EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF FLOW PATTERNS AND PRESSURE LOSSES IN VERTICAL FLOWS OF OIL-WATER MIXTURES

Abstract

In this work the experimental results of the dynamics of the two-phase oil-water flow patterns and the pressure gradients due to friction that they produce when conducting them in a vertical ascending pipe are shown. For the study, an experimental facility and two types of injection nozzles were built, constructed and characterized. The selected fluids were oil (viscosity 90 cP, density 885 kg/m3 with 28.3 API) and water. The measurements were made in a range of superficial speeds from 0 to 0.257 m/s for oil and from 0 to 0.684 for water. The experimentation was carried out using the two nozzles and in accordance with a test matrix that has as parameters the superficial speed of the oil (USO) and the superficial speed of the water (USW) for which a fixed value of the USW was taken and it varied the USO, although it was also worked in reverse. From the experimental results, the effect of the nozzles to induce the group of flow patterns and their respective pressure gradient is shown, which reaches its lowest value when conducting the oil in the annular flow scheme. The numerical results showed that there is a notable energy saving, since the pressure loss due to friction is up to 5 times lower when conducting the same amount of oil in the annular flow pattern. Key Words: Experimental installation, oil-water mixture, injection nozzle, flow patterns, annular flow, pressure gradient.