Flow-Pattern Transition and Hydrodynamic Modeling of Churn Flow

Summary A thorough review of the existing models for slug-churn transition in vertical and upward inclined two-phase flow is presented. A new transition model based on the drift flux approach and experimental data has been proposed. The new transition model performed the best when it was compared with the existing models and agreed very well with the published experimental data. Two separate hydrodynamic models are presented to predict pressure drop and liquid holdup in churn flow. One is a modified slug model, and the other is a model based on drift flux approach. The performances of the hydrodynamic models are evaluated against a well databank that contains 46 churn flow cases including laboratory and field data.