A new pressure gradient correlation for oil-water separated flow in horizontal pipes

In this research work, a new pressure gradient correlation for oil-water separated flow in horizontal pipes has beendeveloped. The proposed correlation was derived from 371 experimental pressure drop data points for varietyrangeofReynolds number (Rem =800-35000), pipe diameters (D=14-82.8 mm), mixture velocities (Um=0.09-5.46 m/s),oil-water density ratio (ρo/ρw =0.780-0.875) and oil-water viscosity ratio (μo/μw =1.3-28).The accuracy of the newempirical correlation has been compared with commonly used existing models. The comparison indicates that the newproposed correlation predicts with better accuracy than the Al-Wahaibi (2012) and two fluid models.

Keywords:

Oil-water flow , Separated flow , Pressure gradient Correlation , Two-fluid model , Al-Wahaibi model