Multiphase Flow in Pipes

Multiphase flow is found in many places. In the petroleum industry it occurs in oil and gas wells, gathering systems, many piping systems, and key pieces of equipment needed in refineries and petrochemical industries, including boilers, condensers, distillation towers, separators, and associated piping. This article focuses on two-phase flow in pipes. Though a lot has been learned about two-phase flow in the past 25 years, much of that knowledge has not been collected in a convenient place. In particular, much work done for the nuclear industry remains unknown to the petroleum industry. The primary goal of this article is to describe the kinds of problems we are now able to solve and to point out where answers to these problems can be obtained.