Experimental Analysis of Gas–Liquid–Solid Three-Phase Flows in Horizontal Pipelines

Abstract

The dynamics of three-phase flows involves phenomena of high complexity whose characterization is of great interest for different sectors of the worldwide industry. In order to move forward in the fundamental knowledge of the behavior of three-phase flows, new experimental data has been obtained in a facility specially designed for flow visualization and for measuring key parameters. These are (1) the flow regime, (2) the superficial velocities or rates of the individual phases; and (3) the frictional pressure loss. Flow visualization and pressure measurements are performed for two and three-phase flows in horizontal 30 mm inner diameter and 4.5 m long transparent acrylic pipes. A total of 134 flow conditions are analyzed and presented, including plug and slug flows in air–water two-phase flows and air–water-polypropylene (pellets) three-phase flows. For two-phase flows the transition from plug to slug flow agrees with the flow regime maps available in the literature. However, for three phase flows, a progressive displacement towards higher gas superficial velocities is found as the solid concentration is increased. The performance of a modified Lockhart–Martinelli correlation is tested for predicting frictional pressure gradient of three-phase flows with solid particles less dense than the liquid.