Author(s)

M. S. de Castro, C. C. Pereira, J. N. dos Santos & O. M. H. Rodriguez

Abstract

The oil-water stratified flow pattern is common in the petroleum industry, especially in offshore directional wells and pipelines. Previous studies have shown that the phenomenon of flow pattern transition in stratified flow can be related to the interfacial wave structure (problem of hydrodynamic instability). The study of the wavy stratified flow pattern requires the characterization of the interfacial wave properties, i.e., its nature (kinematic or dynamic), average shape, celerity and geometric properties as a function of holdup and phases’ relative velocity. However, the data available in the literature on wavy stratified flow is scanty, especially when oil is viscous. This paper presents geometric and kinematic interfacial wave properties as a function of holdup and relative velocity in the wavy stratified flow. The experimental work was conducted in a glass test line of 12 m and 0.026 m i.d., oil (density 828 kg / m³ and viscosity of 0.3 Pa.s at 20°C) and water as the working fluids at horizontal. Keywords: liquid-liquid flow, oil-water flow, stratified flow pattern, interfacial wave structure. 1 Introduction Liquid-liquid flows are present in a wide range of industrial processes; however, studies on such flows are not as common as those on gas-liquid flows. The interest in liquid-liquid flows has recently increased mainly due to the petroleum industry, where oil and water are often transported together for long distances.

Keywords

liquid-liquid flow, oil-water flow, stratified flow pattern, interfacial wave structure