Numerical Slug Flow Model of Curved Pipes with Experimental Validation

The research for gas–liquid two-phase flow is very important for flow assurance and flow stability of chemical transportation. In terms of transportation pipelines, the curved section is a very significant part. Therefore, the present work proposes a transient slug flow model for the curve pipes, and we conducted some experiments to validate it. This slug flow model is a four-equation model that contains mass and momentum balances with the closure relations. The normal two-dimensional rectangular coordinate system is simplified to the one-dimensional polar coordinate system, which will make the simulation faster and easier. The common flow parameters, such as the pressure profile along the pipeline, real-time pressure, and liquid holdup, are calculated in this model. Three groups of experiments with three different pipe curvatures were carried out to validate this model; the experiments were under the same conditions as those of the model calculations. The transient pressure and liquid holdup were measure...