25th ABCM International Congress of Mechanical Engineering

October 20-25, 2019, Uberlândia, MG, Brazil

CORE ANNULAR FLOW HORIZONTAL METHOD STUDY AND

EFFECTS OF VISCOSITY

First Author Name: Lucas Santos de Oliveira.

Second Author Name: Marcos Antônio Pinheiro Ponçadilha

Institution: Universidade Estadual do Maranhão
Full Institution Address: Cidade Universitária Paulo VI, S/N - Tirirical, São Luís - MA
lucassantosdeoliveira2020@gmail.com

ABSTRACT: A study was carried out on the effects of liquid viscosity on the core ring flow method. This is a
multiphase flow regime for two immiscible liquids in a tube where the high viscosity liquid forms a core and
the other low viscosity liquid forms a ring lubricant around the core and along the wall. This is a very efficient
method for transporting oil. Another method is to heat the oil to reduce its viscosity before using in single
phase transportation. The advantage of combining these two methods is discussed in this article.

Keywords: method, viscosity, fluid, multiphase.

1. INTRODUCION

In recent decades, the transportation of highly viscous oil lubricated with water has become
economical for the oil industry. With this technique, the water involves the core of the oil located in the center,
to form the core oil and water flow. Due to their immense industrial importance, numerous works were
conducted to investigate different aspects of the oil-water flow using experimental, numerical and analytical
methods.
The Core Annular Flow (CAF) technique is a method that is used to transport biphasic mixtures, based
on the immiscibility and difference in viscosity and density between the solutions of the blend. Such a technique
basically consists of forming a less viscous fluid flow ring enclosing a more viscous fluid flow ring. The method
has proven efficiency in reducing the friction in the pipe and the energy expenditure in the pumping. CAF is
generally used to transport viscous oils, such as petroleum and its derivatives, where water is used for ring
formation, which involves the flow of oil.
A high viscosity fluid surrounded by a low viscosity ring is studied through a horizontal tube. Many
studies deal with the development of waves at the interface between liquids of high and low viscosity. The
present study focuses on the influence of oil viscosity on the flow ring. For this purpose, it was built in the
configuration, in which experiments with a very viscous oil and with water, was performed in a horizontal tube.
A heating system was installed and configured which is capable of controlling the temperature of the oil, such
that the viscosity of the oil can be varied. The oil flow rate was maintained at 0.35 l / s, while the water varies
between 9% and 25%. The density of the oil was less than the density of the water, which resulted in an upward
thrust force in the oil core. This buoyancy force caused the core's eccentricity to be large and therefore the
water layer at the bottom is rather thick. Therefore, the flow of water in the ring at the bottom of the tube was
mostly turbulent. We check this by injecting a dye and confirm that the water flow is actually turbulent in that
location.

2. METHODOLOGY

The flow of two immiscible liquids in horizontal tubes, in particular the oil-water systems, can present
different spatial configurations of the phases. Among these, we highlight the flow pattern of viscous oil assisted
with water, for its great practical interest, especially in the petroleum industry. When the oil forms a continuous
core in the center of the tube, surrounded by a thin ring of water, it has a liquid-liquid annular pattern known
as a core-flow or core-annular flow (CAF), shown in Figure.
 Figure 1. Schematic of a line segment operating in the core-flow mode and the surface forces acting on the
control volume.

This standard offers the possibility of hydraulically transporting a highly viscous oil at relatively high
flow rates, with a low pressure drop, thanks to the great reduction of friction provided by the lateral injection
of a small water flow, which flows near the wall of the tube . In horizontal ducts, core-flow can be impaired by
the destabilizing action of the thrust force, which tends to cause phase stratification. If an excessive water flow
is injected, in an attempt to avoid such stratification, the continuous oil core may be ruptured and the flow
becomes intermittent. Therefore, there is a minimum water flow that can prevent the oil from touching the top
of the pipe wall. The great interest in core-flow is mainly due to the reduction of frictional load loss in the oil
flow. Therefore, numerous theoretical and experimental studies were carried out observing the variation of the
loss of load for different oil and water flows.
The great interest in core-flow is mainly due to the reduction of frictional load loss in the oil flow.
Therefore, numerous theoretical and experimental studies were carried out observing the variation of the loss
of load for different oil and water flows.

2.1 Modeling

Biphasic flow in transient regime. The figure shows the configuration of the core-flow pattern in a
generic pipe and the main variables of the problem.

Figure 2. The two-fluid scheme proposed by Brauner (1991) was used to calculate the diameter of the oil
core. Rated by: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Schematic-of-core-annular-flow-
pattern_fig2_282252278

Where Qw and Qo are the volumetric flows of water and oil, Aw and Ao the cross-sectional areas
occupied by water and oil, respectively, L the length of the line stretch, D the pipe diameter, za the flow
direction, g the gravitational force, and the angle φ is the slope of the axis of symmetry of the pipe with respect
to the horizontal. The control volume (VC) is delimited by the dotted surface. The pressure P1 and P2 (= P1 +
dP) refer respectively to the pressure at the inlet and outlet of the VC, τw the shear stress at the interface and
the pipe wall.
The initial hypotheses adopted in this modeling are as follows:
1. Incompressible flows;
2. Perfectly immiscible phases;
3. Flow in ring pattern (core-flow);
4. No heat or mass transfer or phase change;
5. Oil infinitely more viscous than water (μo / μw = 5,000);
6. Without interfacial tension effects (Po = Pw = P).

2.2 Procedure with the Core Annular Flow horizontal method

 Shi et al. [29] emphasize that the central annular flows are preferred in configurations with oil cores
of viscosity and high surface velocities of oil and water. An additional complexity in HCAF is that the
difference in density between the two liquids causes the core to lift up. Multiphase flows can be difficult to
analyze due to the number of forces acting on each phase and the interface between them. Dimensional numbers
can help us here. Five forces can be distinguished, which are more influential:

Inertial force:
Pressure force:
Gravitational force:
Viscous force:
Superficial tension:
Dimensional numbers are based on these forces, such as:

Reynolds number = Re =

Froude Number = Fr =

Weber Number = We =

Where L and U are scales of length and velocity.

In HCAF, fluctuation induced by density difference causes the core to become eccentric. Therefore,
it is important to select a dimensionless parameter that is responsible for the gravitational force. Ingen Housz
[28] suggested a modified definition of the Froude number:

Fr =
(1)

Where ρ is a density, D is the diâmeter, it is a mixture of velocity which is a sum of the

superficial velocities of oil and water. Subscripts o and w represent the phases of oil and water, respectively.
The Froude number is important because it represents the balance between an inertial downward force of the
moving nucleus and a gravitational force responsible for the phenomenon of levitation.
For the Reynolds number in the water ring for PCAF, use the relation:

(2)
2.3 The perfect annular flow

The Perfect Nuclear Ring Flow is defined as the case where the oil forms a perfect concentric.
cylindrical core within the water ring. Experimentally, this flow is very difficult to obtain. Using the Navier-
Stokes equations, Li and Renardy derived the dimensionless velocities in the nucleus and in the ring:

(3)

(4)

V (r) was made dimensionless by dividing the velocity profile by the velocity of the centerline V (0).
The coefficient A is given by:
 (5)

For HCAF, gravity acts perpendicular to the pressure gradient. Thus, the term, K, is equal to 1. The
velocity field can be reformulated as:

(6)

(7)

3. RESULTS

The experimental conditions studied and used obtained important parameters for the study of the core
annular flow method, are these:

The image shows the experiment carried out in which the physical properties of the oil were studied,
analyzing the viscosity, as well as the speed of the mixture and the flow of oil and water.
Beerens [24] performed horizontal flow simulations with the interFoam solver. Their simulations were
based on the experiments of Bai et al. [5]. However, Beerens took over the tube to be horizontal instead of
vertical. He reported that the levitation of the nucleus was balanced by a downward force caused by a positive
pressure that develops between the waves, the upper ring and the wall. Ooms et al. [26] studied levitation forces
in HCAF for small density ratios and high viscosity ratios. They have shown that viscosity as well as inertial
forces are important. His simulations were for low flows of Re.
Ingen Housz [28] performed numerical simulations based on some of his experiments. He first
performed laminar flow simulations for mixing speeds of 1.18 m / s. The velocity profiles showed a non-
physical peak at the interface to the lower ring. He argued that this error could be attributed to a transition to
turbulence. Simulations with the LaunderSharma turbulence model did not show this peak. The simulations
also predicted a considerable amount of turbulence developing in the water. As the nucleus is levitated upwards,
the turbulence in the upper ring decreases, while at the lower annulus it increases. Overall, there was a
discrepancy of about 22% in the speed of the blend as compared to the experiments. In addition, when
comparing different turbulence models, he found that the k-w SST model showed better agreement with the
experiments.

3.1 Turbulent flow in the ring

As the numerical simulations of Ingen Housz [28] predicted the turbulence, we were interested in
seeing if the turbulence could also be observed in the experiments. Therefore, we inject a solution of black
ecoline dye into the flow in the lower ring. Based on the idea of Reynolds, who injected a fine dye filament
into the stream, an erratic dispersion of the dye would indicate turbulence, while an undisturbed filament means
that the flow is laminar.

3.2 Mathematical modeling

 (8)

4. CONCLUSION

In this paper, a study was carried out on the influence of the viscosity of the liquid on the core on the
characteristics of the central annular flow in vertical and horizontal tubes. These features include pressure drop,
interfacial waveforms and throughput. The central annular flow is of practical relevance for the transportation
of heavy oil (viscous oil) to the petroleum industry because this is a very efficient method. In particular, this
method of lubricating with water is more efficient than heating the oil to reduce its viscosity in phase transport.
In a broader sense, the purpose of this master project was also to study the advantages of combining these two
methods, namely, to heat the oil and create water lubrication.

5. ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The considerations and thanks are first and foremost directed to God, source of life and love, who still
keeps us and seeks us. Then to our families for support in all areas and occasions. And, to the State University
of Maranhão, which provides us with knowledge of various forms and makes possible studies, works and
researches such as these.

6. REFERENCES

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