Summary: | The paper presents the comparative evaluation of the homogenous and the drift-flux flow modelling techniques employed in a three-phase downward flow in a vertical pipe. The study's objective is to analyse and compare the pressure drop of an experimental procedure of three-phase flow in a downward vertical pipe based on the two modelling techniques. The considered fluids include CO2 gas and the homogenous water and oil phases. The results show that the CO2 gas and the homogenous water and oil phases' velocities were obtained between 0.452 and 32.868 m/s and 0.008889 and 13.0734 m/s at 20, 50, 70 and 90% water cuts (WCs), respectively. On the other hand, the pressure drop (PD) ranged between 336.75≤PD≤4570.431 N/m3 and 27.741≤PD≤−2176.769 N/m3 for the homogenous and drift-flux models. A comparative evaluation between the two models established an excellent agreement with over-prediction. Additionally, at all WCs, the total PD shows an over-prediction of 8.685 % for the homogenous model and an under-prediction of 12.91% for the drift-flux. Hence, the homogenous modelling technique gave a higher efficiency and was recommended for the determination of the total pressure drop. Conversely, the drift-flux model was established to precisely determine the effect of single-phase flow properties on the total pressure drop of the flow process. The findings further provided a comprehensive understanding of introducing CO2 gas in a three-phase downward flow process to meet the demands of emerging technologies.
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