EVOLUTION OF SLUG FLOW IN LONG PIPE

Gas liquid slug flow is an alternation in space and time of long bubbles and liquid slugs(figure 1). The set of a slug and a long bubble forms a cell which propagates along thepipe. One of the peculiarities of slug flow is its chaotic nature, the bubble and slug length,and at a less extend their velocity, being randomly distributed. It is generallyacknowledged that the mechanisms which control the structure of slug flow are not yetsatisfactorily understood. Different arguments may given to account for this. On the onehand slug flow is a chaotic process so that no deterministic model is expected to apply. Onthe other hand the slug flow models devoted to predict the pressure gradient and liquidholdup require limited information upon the flow structure so that little effort has beenmade for its understanding.s, i-1 s, ib, i-1 b, ix