Numerical Study of Slug Flow in Horizontal Pipe

Indonesia is a major producer of oil and gas, and the transportation of these resources through pipelines is crucial for the country's economy. However, the management of multiphase flow in pipelines is challenging, and slug flow is a common flow pattern that can cause severe operational problems. In this study, we present a numerical analysis of slug flow in a horizontal pipe using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to investigate the effect of different parameters on the slug flow pattern. The analysis is performed using the Volume of Fluid approach. The simulation reveals that the slug flow pattern changes from a regular pattern to a chaotic pattern with increasing inlet velocity. The simulated pipe segment had a length of 8 m and an internal diameter of 0.1016 m. Three cases were investigated, each with different air-water volume fractions. The water flow rate was fixed at 0.0026 m^3/s, while the air flow rate varied at three distinct values of 0.0033, 0.0035, and 0.0038 m^3/s. These flow rates were converted to superficial velocities and used as boundary conditions at the pipe inlet. The simulation results were validated using a Baker chart, and they successfully predicted the slug parameters. The effect of different volumetric qualities on pressure drop are observed quantitatively. Flow visualization is also performed; the flow pattern from two phase velocity field, streamline of secondary flow structure, and void fraction is identified in each configuration across the scope of the domain