ISSN Online: 2379-1748
ISBN Flash Drive: 978-1-56700-472-4
ISBN Online: 978-1-56700-471-7
3rd Thermal and Fluids Engineering Conference (TFEC)
NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF STRATIFIED OIL-WATER FLOW USING INTERFOAM
Аннотация
Multiphase flow of oil and water in pipes is a subject of great interest for the petroleum industry. Depending
on the volumetric flow of each phase a number of different patterns can occur and, among them, the stratified
flow pattern is of particular interest, because it is usually seem in horizontal pipelines. This paper presents
simulations of this flow pattern using interFoam, a solver based on the VOF interface capturing method and
available in OpenFOAM. The computational results are compared with experimental data and the predictions
using an unidimensional model for global and local parameters of the flow, like pressure drop, water hold up
and velocity profiles. The comparison shows good overall results for pressure drop and hold up, while the
velocity profile tends to be under predicted. The CFD model is also evaluated by its capability to predict the
position and shape of the fluids interface.