Numerical study on mitigating severe slugging in pipeline/riser system with wavy pipe

The gas/liquid two-phase flow in pipeline/wavy-pipe/riser systems was investigated numerically with CFD. A CFD model of the pipeline/wavy-pipe/riser system was obtained by adding a wavy pipe to the model of the pipeline/riser system verified by the experimental data previously. The effects of the geometrical parameters and location of the wavy pipe on its performance of slug mitigation and flow characteristics in pipeline/wavy-pipe/riser systems were examined through the CFD models. With the increase of the amplitude or length of the wavy pipe, the slug in the pipeline/riser system becomes shorter. The optimum location of the wavy pipe in the pipeline exists for a pipeline/riser system and a wavy pipe at given operating conditions. The CFD modelling provides a feasible and flexible way to investigate the effectiveness of the wavy pipes on mitigating severe slugging in pipeline/riser systems.

► Two-dimensional CFD models of large-scale pipeline/wavy-pipe/riser systems were developed.
► The performance of wavy pipe and flow characteristics were investigated through CFD models.
► Increasing amplitude or length of wavy pipe reduces the flow regime induced instability.
► Increasing amplitude or length increases the force induced instability on the wavy pipe.
► The optimum location of the wavy pipe in the pipeline exists for mitigating severe slugging.