Stamatis Kalogerakos, Mustapha Gourma, and Chris P. Thompson
Two-dimensional CFD, simulation, modelling, multiphase flow, VOF
With increasing availability of faster computers and larger clusters, it has recently become practical under certain circumstances to use three-dimensional CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) software in order to simulate multiphase flow problems, instead of the faster but more limited one-dimensional simulations. Nevertheless, it is remains uneconomical to simulate flow in long pipelines with 3D CFD due to time constraints. In this paper it will be shown that for a specific regime of liquid and gas velocities, the use of two-dimensional CFD is a valid alternative as long as specific procedures are followed when setting initial conditions for each simulation. Starting from the flow regime map as a reference point, it was decided to compare simulation results for stratified flow and for slug flow. Comparisons were carried out with experimental data and a good agreement was observed both for stratified and for slug flow. Therefore the use of 2D CFD is a valid alternative investigative tool, and in the range of cases explained in this paper it can be used also as a predictive tool.
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