and use this to give: ρmix = ρl 1− α + ρvα

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In terms of the integrals, the two phase density would be defined as :

∫ ρ dV + ∫ ρ
l v dV
Vl Vv
ρ2 p =
Vv +Vl

• Viscosity of a Two Phase Mixture

For a mixture of two different phases, the mixture viscosity is based on the
quality, and not the void fraction:

µmix = (1− x ) µ l + xµ g

• Time Averaged Velocity

Ql Q
wl = , wg = g
Al Ag

Note that this is the volumetric flowrate for the area occupied by the phase in
question.

• Superficial Velocity / Volumetric Flux

The superficial velocity is the velocity of the phase based on the volumetric
flowrate of that phase divided by the total cross sectional area of the pipe.
Qg Ql
ug = , ul =
Al + Ag Al + Ag

By analysis of the definition of void fraction, superficial velocity can also be given
from:
ul = w l (1− α ) , ug = w gα

• Slip Velocity
As indicated earlier, gas and liquid may travel at different velocities from each
other; the density and viscosity are different so it is likely there is more frictional
pressure drop associated with liquid than gas. We define the slip velocity to be:
wg 1− α ug
S= , S=
wl α ul

2.3 Frictional Pressure Drop in Two Phase Gas-Liquid Flow

There are several methods to calculate two phase flow pressure drops but these depend
on knowing the flow pattern inside the pipeline.

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2.3.1 Homogeneous Flow

For truly homogeneous flow where the two phases are well mixed, the pressure drop is
given by the usual equations for turbulent flow. The main questions that you should ask
is how to calculate the physical properties of the mixture itself – density, viscosity.

The key property in homogenous flow is the “quality” or “void fraction”. Both of these
were given previously. Using this, you can find the density and viscosity
ρmix = (1− α ) ρl + αρg
µmix = (1− x ) µ l + xµ g

The next quantity that you need is the velocity or flowrate in order to work out a Reynolds
number. For the velocity, homogeneous two-phase flow equations normally use the mass
velocity value. Mass velocity if you remember is
Mass Flowrate G
M= =
Cross Sectional Area Atotal

The Reynolds number is used and the problem here is the mixture velocity. Often
equations will replace the velocity with the mass velocity:

Md
Remix =
µmix

where “M” is the mass velocity (kg/m2s)

Example
Using the homogenous flow pressure drop model, calculate the frictional pressure drop in
a horizontal tube of 10mm internal diameter which is 2m long. Assume the flow is
adiabatic and that vapour and liquid velocities are the same value. Mass flowrate is 0.02
kg/s, vapour quality is 0.05. At the pipeline conditions the liquid density is 1518 kg/m3,
vapour density 2.6 kg/m3, liquid viscosity 0.0005856 kg/ms, vapour viscosity 0.0000126
kg/ms.

0.0395
Take the friction factor as φ =
Re0.25

Solution
This solution was done on MathCAD which takes care of the unit conversions.

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Example
Using the homogeneous flow pressure drop method, calculate the two phase pressure
drop for upflow in a vertical tube of 10mm diameter that is 2m long. The flow is adiabatic,
the mass flow is 0.02 kg/s and the vapour quality is 0.05. The fluid liquid density is 1518
kg/m3, vapour density is 2.6 kg/m3. Liquid viscosity is 5.856x10-4 kg/ms, vapour viscosity
is 1.26x10-5 kg/ms.

Note – this is the same problem as previously, but now we are asked for the pressure
drop not the frictional pressure drop.

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Note that this example has the kinetic pressure loss as 0 Pa. This is an assumption that
since the quality of the flow is constant (we are not told otherwise) so that there is no
change in velocity. This means that the will be no kinetic increase in pressure loss.

2.3.2 Non-Homogeneous Flow

The classic method for finding the pressure drop for two phase gas/liquid flow in
pipelines comes from Lockhart and Martinelli (1949). They proposed using a two phase
parameter φ that is used as follows:

The pressure drop along a pipeline carrying the two phases, is given by:
" ΔPf % "
2 ΔPf
%
$ ' = φL $ '
# L &2 p # L &L
And
" ΔPf % "
2 ΔPf
%
$ ' = φV $ '
# L &2 p # L &V
" ΔPf %
where $ ' is the pressure drop along the pipeline assuming that the vapour occupies
# L &V
" ΔPf %
the entire cross sectional area. Likewise, $ ' is the pressure drop for the liquid.
# L &L

The terms φv and φL are the “drag ratios. Lockhart & Martinelli produced a plot in order to
find φ but several authors have correlated this.

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C 1
Chisholm (1967) defined: φL2 = 1+ + 2 and defined φG2 = 1+ CX + X 2
X x

(Note that the “X” here is not the “x” that is the quality number)

ΔPL
where : X =
ΔPG
L
and just for completeness, ΔPi = 4φ ρ u 2 , where “I” refers to a phase i=L for liquid, i=G
d i i
for vapour phase.

Warning Note: For heat exchanger applications such as flow of two phases in reboilers,
0.9 0.5 0.1
" 1− x % " ρG % " µL %
condensers etc, you may find X defined as: X = $ ' $ ' $ ' . However, to use
$ ' $ '
# x & # ρ L & # µG &
this expression for non-heat transfer applications we have to make sure that any
assumptions apply to our particular case. Using the X defined as the ratio of the two
single phase pressure drops is the normal one for two phase flow.

The constant C has been given by several authors as:

Chisholm (1967) C=5 for streamline/streamline flow of the gas/liquid
C=10 for turbulent liquid/streamline gas flow
C=12 for streamline liquid/turbulent gas flow
C=20 for turbulent/turbulent liquid/gas flow
Mishima and
Hibiki
(
C = 21 1− e−319d )
Lee and Lee C = 6.833x10 −8 λ −1.317 Re 0.557 Ca 0.719
L
(2001) 2
µL
λ=
ρ Lσ d
Saisorn and C = 7.599x10 −3 λ −0.631 Re−0.008 Ca 0.005
L
Wongwises
(2010)

In the above, the Reynolds numbers are defined as:

ρLuLd ρ u d
ReL = and ReG = G G
µL µG
where “u” is the velocity assuming that the particular fluid occupies the entire pipe cross
section.
“d” is therefore the diameter of the entire pipe or the equivalent diameter of the
duct/section.

In Chisholm’s definitions, he uses the terms laminar and turbulent. These are, as is
normal in fluid mechanics, defined by Reynolds numbers. Lockhart and Martinelli
grouped their definitions as:

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ReL < 1000, ReG < 1000 Liquid is laminar, gas is laminar
ReL < 1000, ReG > 2000 Liquid is laminar, gas in turbulent
ReL > 2000, ReG < 1000 Liquid is turbulent, gas is laminar
ReL > 2000, ReG > 2000 Both phases are turbulent

For the “drag ratio” term, Lockhart and Martinelli defined different expressions depending
if the flow was bubbly, slug etc:

2
Dispersed bubbly flow: ( )
φG = 4 −12ln ( X ) + 28 ln ( X )
2
φG = 4 −15ln ( X ) + 26 (ln ( X ))
Elongated bubble flow:

2
Smooth surface stratified flow: (
φG = 2 + 4.5ln ( X ) + 3.6 ln ( X ) )
2
Stratified wavy flow: (
φG = 3 +1.65ln ( X ) + 0.45 ln ( X ) )
Slug flow: φG = 2.2 + 6.5ln ( X )
2
Annular mist flow: (
φG = 4 + 2.5ln ( X ) + 0.5 ln ( X ) )

Example
Gas and liquid flows along a 3 inch diameter horizontal pipeline with the gas velocity at
10m/s, and liquid velocity 2m/s. Properties of each phase are given below. Calculate the
following:
a) The quality value and the void fraction
b) The mixture density and viscosity
c) The frictional pressure drop for the gas and liquid phase if they flowed along the
pipe separately
d) The two phase flow frictional pressure drop – using the Chisholm method.
Liquid density is 1200 kg/m2, viscosity 2.4 cP. Gas density is 60 kg/m3, viscosity 0.5cP

Solution

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2.4 Non-Newtonian Gas-Liquid Flow

You will remember that most of the governing fluid flow equations apply to Newtonian
fluid where the shear stress/shear rate are related through the viscosity. For non-
Newtonian flow, effects which as time dependency changes and complicates any theory.
The same case exists if we have two-phase flow where the liquid is non-Newtonian.

This situation can be visualised by considering the injection of gas into a shear thinning
fluid. You will remember that a shear thinning liquid is one where the viscosity reduces
with increased shearing force applied. This makes the liquid easier to transport once the
liquid has started to move. However it has a high resistance to movement when it is at
rest.

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Experimental data (see Coulson & Richardson Vol 1), shows that as superficial air
velocity increases, the liquid drag ratio goes from 1 to values lower than 1 reaching a
minimum turning point. This is referred to as the “critical air rate”.

Figure 6: Drag ratio as a function of superficial gas velocity (liquid velocity as parameter)
After Coulson & Richardson Vol 1

Figure 6 shows that a small increase in the volume of air can have a significant impact on
the pressure drop – data suggests that overall pressure drop can be reduced by a factor
of 5.

A shear thinning fluid is a power law fluid. For a power law fluid under laminar flow
conditions, the pressure drop across a length of pipe length L can be given by:

ΔPL = kuLnL

where “k” is a constant which contains the friction factor for laminar flow
L is the pipe length
uL is the liquid superficial velocity
n is some index number which comes from fitting the viscosity data to a power
law expression.

It can be shown that the liquid drag coefficient for a two phase gas-liquid flow along the
pipeline can be given by:
n#1 &
k (buL ) % L (
ΔPtwo phase $b '
φL2 = = n
= bn−1
ΔPL single phase kuL

where the two phase mixture has a velocity of buL, and the single phase liquid has a
velocity of uL.

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• For a shear thinning fluid, n<1 so the drag coefficient will be less than 1
• For a liquid suspension such as cellulose, n=0.2 and b is approximately 2. In this
case there is a pressure reduction of about 43%. For n=0.1, b=5 then the drag
coefficient is 0.23 meaning a 77% reduction in pressure drop.
• For turbulent flow where n is say 2, injection of air would case a substantial
increase in pressure drop.
This relatively simple analysis shows that injection of a more mobile fluid into a shear
thinning fluid can assist in pumping but only over a specific Reynolds number range. This
is useful if we want to transport the liquid part.

2.4.1 Erosional Velocity

With gas and liquid, the presence of small droplets of liquid in high speed flows, and on a
similar argument the presence of small gas bubbles, can cause considerable erosion on
pipe fittings, bends etc. It is well known that solid particles in liquid can cause erosion but
so can these fluid droplets.

Usually, the velocity at which erosion can become unsustainable is given by a moment
type expression using the mixture density and mixture velocity:

ρmum2 = 15000

where the mixture density is in kg/m3, and the mixture velocity is in m/s

For a two phase mixture, the mixture properties are:

GL + GG
ρm = and um = uG + uL
GL GG
+
ρL ρG

G is the mass flowrate of the pure phase.

API RP 14E is the American Petroleum Institute recommended practice document for
piping used in offshore oil and gas operations. It contains recommendations on topics
such as pressure drop calculation methods and velocity limits. It also states methods to
find the maximum allowable velocity in gas and in two phase gas-liquid flow lines, to
avoid excessive erosion. Erosion of a pipeline is enhanced in the presence of corrosive
materials such as CO2, H2S.

The velocity of a stream at above which erosion is likely to occur can be obtained from:
C
Vc =
ρm

where C is a constant, the velocity Vc is in ft/sec, and the density at the flowing
conditions in lb/ft3

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The value of C depends on the fluid type:

• For solids-free fluids using corrosion resistant pipelines, C=150 to 200

• Where solids may be expected, then C=100

Note – if using SI units, then C needs to be multiplied by 1.22

Calculation of maximum velocities are relatively straight forward if you are following the
API recommendation.

Example
A gas pipeline 12 inches in diameter is considered for a new gas system the gas has a
molar mass of 34 kg/kmol. The inlet pressure of the pipeline is 20 barg, and the
discharge pressure has been calculated as 5 barg. Take the compressibility factor for the
gas to be 0.8

a) Calculate the density of the gas at inlet and outlet conditions. Assume the temperature
along the pipeline remains constant at 20°C
b) Calculate the maximum possible velocity at both inlet and outlet conditions
c) Explain why there are two different numbers for part b

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Solution
Note – this solution is done using MathCAD

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3 Two Phase Liquid-Solid Flow

Cases where we have solids and liquids flowing at the same time will be a common
process in the oil and gas industry; transport of slurries from surface treatment systems
or even transport of drill cuttings could be considered a solids-liquid flow type problem.
The differences as with all multiphase flow are the concentration of solids present and
their size compared to the dimensions of the pipe or duct we are using for the transport
of this material.

3.1 Single Particle Flow

Before looking at continuum flows where we have many particles that can interact with
each other, it is worth spending time to go over the interaction between a single solid
particle and fluid.

One of the classical analysis that can be done on single particles, is where a solid
particle is free falling in a fluid under gravity.

Consider a solid particle of diameter d and held at suspended in fluid of density ρf .

When at rest, the forces action on the particle are balanced – the holding force
counteracting the weight of the particle. When the particle is released, the particle begins
to accelerate since the weight causes the particle to fall down. However, there is a drag
force developing over the particle surface and this drag force will increase as the velocity
of the particle increases. We can look at the acceleration of the particle and show that
there comes a point where the drag forces cancel out the acceleration.

Figure 7: Forces on falling sphere

We can derive an expression for the change in momentum, or simply realise that this is
true and do a force balance on the particle when it is travelling at constant velocity.

Gravity force – Buoyancy force = Drag force

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TOPIC 2. Advanced Fluid Mechanics and Modelling – Multiphase Flow 27

πd3 πd2
Specifically: ( ρ s
− ρ f)
g = Cd ρf v ts2
6 8

Where d is the diameter of the solid particle and vts is what is known as the “Terminal
Settling Velocity”
4 ( ρs − ρf ) dg
Rearranging gives: v ts =
3 ρf Cd
The key aspect of this particular analysis here, is the drag coefficient and what this
means.

Drag like all fluid friction, is usually expressed as a function of Reynolds number. For the
solid particle we define Reynolds number as”

ρf v ts d
Re =
µf
You will notice that the density and viscosity is that of the fluid. The velocity is the
terminal velocity and the characteristic size d, is the diameter of the particle.

Our problems start now, because of the relationship between Reynolds number and drag
coefficient is not an easy one.

The classical way to show how the drag is related to Reynolds number if through a plot
such as figure 8.

Figure 8: Drag coefficient for solid spheres as a function of particle Reynolds number Ret

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TOPIC 2. Advanced Fluid Mechanics and Modelling – Multiphase Flow 28

24
• Laminar Regime: This is where Re<0.1 and that Cd = . You will see that the
Re
definition here of laminar is not the same as in pipelines. Laminar in this case
means that the viscous drag across the particles surface causes a smooth
dissipation of energy from the falling particle.

• Fully Turbulent Regime: Where Re>500 and that Cd = 0.445 . This is what is
called the “Drag Crisis” regime where the fluid separates from the surface of the
particle to such an extent that the drag is constant. By “separating” we mean that
the dissipation of energy occurs quickly. We also mean that the laminar boundary
layer that usually is thought to exist is so small that for all purposes it is
considered not to exist.

• Transition Regime: Is anywhere between the two. Because much of our

understanding of how particles falling in fluids relates to other engineering topics,
there are quiet a number of books and journal articles that attempt to correlate the
drag and Reynolds number for the intermediate regime.
For example, Turton and Levenspiel 1986, suggest:
24 0.413
Cd =
Re
(
1+ 0.173Re0.657 + )
1+16300Re−1.09
You will realise that to find the settling velocity for a particle in the transitional
regime is an iterative process. Several graphical methods have been developed
to combat this and so now it is relatively simple to solve for a particular Reynolds
number.

3.1.1 Non-Spherical Shape

We should realise that not all particles are nice smooth and spherical in shape – some
can be smooth and irregularly shaped, some can be rough and spherical. To deal with
non-spherical particles we use a “shape factor” which modifies the settling velocity.

vt
ε=
v ts
where v ts is the terminal velocity of the spherical particle that has an equivalent or
characteristic size to our non spherical particle.
v t is the terminal velocity of our non-spherical particle.

Different particle types will have different shape factors – usually sand and gravels have
a 50% lower terminal velocity than spherical particles of an equivalent size.

As an aside, there is a whole range of tools that we need to get into, to sort out what is a
characteristic size of a non-spherical particle:

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TOPIC 2. Advanced Fluid Mechanics and Modelling – Multiphase Flow 29

• Average diameter – taking the arithmetic average of the maximum and minimum
diameter
• Volume Equivalent diameter – measuring the volume of the particle and then
finding the diameter of a sphere with the equivalent volume.

The shape factor depends on the type of solids, and this depends on how solids are
categorised.

3.1.2 Particle Size Conventions

Solid particles in the oil and gas industry usually are the sands and small grains that we
find in reservoir fluids. They are also the propants used in hydraulic fracturing of
reservoirs to stimulate and maintain production. Understanding a few of the
characteristics about solid particles is therefore necessary.

Solid particles come in two forms:

• As individual particles – where the solid is comprised of a material that has
uniform composition. A single crystals of salt would be an example of a particle.
• As an agglomeration of particles – where the solid itself is a fusion of smaller
particles. The solids may have the same composition or be of different types
which form a fixed bond between individual particles.

What we have is a particle that is not usually spherical in shape. Crystals of salt are
rhombic and some crystals are needle shape. Some agglomerates have a long flat shape
and others may be tall and thin.

One of the first properties we look at with particles is their size and we usually try and
find the average size of a group of particles. We also realise that a sample of particles
will have a distribution of sizes – some will be large, others are small. If we measure all
the particles in a sample then we will have a distribution about a mean.

An individual particle can have several characteristic sizes. In figure 9, we have a sample
of a solid particle and two spheres where one has the same volume, the other has the
same surface area as the particle. We can then calculate the diameter of a sphere, one
from the volume and the other from the surface area.

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Figure 9: Definition of surface equivalent diameter and volume equivalent diameter.

Suppose we have S as the surface area of the original particle, and V is its volume. Then
the surface equivalent diameter and volume equivalent diameter is defined by:

2
2
"d % 2
Surface area of a sphere is As = 4π r = 4π $ ' = π d
2
# &
As
Therefore surface equivalent diameter is : d s =
π

3
4 3 4 "d %
Volume of a sphere is Vs = π r = π $ '
3 3 #2&
6Vs
Therefore the volume equivalent diameter is : dv = 3
π

There is often another diameter term used to describe a solid size of a particle, and that
is the “Sauter’s Diameter”, which is given by the ratio of the volume to surface equivalent
diameters:

dv3 Vs
d 32 = 2
=6
d s
As
Another way to define the diameter of a particle is to look at the settling velocity of
particles in the same fluid. In this case if we know what the settling velocity is, we can

©HERIOT-WATT UNIVERSITY
TOPIC 2. Advanced Fluid Mechanics and Modelling – Multiphase Flow 31

calculate the diameter of a sphere that gives the same settling velocity. Assuming the
particles are settling in the laminar regime, we have:

18µ
dd = upt
( ρ p − ρf)
where upt is the measured particle velocity which comes from
ρ p , ρ is the density of the particle and fluid
dd is the “dynamic” diameter equivalent.

Example
One of the applications of using Stokes's law to determine the particle size is the
Sedigraph particle analyser. The table below shows the relationship between the
cumulative weight percentage of particles and the corresponding particle terminal
velocities for a powder sample. The densities of the particle and the dispersing liquid are
2200 and 745 kg/m3 respectively. The liquid viscosity is 1.156x10-3 kg/m-s. Show in a
size distribution plot, the relationship between mass fraction and equivalent particle size.

Settling  Velocity   Cumulative  wt%     Settling  Velocity   Cumulative  wt%  

x106  m/s       x106  m/s    
4400   99.9   11   65.6  
2500   99.3     6.2   47.2  
1700   99.2     2.7   21.2  
620   98.5     0.69   1.2  
150   96     0.44   1  
69   93     0.25   0.8  
44   90.1     0.17   0.4  
25   83.5     0.11   0.2  
17   76.8     0.027   0.1  
 

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Solution
We need to extract from the settling velocity data, the size of the solids that settle. We
then need to work out a way of showing the distribution of sizes we have.

Diameter of a spherical particle that will settle at the stated velocity is given by:
18µ
dd = upt
( ρ p − ρf)
So for each entry in the table, work out the diameter, then the weight fraction from the
cumulative weight fraction.

Solid  
Density   2200   kg/m3  
Liq  Density   745   kg/m3    
Viscosity     1.16E-­‐03    
 
  Velocity     Cum  wt%      
Velocity    
Size   Wt     %    
x106     m/s   microns  
4400    
99.9     0.0044   80.09    
0.6  
2500   99.3     0.0025   60.37   0.1  
1700   99.2     0.0017   49.78   0.7  
620   98.5     0.00062   30.06   2.5  
150   96     0.00015   14.79   3  
69   93     0.000069   10.03   2.9  
44   90.1     0.000044   8.01   6.6  
25   83.5     0.000025   6.04   6.7  
17   76.8     0.000017   4.98   11.2  
11   65.6     0.000011   4.00   18.4  
6.2   47.2     0.0000062   3.01   26  
2.7   21.2     0.0000027   1.98   20  
0.69   1.2     0.00000069   1.00   0.2  
0.44   1     0.00000044   0.80   0.2  
0.25   0.8     0.00000025   0.60   0.4  
0.17   0.4     0.00000017   0.50   0.2  
0.11   0.2     0.00000011   0.40   0.1  
0.027   0.1     0.000000027   0.20   0.1  
 
Now plot these:

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30"

25"

Weight'Frac,on'%' 20"

15"

10"

5"

0"
0.00" 5.00" 10.00" 15.00" 20.00"
Par,cle'Size'(microns)'

Figure 10: Particle size distribution

This shows that the majority of the sample has a size that is about 1.98 microns to 4.98
microns.

Example
A solid particle of 200 microns is free falling in a column of water. The column of water is
10m deep. Estimate how long this particle will take to settle to the bottom of the column.
Take the density of water to be 1000 kg/m3, and the density of the solid particle to be
2100 kg/m3. Assume the water viscosity is 1cP.

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4 Two Phase Liquid-Liquid Flow

This section deals with the case where two immiscible liquids (e.g oil and water) flow
along a pipe or duct. The dispersion of one liquid phase into another causes the mixture
to exist as dispersed droplets, or as two stratified layers or in more complex form very
similar to the flow patterns for gas and liquid flow.

Figure 11: Two phase liquid-liquid flow patterns in horizontal pipe

Oglesby (1979) documented the flow patterns in oil and water pipelines, and
characterized the different patterns in a flow map

Description Image Flow Pattern Code

Oil Water
dominant Dominant
Segregated – No
mixing at the A
interface
Semi-Segregated
– some mixing at
B
the interface

Semi-Mixed –
segregated flow of
C K
a dispersion of the
free phase

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TOPIC 2. Advanced Fluid Mechanics and Modelling – Multiphase Flow 36

Mixed – as above
but with the
dispersion
D L
occupying more
than 50% of the
total pipe volume
Annular – core of
one phase in the
other G

Slug – phases
alternatively
occupying the pipe H I
volume
Semi-dispersed –
so vertical gradient
of the E M
concentration in
the mixture
Fully dispersed
homogeneous
flow. F N

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Figure 12: Flow pattern map for two phase liquid-liquid flow

With two liquids, if one liquid is in excess of the other in terms of volume, then a “phase
inversion” can occur where the dispersion changes from a dispersion of say the oil phase
in water, to a mixture where the water is dispersed in the oil.

For pressure drop, then we are in more of a difficult area than with gas-liquid flow. For
segregated flow (as in the figures above), we can easily appreciate that there will be a
different drag term on the upper pipe wall for the lighter phase than on the bottom pipe
wall for the heavier liquid phase. We have also to consider the wetting characteristics of
the pipe wall itself. For dispersed flow then we have a more challenging problem to solve.

4.1 Pressure drop for Slug, Annular and Annular Droplet Flows
This analysis comes from Hooman and Kawaji (2011) who looked at pressure drops in
small capillary tubes. Although the application was directed towards non-petroleum
applications, it is still worth reviewing the work as it combines what is known about two-
phase gas-liquid flow with oil-water flows.

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TOPIC 2. Advanced Fluid Mechanics and Modelling – Multiphase Flow 38

Figure 13: Flow patterns for viscous oil-water flow in a micro channel flow; variation in
oil/water flowrates.

The images in the figure were generated by initially filling the pipe with oil and pumping
water through a very low flowrates, typically from 2 to 2000 micro litres/min. As the oil
and water flowrate increases, droplets of water-in-oil are seen to become longer so that
the flow pattern changes from droplet flow to larger droplet flow and then annular flow.
Since the flow is laminar there will be a velocity profile from the pipe wall to the pipe
centre line which has to cross the interface between the two liquids. The presence of
different viscosities will result in different drag.

In two phase liquid flows, there are several important dimensionless groups that we can
use to define the flow patterns, pressure drops etc.

ρ ouoD ρ u D
Reynolds number for the oil Reo = and water Re w = w w
µo µw

µouo µ u
Capillary number for oil Cao = and for water Ca w = w w
σ ow σ ow

The capillary number is a ratio of the viscous forces to the interfacial forces.

ρ ouo2D ρ wu2wD
Weber number for oil Weo = and for water We w =
σ ow σ ow

The weber number is a ratio of the inertial forces to the interfacial forces.

©HERIOT-WATT UNIVERSITY
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Where the density, viscosity of each phase should be apparent. The term σ ow is the
interfacial tension between the oil and water phases. Note that the interfacial tension is
similar to the “surface tension” although we would normally use the term “surface
tension” to be the interfacial tension between the liquid and a gas about the liquid.

The velocity of course is defined by the flowrate for each phase that is calculated for the
entire diameter of the pipe.

Qo Qw
uo = and uw =
π 2 π 2
D D
4 4

There is another dimensionless group, called the BOND number that indicates the impact
of gravity on the flow pattern.
Δρ gD 2
Bo =
σ ow

If the Bond number is small, this means that gravity has a smaller effect than the
interfacial tension so that any changes in elevation of the pipeline can be ignored.

In their work, Hooman and Kawaji found that the pressure drop along the pipe where two
phase flow occurs follows a straight line, which suggests that the pressure drop follows a
similar equation as the Hagen-Poiseuille equation for single phase flow:

⎛ ΔP ⎞ 32µouo ⎛ ΔP ⎞ 32µ wuw

⎜⎝ L ⎟⎠ = D 2 and ⎜ ⎟
⎝ L ⎠w
=
D2
o

The overall pressure drop is assumed to be the summation of the two single phase
pressure drops, using some constants that depend on the flow pattern.
⎛ ΔP ⎞ ⎛ ΔP ⎞ ⎛ ΔP ⎞
⎜⎝ L ⎟⎠ = C1 ⎜⎝ L ⎟⎠ + C 2 ⎜⎝ L ⎟⎠
ow w o

Constants C1 and C2 depend on the type of channel material:

Fused Sillia Glass Quartz

Channel diameter (microns) 250 667 793
Oil Viscosity (mPa-S) 863 30.6 30.6
C1 60 ± 2 2.24 ± 0.7 2.44 ± 0.85
C2 1.28 ± 0.07 0.67 ± 0.15 0.71 ± 0.23

The simple additive nature of the pressure drop suggests that a function like that from
Lockhart and Martinelli can be used:

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TOPIC 2. Advanced Fluid Mechanics and Modelling – Multiphase Flow 40

⎛ ΔP ⎞ 2 ⎛ ΔP ⎞ ⎛ ΔP ⎞ 2 ⎛ ΔP ⎞
⎜⎝ L ⎟⎠ = φ w ⎜⎝ L ⎟⎠ and ⎜⎝ L ⎟⎠ = φ o ⎜⎝ L ⎟⎠
ow w ow o

where the drag terms are:

C1
φw2 = C1 + C 2 X 2 and φo2 = + C2
X2
The Lockhart-Martinelli parameter X is defined as:
⎛ ΔP ⎞
⎜⎝ L ⎟⎠
X =
2 o
⎛ ΔP ⎞
⎜⎝ L ⎟⎠
w

Constants C1 and C2 were defiend in the table above and have been validated for X2
values from 20 to 140.

4.2 Annular Plug Flow

According to Bobok, Chapter 10, the analysis we have just looked at for plug type flow
does not fit with the idea that the Lockhart-Martinelli equation. Observations with two
phase oil and water flow where the oil phase is particularly viscous, that the flow of oil
can be via semi rigid plugs that travel down the centre line of the pipe.

His analysis follows a different path and is looked at here to indicate that there can be
still debate over the exact mechanism for predicting pressure drops in two phase liquid-
liquid systems.

Consider a pipe segment of overall diameter D, where we have oil and water flow along
this pipe.

The apparent velocities of each phase (that is taking the entire single phase flow down
the pipe) are given by:
Qw Qo
u0w = for the water and u0o = for the oil
π 2 π 2
D D
4 4
The average velocity of the mixture is then:
Qw + Qo
um = = u0w + u0o
π 2
D
4
So the average velocity is the SUM of the two individual velocities, and not the arithmetic
average of these two.

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If the oil plug is of length Lp and the diameter is d, then the volume of the plug is:

π d 2Lp
Vp =
4

There is a volume of water that essentially travels along with the plug, and surrounds the
plug but also extends to the next oil plug in the pipeline. The volume of this water is given
by:
π 2
Vw =
4
( )
D − d 2 Lp + D 2ΔL

Next we have to find the velocity of the oil plug itself. We know what the volumetric
flowrate of oil into the pipeline is an now we apply continuity for the additional distance
from one plug to the other:

Qo Lp + ΔL
up =
π 2 Lp
d
4

The average velocity of the water in the annulus surrounding the plug comes from:

uw =
(
Qw Lp + ΔL )
π
4
(( )
D 2 − d 2 Lp + D 2ΔL )
d
If we define the ratio of plug diameter to pipe diameter as: δ =
D
Then we get for the mixture velocity:
Lp $ Lp '
um = upδ 2 + uw &&1− δ 2 )
)
Lp + ΔL % Lp
+ ΔL (

If we have a situation where the velocity profile in the water follows the Blasius equation:
then the equation for velocity at any radial position r is given by:

1/7
" r%
ur = umax $1− '
# R&

where r is the radial distance from the centre line of the pipe
R is the radius of the pipe

This can be expressed in terms of the oil plug velocity as:

©HERIOT-WATT UNIVERSITY
TOPIC 2. Advanced Fluid Mechanics and Modelling – Multiphase Flow 42

1/7
# r &
% 1− (
ur = up % R (
%% 1− δ ((
$ '
The cross sectional average velocity of the mixture is then found by integrating the
velocity profile:
#7 49 2 &
um = up % δ (1− δ ) + (1− δ ) + δ 2 (
$4 60 '

As you will recall, frictional loss occurs at the interface between the fluid and a solid
surface. It also must occur at the interface between two fluids of different viscosity where
the fluids are also immiscible. The Blasius equation does not take into account the
laminar sub layer at the oil-water interface and so we will need to correct for this
somehow. We can by introducing a velocity term v p* which is defined as:

τp
up* = 12
ρw

where τ p is the shear stress on the interface between the oil plug and the surrounding
water.

Boobok then uses these expressions to define the pressure drop for the two phase
mixture as:
⎛ ⎛ u ⎞ ⎞
⎜ 0.82 ⎜ 1− δ 2 ps
⎟
⎜ ⎝ um ⎟⎠ ⎟
ΔPow = ΔPw
⎜⎛7 49 ⎞ 1⎟

( ) ( ) ( )
2
⎜ ⎜ 1− δ δ + 1− δ + δ 2 ⎟ 1− δ 7
⎟
⎜⎝ ⎝ 4 60 ⎠ ⎟⎠

ups
For a specific ratio of , we can plot the two phase pressure drop as a function of the
um
ups
plug diameter to the pipe diameter. In figure Y below, plotted for =0.4 shows that as
um
the plug diameter increases, the pressure drop becomes smaller than that of pure water
in the pipeline but only until the drop size is approximately 85% of the pipe diameter then
it increases very quickly.

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TOPIC 2. Advanced Fluid Mechanics and Modelling – Multiphase Flow 43

Pressure%loss%ra#o%for%plug%flow%of%oil8water%
mixture%
1$

Ra#o%of%two%phase%to%single%phase%waetr%pressure%drop%
0.95$

0.9$

0.85$

0.8$

0.75$

0.7$
0$ 0.2$ 0.4$ 0.6$ 0.8$ 1$
Ra#o%of%d/D%

Figure 14: Two phase pressure drop fro plug flow

If we think about what is happening inside the pipeline, this makes some sense
especially the section where the drop size increases to become equal to the pipe
diameter. Remember the viscous oil will have a larger single-phase pressure drop than
water and so we would expect the pressure drop to eventually increase.

From our discussion on shear thinning fluids, you should appreciate that adding a second
phase can sometimes assist in causing the other to flow. If we had plug flow in our
pipeline, we could allow the oil drop diameter to increase and reduce our pumping
requirements by some 10-20%, provided we have plug flow. If we however allow the
plugs to become too large, we would very quickly loose that advantage and we could be
in a situation where our pumps would not cope.

This example, and the one on shear thinning fluids shows that dealing with two phase
flow introduces a range of benefits and difficulties.

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5 Bibliography
[Link], [Link]. “Viscous oil-water flows in a micro channel initially saturated with
oil: Flow patterns and pressure drop characteristics:
“. International Journal of Multiphase Flow. Vol.37 (2011) 1147-1135

[Link]. “Fluid Mechanics for Petroleum Engineers” Elsevier, Developments in

Petroleum Science 32. 1993, ISBN 0-444-98668-5

Douglas, Gasiorek, Swaffield “Fluid Mechanics”. Pitman International Text

[Link]. “Mechanics of Fluids”. Chapman Hall

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