Summary
A great deal of research has been focused on transient two-phase flow in
wellbores. However, there is lack of a comprehensive two-fluid model in the
literature. In this paper, we present an implementation of a
pseudo-compositional, thermal, fully implicit, transient two-fluid model for
two-phase flow in wellbores. In this model, we solve gas/liquid mass balance,
gas/liquid momentum balance, and two-phase energy balance equations to obtain
five primary variables: liquid velocity, gas velocity, pressure, holdup, and
temperature. This simulator can be used as a stand-alone code or can be used in
conjunction with a reservoir simulator to mimic wellbore/reservoir dynamic
interactions. In our model, we consider stratified, bubbly, intermittent, and
annular flow regimes using appropriate closure relations for interphase and
wall-shear stress terms in the momentum equations. In our simulation, we found
that the interphase and wall-shear stress terms for different flow regimes can
significantly affect the model's results. In addition, the interphase momentum
transfer terms mainly influence the holdup value.
The outcome of this research leads to a more accurate simulation of
multiphase flow in the wellbore and pipes, which can be applied to the surface
facility design, well-performance optimization, and wellbore damage
estimation.
© 2012. Society of Petroleum Engineers
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History
- Original manuscript received:
30 March 2011
- Meeting paper published:
22 February 2011
- Revised manuscript received:
3 October 2011
- Manuscript approved:
17 November 2011
- Published online:
4 September 2012
- Version of record:
12 September 2012
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