Novel Gas–liquid volumetric flow measurement via non-intrusive optical sensing under upward vertical bubbly flow

Kwame Sarkodie^{¹^,²}(), Andrew Fergusson Rees^², Mukhtar Abdulkadir^³, Nana Yaw Asiedu^⁴, Jonathan Atuquaye Quaye^¹, Patrick Boakye^⁴

¹Department of Petroleum Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

²Division of Chemical and Energy Engineering, London South Bank University, London, UK

³Department of Chemical Engineering, Federal University of Minna, Nigeria

⁴Department of Chemical Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

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Abstract

A novel method for the measurement of volumetric flow rate for gas-liquid flow under vertical setting has been developed in this work. The sensing system consisted of two pairs of non-intrusive optical sensors that emit and receive infrared respectively. The light intensity received is proportional to the phase fraction of gas and liquid in the pipe and hence bubble and slug flow regimes. The actual gas velocities were determined from cross-correlation and combined with phase fractions and pipe size to determine the gas flow rate. For the liquid flow rate, a modified Drift flux model was developed to determine the actual liquid velocity based on the identified flow regime of bubble or slug flow. These measurements are then combined with the liquid fraction to determine the liquid flow rate. Measurement errors of +/- 3.2 % and +/-4.5 % were obtained for liquid flow rate and gas volumetric flow rate measurements respectively.

Keywords

non-intrusive optical sensor drift flux volumetric flow rate gas-liquid flow

Experimental and Computational Multiphase Flow

Cite this article:

Sarkodie K, Rees AF, Abdulkadir M, et al. Novel Gas–liquid volumetric flow measurement via non-intrusive optical sensing under upward vertical bubbly flow. Experimental and Computational Multiphase Flow, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1007/s42757-024-0230-1