Prediction of Slug Liquid Holdup in Horizontal Pipes

Abstract

Slug liquid holdup is a critical parameter of slug flow, which influences the average liquid holdup and pressure drop along pipelines. The objective of this study is to develop a new correlation to predict slug liquid holdup in horizontal pipes. A large data set with wide ranges of operational, geometrical, and physical property parameters was used to develop the new correlation. The new correlation is a function of one independent mechanistic dimensionless variable, namely, the momentum transfer rate between the slug body and the liquid film. Physical modeling and statistical analyses suggested the appropriateness of the dimensionless momentum transfer rate as an independent parameter, which accounts for a large part of the variation in slug liquid holdup. A correlation validation and comparison study showed the accuracy of the new correlation. The statistical evaluation of the correlation resulted in an average percent relative error and percent standard deviation of 4.1% and 2.4%, respectively. Furthermore, the developed correlation was compared with other correlations and showed superior performance among all correlations, with the lowest relative performance factor of 0.01.