CFD-Based Analysis of Sound Wave Attenuation in Stratified Gas–Liquid Pipelines for Leak Detection Applications

Sound wave attenuation in stratified gas–liquid flows is crucial for pipeline monitoring and leak detection. This study uses computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to investigate acoustic wave propagation in pipelines, employing the Volume of Fluid (VOF) model with interfacial tension and a pressure-based solver. The effects of the gas volume fraction, pressure, frequency, and grid resolution are analyzed, with validation through mesh independence tests. The findings show that incorporating mesh refinement and boundary layer modeling improved attenuation prediction accuracy by approximately 25–30%. High-frequency waves (above 150 Hz) exhibited up to 30% greater attenuation when near-wall viscous effects were resolved, demonstrating the need for fine grid resolution in CFD-based multiphase diagnostic tools. This study highlights the importance of wave frequency, grid refinement, and boundary layer modeling for accurate attenuation predictions, offering insights for the improvement of CFD-based diagnostic tools in multiphase flow systems.