Study of the Transient Terrain–Induced and Severe Slugging Problems by Use of the Drift–Flux Model

Summary The drift-flux model is applied to simulate numerically highly transient slug flows in complex configurations. The study is focused on the terrain-induced slugging phenomenon. Previously published transient experimental data on multiphase flows in complex configurations with near-horizontal segments are closely investigated. The numerical implementation of the drift-flux model is briefly described. By varying the specific tuning parameters of the drift velocity, a close match with the transient experimental data for air/water flows is obtained. To verify the quality of the numerical solution and agreement with experimental data, the problem-specific criteria are introduced. These criteria are the time of the first slug arrival, average amplitude of slugs, average period between the slugs, average cumulative liquid production per slug, and total produced mass over the observation period. The model developed was used to predict severe slugging for the synthetic case involving the flow of hydrocarbon oil and gas and is representative of the realistic field-scale problem. The possible ways of further improving the drift-flux model and its potential practical applications are outlined.