James P. Brill, who joined the U.

of Tulsa in 1966 asan assistant professor and is

now the F.M. Stevenson Professor of petroleum engineering, developed the U. of
Tulsa Fluid Flow Projects in 1973. He has worked at Chevron Ol Field Research
Co., Amoco Production Co., and as a two-phase-flow consultan!. Brill holds a BS
degree from the U. of Minnesota and a PhD degree in petroleum engineering from
the U. of Texas. He is a member of the Distinguished Lecturer Committee and was
a 1982 Distinguished Lecturer, a member of the 1978-81 Engineering Manpower
Commttee, 1971 and 1976 SPE Annual Fall Meeting Education and
Professionalsm Technical Program Commttee, and 1967-70 Educaton and
Accredtaton Commttee.

Multiphase Flow in Wells

James P. Brill, SPE, U. of Tulsa

Summary. Multiphase flow can occur throughout the production system. The fluids involved in multiphase
flow in the petroleum industry are multicomponent
are faced with the need to predict the relationships
reservoir fluids produced during the life of a field.
tools used to address these unique multiphase-flow
lntroduction
Multiphase flow can occur throughout the entire
production system involved in flowing fluids from oil
and gas reservoirs to processing facilities at the
surface. The production system in this context
includes the reservoir: the well completion; the
tubulars that connect the reservoir to the surface; ali
surface facilities on land, seabed, or offshore
platform; and any pipelines that carry produced fluids
to other processing facilities. The multiphase flow
encountered in producing oil and gas can be any
combination of a natural gas phase, a hydrocarbon
liquid phase, and a water phase.
A vast amount of technical information on
multiphase flow in pipes is available in the literature.
Many of these sources are related to other industries
and involve different types of fluids. The reference
list for this paper clearly demonstrates the diversity of
interest in multiphase flow in pipes. In particular,
significant contributions have been made in the
nuclear industry, where a major concern is a possible
loss-of-coolant accident in a nuclear reactor. These
studies involve the transient simulation of two-phase,
single-component (water) fluid flow in piping
systems.
Multiphase flow in the petroleum industry has many
unique features that create complications not
encountered by other industries. The fluids involved
are multicomponent mixtures whose phase behavior is
extremely complex. The range of pressures and
temperatures encountered in production systems is
extremely broad. Pressures can range from 15,000
psia [100 MPa] to near atmospheric conditions.
Copyright 1987 Society of Petroleum Engineers
mixtures with complex phase behavior. Petroleum engineers
between flow rates, pressure drop, and piping geometry for
This paper reviews the historical development of design
features. State-of-the-art technology is also presented.
Temperatures can range from 400F [200C] to
below the freezing temperature of water. Pipe lengths
can vary from a few fect to severa! hundred miles for
surface pipe or pipelines and from a few hundred feet
to more than 20,000 ft [6100 mj for wells. Piping
systems often involve significant variations in
geometry, such as inclination angle, diameter, pipe
roughness, and even shape, such as when fluids flow
in the annular space between casing and tubing in a
wellbore. Although most vertical piping systems
involve upflow, it is not uncommon to have
multiphase downward flow in injection wells or
downcomers connecting offshore platforms to subsea
pipelines. Simulating multiphase flow in wells also
requires the ability to predict fluid temperatures in a
system that undergoes complex heat transfer
phenomena between the reservoir and the surface.
The entire wellbore is surrounded by a huge rock
volume, much of which may even be frozen, as in
the case of permafrost in arctic locations.
Engineers in the petroleum industry are faced with
the requirement to predict the relationships between
flow rates, pressure drop, and piping geometry
(length, diarneter, angle, etc.) for the fluids produced
from a reservoir over the entire life of the field. The
objective of this paper is to review the historical
development of design tools used to address the
unique multiphase-flow features of the petroleum
industry, including an evaluation of the state of
the art.
Historical Development
The development of tools to assist engineers in
predicting multiphase-flow behavior in wells, and thus

Journal of Petroleum Technology, January 1987 15


t t t t
.....
t
BUBBLE SLUG
t t
CHURN
t ANNULAR
FLOW
FLOW FLOW FLOW
Fig. 1-Flow patterns for upward vertical tlow.
properly selecting optimum pipe diameters to connect
reservoirs with surface facilities, has followed a very
logical history. Tracing this history requires a review
of three separate but interrelated topics. The first
involves understanding the basic fluid mechanics
required to predict the interactions between the gas
and liquid phases and the pressure drop. In general,
this involves developing expressions for conservation
of mass and linear momentum. Applying pressure-
drop equations requires the ability to predict the
physical properties of the gas and liquid phases. Thus
the second topic is phase behavior. Finally, prediction
of phase behavior also requires the ability to predict
flowing temperatures of the fluids in a well.
Temperature prediction involves applying the
principie of conservation of energy. The following
sections describe the historical development of each
of these tools, together with a brief description of
attempts to evaluate the numerous correlations and
models that have been developed.
Early Homogeneous Methods. From an international
perspective, most of the wells discovered in the early
fields were capable of flowing at extremely high flow
rates. The degree of turbulence in the wells was
sufficiently high for multiphase fluids to exist as
homogeneous mixtures. Thus the gas and liquid
traveled at essentially the same velocity. Pressure-
gradient equations, such as Eq. 1, were a logical first
attempt to describe multiphase flow; steady-state
single-phase-flow equations were modified by
replacing flow and physical property variables with
mixture variables.
dp Pmg sin() mPmVm 2 p111v111dv111
..... (1)
dl ge Zdg gcdl
16
Any errors in the equation were automatically
incorporated into a single empirical mixture friction
factor, which was correlated with measured data. The
most commonly used early correlations of this type
were developed by Poettmann and Carpenter, 1
Baxendell and Thomas, 2 and Fancher and Brown. 3
Ali three studies neglected the last term in Eq. 1,
which represents kinetic energy effects.
Generalized Empirical Correlations. As the early
prolific fields declined in productivity and much
smaller fields were found and developed, it became
obvious that homogeneous models were no longer
sufficient to size tubing properly. At lower flow
rates, significant differences exist between the
velocities of the gas and liquid phases, a phenomenon
known as "slippage." In addition, the gas and liquid
no longer exist as homogeneous mixtures, but rather
form much different geometrical configurations. The
configurations or flow patterns found in vertical
upward flow are shown in Fig. 1. The occurrence of
slippage between the gas and liquid phases and
complex flow patterns introduced complications that
required development of new concepts.
Two different approaches are commonly used to
develop predictive tools for describing complex fluid-
mechanics problems. The emprica! approach involves
developing simplified models containing parameters
that must be evaluated with experimental data.
Correlating variables typically are dimensionless
groups determined by performing a dimensional
analysis of the phenomena involved. A classic
example of this for single-phase fluid flow is the
Moody4 diagram, in which friction factors are
correlated as a function of Reynolds number and
relative roughness for turbulent flows. The empirical
approach does not address why or how things
happen, but can yield excellent results quickly,
depending on the proper selection of variables and the
quality of data used for the correlation. The second
approach involves developing physically based
mechanistic models that describe ali important
phenomena. This requires much more in-depth
understanding and longer-term research.
The first and perhaps only exhaustive dimensional
analysis of the multiphase-flow-in-pipe problem was
performed by Duns and Ros. 5 They identified 13
important variables, resulting in I O independent
dimensionless groups that might be important in
describing multiphase-flow behavior. After obtaining
extensive experimental data, they concluded that four
of these dimensionless groups were important for
predicting flow pattern and degree of slippage at any
location in vertical pipe. The degree of slippage
determines the fraction of pipe volume occupied by
liquid, a variable they called "Iiquid holdup." Most
subsequent developers of emprica! correlations made
use of Duns and Ros' dimensional analysis.
The first attempt to obtain a large quantity of high-
quality field-scale multiphase-flow data in vertical
pipes was conducted by Hagedorn and Brown. 6
Using severa! different liquids and three different
diameters of pipe, they flowed fluids up a 1,400-ft
[427-m] -deep vertical test well. At the time, the
Journal of Petroleum Technology, January 1987
importance of liquid holdup was not recognized and
they failed to measure this important variable. They
were forced to back-calculate liquid holdup using an
assumed pressure-gradient model. The resultant
ernpirical correlation developed for predicting these
pseudoholdups can give physically unrealistic values
that suggest that liquid flows faster than gas.
Although the Hagedorn and Brown correlation was
not flow-pattern dependent, numerous modifications
to this correlation have been made to improve
pressure-drop predictions.
Increases in exploration and production activity
offshore during the 1960' s resulted in the drilling of a
large number of wells with large deviations in
inclination angle from the vertical. It soon became
obvious that flow-pattern and liquid-holdup prediction
methods developed for vertical flow often failed in
directional wells. The Beggs and Brill 7 and the
Mukherjee and Brill 8 generalized correlations were
developed to improve pressure-drop predictions in
directional wells and hilly-terrain pipelines.
Concurrent with the development of the early
generalized emprica! correlations, many researchers
were also investigating specific phenomena related to
multiphase flow, such as gas-bubble rise velocity and
mechanisms for flow-pattern transitions. A group of
generalized emprica! correlations that also made use
of early mechanistic models were developed by
Orkiszewski, 9 Chierici et al., 10 Aziz et al., 11 and
Asheim. 12 Most of these studies made extensive use
of the work of Griffith and Wallis 13 and Nicklin
et al. 14 . model is available, improved models can be
Mechanstic Models. Generalized empirical
correlations simply do not address the complex
physical phenomena occurring during multiphase flow
in pipes. Consequently, an impasse has been reached
in which, regardless of the modifications that are
made in empirical correlations or the amount of data
used to develop the correlations, it is unlikely that
design calculations can improve. Application of
empirical correlations to a broad range of data
typically results in errors in the range of 20% in
pressure-drop prediction.
Recently, significant improvements have been made
in our ability to observe, study, and mathematically
model the physical mechanisms governing multiphase-
flow behavior in pipe. The mechanistic model
approach incorporates ali important variables.
Coupled with appropriate laboratory and field data,
this approach will yield prediction methods that
represent significant improvements over generalized
emprica! correlations.
The first step in developing mechanistic models
must involve the prediction of flow patterns. Only
then can improved models be developed to predict,
for each flow pattern, liquid holdup, interfacial shear
stresses, and, consequently, pressure drop. Major
breakthroughs in modeling flow patterns for wells
have been published by Taitel et al. 15 and Barnea et
al. 16-18 These comprehensive flow-pattern prediction
models can then be used to generate simple maps that
graphically demonstrate the relative importance of
variables. Fig. 2 shows two such maps generated for
Journal of Petroleum Technology, January 1987
100.0-------------....
--
o::
- ..J
(1) 1.0
> <t
..J
::,
z
z
c:x:
0.1
1.0 10.0
V (ft/s)
Sg
100.0 500.0
Fig. 2-Taitel et al. flow pattern maps for air and water at
atmospheric conditions.
vertical upward flow in two different pipe diameters
using the Taitel et al. model. This model clarified the
discrepancy of the bubble/slug flow-pattern transition
that existed among various investigators by
confirming that the existence of bubble flow is
diameter dependent. Once a reliable flow-pattern
developed for describing the fundamental mechanisms
in each of the specific flow patterns.
By far the most important flow patterns for
multiphase flow in wells are the slug and churn flow
patterns. These intermittent-flow patterns will occur
during the vast majority of multiphase flow in wells.
Comprehensive slug flow models have been
developed by Fernandez et al., 19 Orell and
Rembrand, 20 and Taitel. 21
Bubble flow probably exists over only very short
lengths of pipe in an oil well. The mechanisms of
bubble flow have been studied extensively by Zuber
and Findlay, 22 Wallis, 23 and Harmathy. 24
Perhaps the most difficult flow pattern to study,
and one that is probably most commonly encountered
in gas wells producing water and/or condensare, is
the annular flow pattern. The prediction of liquid
entrainment and interfacial phenomena is extremely
complex and is the subject of numerous studies
currently under way.
Only two attempts have been made to develop
comprehensive pressure-drop models for wells that
incorporate or modify existing mechanistic models.
Caetano25 investigated vertical multiphase flow in
concentric and fully eccentric annuli. This
configuration is commonly encountered in high-
productivity wells and in wells produced with sucker
rod pumps. For these cases, the multiphase mixture
flows up the annular space between the casing and
tubing or between the tubing and sucker rods. Hasan
and Kabir26 developed similar models for multiphase
tlow in vertical oil wells. No studies have been
17

BUBBLE POINT
OR DISSOLVED SINGLE
3500 GAS PHASE
RESERVOIRS GAS
RESERVOIRS
<t
(/)
a.
w2500 DEW
POINT
a::
=>
(/)
(/)
w
8: 1500
5000!"---oo----003-oo-' in wells simultaneously with pressure behavior. This is
TEMPERATURE, F
Fig. 3-Pressure/temperature phase diagram of a reser-
voir fluid.
published on similar models for flow in directional or
inclined wells,
Fluid Physical Properties. Ali procedures for
calculating pressure drop for the multiphase flow of
multicomponent fluids require methods to predict
mass transfer between the gas and liquid phases and
physical properties of each phase. Two types of mass-
transfer models have been used frequently in the
petroleum industry, depending on the composition of
the fluid mixture and the range of reservoir
temperature encountered. These methods are referred
to as the "black oil" model and the "compositional"
model approaches. Fig. 3 shows a typical
pressure/temperature diagram of a reservoir fluid.
The simplified black oil model is typically used for
bubble-point or dissolved-gas-type reservoir fluids.
On the other hand, compositional models are better
suited for predicting behavior of dewpoint or
retrograde gas-condensate reservoirs. Compositional
models are more complex than black oil models and
are best suited for modeling mass transfer when fluids
exhibit retrograde condensation behavior. Regardless
of the phase behavior model used, it is vitally
important that a reliable prediction be made on the
fractions of total fluid existing in the gas and liquid
phases.
In addition to mass-transfer effects, it is necessary
to have reliable predictions for the density, viscosity,
and surface tension of each phase. Empirical
correlations are available for these properties, but
laboratory data should be used ifavailable.
Unfortunately, these data are seldom measured or
are available at only a few temperatures, or perhaps
only one.
Prediction of frictional pressure losses for
multiphase flow involving gas, oil, and water remains
an unsolved problem. The oil and water phases are
normally combined into a single liquid phase, even
though the liquid phases are immiscible. Slippage
between the oil and water phases is assumed to be
18
negligible. In most cases, this assumption causes an
insignificant error in prediction of liquid density.
Prediction of the apparent viscosity of an oil/water
mixture, however, is not a trivial problem. Oil/water
mixtures typically behave as non-Newtonian fluids
and often exist in the form of ernulsions, with the
continuous phase having a dominant effect on the
rheological behavior. Fortunately, friction losses are
relatively minor in wellbores, and in most cases the
selection of a liquid viscosity model has negligible
effect on pressure drop.
Temperature Prediction. Fluid physical properties
are all temperature-dependent. Consequently, accurate
prediction of pressure drop and other flow variables
requires the ability to calculate temperature behavior
also necessary to predict the presence of other
potential problems, such as wax formation, hydrates,
and other possible detrimental effects, such as melting
of permafrost in arctic regions.
All the early pressure-drop calculation procedures
used the black oil model for predicting fluid physical
properties. Because physical properties for
bubblepoint or dissolved-gas reservoirs vary
uniformly with temperature, it was not uncommon
simply to assume a linear temperature gradient in
wellbores. This required assuming a flowing wellhead
ternperature, which may not be representative, and
totally ignored the complex heat-transfer mechanisms
that exist in wells. Vigorous calculation of
temperatures requires application of conservation-of-
energy principies, resulting in a heat balance
equation:
dh dQ g sin 8 Vm dv.,
............. (2)
dL dL J J dL
Brill and Beggs 27 described a computing algorithm
that permitted coupling pressure-drop calculations
with the heat-balance equation using a finite-
difference numerical approximation. An approach like
this normally is required for simulating wells
producing from dewpoint or retrograde gas-
condensate reservoirs. Ramey28 developed an .
analytical approximation to Eq. 2 that accounted for
the transient heat-conduction effects from heating the
rocks surrounding a wellbore. Shiu and Beggs29
developed a semiempirical correlation for one of the
parameters in the Ramey equation that simplified the
computation procedure. Both of these analytical
approximations neglect Joule-Thompson effects,
which could be important in high-flow-rate gas wells.
Evaluation Studies. The number and diversity of
correlations and models available for predicting
multiphase-flow behavior in wells are overwhelming
to most engineers. lt is not always possible or
affordable to perform simulation studies with several
of the methods available. Numerous evaluation studies
have been performed in which the various methods
are applied to selected sets of data and conclusions
drawn pertaining to the relative accuracies. Serious
Journal of Petroleum Technology, January 1987
 TO
SEPARATOR-
Fig. 4-Severe slug formation in a pipeline/riser-pipe
system.
' limitations of these studies arise because of the
limited size and accuracy of the data and the limited
range of important variables that exist in available
data banks. In addition, many evaluation studies
compare statistical results of a proposed correlation
with other correlations when applied to the same data
used to develop the proposed correlation. Conclusions
drawn are obviously biased. Impartial evaluation
studies include those by Lawson and Brill, 30 Esanol
et al., 31 Gregory et al. , 32 Reinicki and Remer, 3
and Kabir and Hassan. 34 The only legitimate
conclusion that can be drawn from this collection of
evaluation studies is that no best method is currently
available to the engineer. lt thus becomes necessary
to have several methods available for comparative
purposes, and one should not be surprised if a
method that works best for one type of fluid does not
work nearly as well for other fluids. Finally, it is
absolutely necessary to recognize that errors in
pressure-drop prediction can easily be caused by
errors in prediction of fluid physical properties rather
than inadequate prediction of phenomena such as flow
patterns, slippage, or liquid holdup.
Applications
Numerous applications have made use of the
developments presented in the previous section.
Essentially every technical paper pertaining to the
production of oil and gas in the literature involves
one of these applications. A thorough discussion of
ali applications is beyond the scope of this paper.
Sorne of the more important applications are
described below. An exhaustive literature search on
these topics would fill pages, so only selected
references are given.
Total Production Systems Analysis. The concept of
using correlations to predict multiphase-flow behavior
through pipes, well completions, restrictions, and the
reservoir for analysis of flow behavior in the entire
production system has been recognized for more than
20 years. 35,36 This approach, often called nodal
analysis, was the subJect of another Distinguished
Author Series paper. 7 The objective of nodal
analysis is to optimize design calculations for ol and
gas wells. This permits evaluation of the interactions
of individual components in the production system.
Artificial Lift. The design of ali artificial lift
procedures involves use of multiphase flow in pipe
Joumal of Petroleum Technology, January 1987
o
o 20 24 21
,1usu11 In 100 ,s1G
(ALL OIL)
Tubii, Size 4 in. l.D.
Producint Rale !000 Bbls./D,y
Oil AP1 Gmity 35' API
G.as Specific G,avity 11.&5
Aver.11e Flowint Temp. 140' F
o
o
o
!
10
Fig. 5-Example of vertical multiphase flow pressure gra-
dient curves.
calculations. Spacing of gas lift valves and
determination of optimum injection gas volumes
require use of steady-state multiphase-flow pressure-
loss predictions. The same is true of determining the
type, location, size, and power requirements of
downhole pumps. Analysis of well tests in many
pumping wells requires converting casinghead
pressures to bottomhole pressures for a system in
which gas percolates through a static liquid column in
the annulus. Detailed descriptions of the application
of multiphase flow in artificial lift design can be
found in Refs. 38 and 39.
Severe Slugging in Pipelne/Riser-Ppe Systems. A
unique phenomenon involving vertical multiphase
flow can occur in riser pipes at offshore platforms
when the incorr:iing uis enter th riser pifce rom a
downward-sloping pipeline. Schmidt et al. 0 first
observed the occurrence of this phenomenon over a
limited range of gas and liquid flow rates in which
stratified flow would normally occur in the pipeline.
These flow rates would exist in oversized pipelines or
late in the life of an offshore ol field. Severe
slugging is a cyclical process in which the riser pipe
periodically fills with liquid, temporarily stops the
flow of gas up the riser pipe, and creates a slug of
liquid in both the riser pipe and the upstream
pipeline. The process of liquid slug generation is
shown in Fig. 4. This is an undesirable phenomenon
that can cause problems related to pipe stresses and
poor separator behavior.
19
 These operating problems have resulted in to one in which governing phenomena can be
numerous studies to describe flow behavior during modeled with basic principies.
severe slugging. 2140-43 A large-scale test facility was
constructed in Norway to investigate the problem in Nomenclature
larger-diameter pipe and at higher pressures. 44 d = interna! pipe diameter, ft [m]
Attempts to alleviate severe slugging by choking or f = friction factor
gas-lifting the riser pipe are being pursued. g = acceleration of gravity, ft/sec2 [m/s2 ]
h = enthalpy, Btu/lbm [J/kg]
Pressure-Gradient Curves. Sizing of tubing and J = mechanical equivalent of heat, 778
design of continuous gas lift installations are
ft-lbf/Btu
frequently accomplished through the use of pressure-
gradient curves. Indeed, entire books of gradient L = pipe length, ft [m]
curves have been developed to permit this practice. 38 LE = distance from pipeentrance, ft [m]
Fig. 5 shows the resultant gradient curves for a p = pressure, psi [kPa]
specific set of flowing conditions. Use of gradient Q = heat transferred from fluid to surroundings,
curves involves serious limiting assumptions, Btu/lbm [J/kg]
including vertical flow, fluid properties based on T = temperature, F [C]
specified fluid specific gravities, and selection of one v = velocity, ft/sec [m/s]
multiphase-flow correlation. These limitations, () = pipe inclination angle from horizontal,
coupled with the increased availability of technical degrees
software for personal computers, should result in a p = density, lbm/ft ' [kg/m3]
sharp decline in the use of gradient curves in the
future. Subscripts
g = gas
Production Logging. The modern concept of L = liquid
production logging involves lowering various m = two-phase mixture
measurement tools into a producing or injecting S = superficial
wellbore to obtain measurements that will permit
evaluation of well performance. Typical References
measurements include temperatures, radioactive tracer l. Poettmann, F.H. and Carpenter, P.G.: "The Multiphase Flow of
surveys, noise logs, spinner flowmeters, percent Gas, Oil and Water Through Vertical Flow Strings with Application
water measurements, and fluid density measurements. to the Design of Gas Lift Installations," Drill, and Prod. Prac.,
Although production logging is an accepted practice, API (1952) 257-317.
interpretation of measurements often fails because of 2. Baxendell, P.B. and Thomas, R.: "The Calculation of Pressure
Gradients in High-Rate Flowing Wells," JPT(Oct. 1961) 1020-28;
indequate understanding of multiphase-flow Trans., AIME, 222.
phenomena. Hill and Oolman45 confirmed that 3. Fancher, G.H. Jr. and Brown, K.E.: "Prediction of Pressure
multiphase-flow behavior in inclined wells often Gradients for Multiphase Flow in Tubing," SPEJ (March 1963)
results in misleading tool responses. 59-69; Trans., AIME, 231.
4. Moody, L.F.: "Friction Factors for Pipe Flow," Trans., ASME
(Nov. 1944) 66, No. 8, 671-84.
Cyclic Processes. Low-productivity oil wells are 5. Duns, H. Jr. and Ros, N.C.J.: "Vertical Flow ofGas and Liquid
often produced in unsteady-state, cyclic processes that Mixtures in Wells," Proc., Sixth World Petroleum
result in a time-dependent flow rate of gas and liquid. Congress, Frankfurt (1963) 11, 451-65.
6. Hagedom, A.R. and Brown, K.E.: "The Effect of Liquid Viscosity
Included in this category would be wells produced by in Vertical Two-Phase Flow," JPT(Feb. 1964) 203-10; Trans.,
intermittent gas lift, wells that are undergoing a AIME, 231.
casing-heading phenomenon, and wells that are 7. Beggs, H.D. and Brill, J.P.: "A Study of Two-Phase Flow in
Inclined Pipes," JPT(May 1973) 607-17; Trans., AIME, 255.
produced by plunger lift. The dynamic simulation of 8. Mukherjee, H. and Brill, J.P.: "Pressure Drop Correlations for
all cyclic production methods requires writing Inclined Two-Phase Flow," J. Energy Resources Tech. (Dec. 1985)
differential equations for the governing phenomena 549-54; Trans., ASME.
and solving them simultaneously. This is an 9. Orkiszewski, J.: "Predicting Two-Phase Pressure Drops in Vertical
Pipe," JPT (June 1967) 829-38; Trans., AIME, 240.
extremely complex process that makes use of many of 10. Chierici, G.L., Ciucci, G.M., and Sclocchi, G.: "Two-phase
the mechanistic models developed for steady-state Vertical Flow in Oil Wells-Prediction of Pressure Drop," JPT
flow, together with specialized empirical parameters (Aug. 1974) 927-37; Trans., AiME, 257.
developed from experimental data. Intermittent gas 11. Azz, K., Govier, G.W., and Fogarasi, M.: "Pressure Drop in
Wells Producing Oil and Gas," J. Cdn. Pet. Tech. (July-Sept. 1972)
lift has been modeled by White et al. , 46 Brill et 38-47.
al., 47 Doerr, 48 and Schmidt et al. 49 The headin<f 12. Asheim, H.: "MONA, An Accurate Two-Phase Well Flow Model
phenomenon has been modeled by Torre et al., 5 and Based on Phase Slippage," SPEPE (May 1986) 221-30.
the mechanisms of filunger lift were formulated by 13. Griffith, P. and Wallis, G.B.: "Two Phase Slug Flow," J. Heat
Trans. (Aug. 1961) 307-20; Trans., ASME. .
Lea51 and Rosina. 2 14. Nick.lin, D.J. and Davidson, J.F.: "The Onsetoflnstability in Two-
Phase Slug Flow," Proc., Inst. Mech. Engr. Symposium on Two-
Conclusions Phase Flow, London (1962) Paper 4.
15. Taitel, Y., Bamea, D., and Duk.ler, A.E.: "Modeling Flow Pattem
The production of oil and gas always involves upward Transitions for Steady Upward Gas-Liquid Flow in Vertical Tubes,"
multiphase flow in pipes. Prediction of flow behavior A/ChE J. (May 1980) 345-54.
in wells is progressing from a highly emprica! stage
Journal of Petroleum Technology, January 1987
20
16. Barnea, D., Shoham, O., and Taitel, Y.: "Flow Pattern Transition 38. Brown, K.E.: The Technology of Artificial Lift Methods, Petrole-
for Vertical Downward Two-Phase Flow," Chem. Eng. Sci. (1982) um Publishing Co., Tulsa, OK (1980) 2a, 3a, 3b, 4.
37, 741-46. 39. Artificial Lift, Reprint Series, SPE, Richardson, TX (1975) 12.
17. Barnea, D., Shoham, O., and Taitel, Y.: "Flow Pattern Transition 40. Schmidt, Z., Brill, J.P., and Beggs, H.D.: "Experimental Study
for Downward Inclined Two-Phase Flow; Horizontal to Vertical," of Severe Slugging in a Two-Phase Flow Pipeline-Riser Pipe
Chem. Eng. Sci. (1982) 37, 735-40. System," SPEJ (Oct. 1980) 407-14.
18. Barnea, D. et al.: "Gas Liquid Flow in Inclined Tubes: Flow Pattern 41. Schmidt, Z., Doty, D.R., and Dutta-Roy, K.: "Severe Slugging
Transition for Upward Flow," Chem. Eng. Sci. (1985) 40, 131-36. in Offshore Pipeline Riser-Pipe Systems," SPEJ (Feb. 1985) 27-38.
19. Fernandez, R.C., Semiat, R., and Dukler, A.E.: 42. Boe, A.: "Severe Slugging Characteristics, Part !: Flow Regime
"Hydrodynarnic Model for Gas-Liquid Slug Flow in Vertical for Severe Slugging;" paper presented at Selected Topics in Two-
Tubes," A/ChE J. (Nov. 1983) 29, No. 6, 981-89. Phase Flow, Trondheim, March 12-13, 1981.
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Journal of Petroleum Technology, January 1987 21