Soobtyof PstrolsurnErrdnasr8

SPE 28545
TACITE: A Transient Tool for Multiphase Pipeline and
Well Simulation
C.L. Pauchon, Inst. Franqais du P&role; Hasmuekh Dhulesia,
Elf Aquitaine Production; and Jean Fabre, Inst. de Mecanique

TOTAL; Georges
des Fluides

Binh Cirlot,

Copyright 1SS4, Society of Patmlaum Enginears, Inc.

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Abstract
The paper presents the principal characteristics
of the
TACITE code which has been developed to simulate
transient
and, steady state multiphase
flows, for the
design and control of oil and gas production networks.
The hydraulic
model is presented
briefly
and the
resulting
flow regime
prediction
is compared
with
experimental
data. The performance
of the code is
illustrated
with respect to steady state and transient
experimental and field data.

Introduction

In the design of multiphase

pipeline
networks it is
tfi
-- Am+; ?,l
knnw
anticipated
pressure,
the
V*S-IILI-I
..,., ,-..
temperature
and gas and liquid flow rates at different
points in the network,
and in particular
at chokes,
valves, pumps, compressors and other equipments.
During transient flow it is important to anticipate the
volume of slugs that can arrive at separators, so that
the latter can be scaled accordingly.

The ~Pera!ien

and contro!

of multiDhase

networks

also

require
tools
allowing
flow characteristics
to be
predicted so that the network can be made to operate
under optimal conditions.
In order to attain these objectives the TACITE code was
designed with the following characteristics:
a hydraulic model representative
of the phenomena
that control the flow regime, pressure drop and liquid
holdup,
a reliable thermal model to allow for the calculation
of the heat transfer at the wall,
a precise
thermodynamic
model to describe
the
thermodynamic
state of the system and to calculate the
fluid physical properties,
a set of transport
equations
to describe continuity
and the propagation density anti pressure wsies in !he
system,
- a precise and robust scheme with good front tracking
capabilities.
The

development

cooperation
PETROLE

311

between

of

TACITE
the

results

INSTITUT

from

the

FRANCAIS

DU

(IFP), TOTAL and ELF AQUITAINE

within the

TACITJ2
A TR4NSIENT TOOL FOR PIPELINE AND WELL SIMULATION

EvE association.
the Institut
(!MFT)

Normale
scheme.
aspects

It is developed

de Mdcanique
~~=

Rh.,

#simal

with the assistance

des Fluides

of

de Touiouse

mn..k.llinn
, ,,-,8 . m~ gfl~

!~~

Fenla

b. r IJUIW-I
Sup6rieure de Lyon (ENSL) for the numerical

b:

IFP is in charge
into an industrial

of the integration
code which

of these

is validated

SPE 28545

equations,
closure laws and solution
algorithm
with
emphasis
on the flow regime prediction.
The flow
regime
prediction
of TACITE
is compared
with
experimental data for various slopes and pressures.
The time advancing scheme is described. The numerical
scheme for regular
points and boundary
points is
------The iRVA6ifii
r-~pu[l~u
~f ih~ cede is
ctescribed.
demonstrated on the basis of several examples.

by

ELF AQUITAINE and TOTAL

The TACITE code is based on the numerical resolution of
a drift-flux
type model
applying
to any situation
encountered
in multiphase
production
with respect to
slope, fluid properties
and flow pattern. The model
solves a set of four conservation
equations
(see
reference 1), one for the mass of each phase, one for
the mixture momentum and one for the mixture energy.
The missing information about the slip between phases
is restored
by a steady state closure
relationship
depending on the flow regime. In order to identify the
regimes, the assumption is made that each regime is a
space/time
combination
of two
basic
patterns:
separated flow (stratified
and annular) and dispersed
flow (reference
2). The intermittent
flow regime is
considered
as a combination
of these two basic
patterns, characterised
by the fraction of separated
flow p which ensures the continuity
of the closure

Hydrodynamic

model

In this section, we present the set of transport and

closure equations and we discuss the concept of flow
regime transition which is used. The originality of the
hydraulic model lies on:

the set of transport equations which ensures

the continuity
of the model
actoss
flow
regime transitions,

the choice of a limited set of closure laws,

continuous
with respect to slope and fluid
properties, which have been qualified against
experimental
results,

the concept of flow pattern transitions based

on the continuity of the calculated variables.

laws.
2.1

The transient
resolution
is achieved
by an explicit
second order finite volume method. The advantages of
this method
are: its ability
to follow
wave front
propagation ; an easy implementation
for the resolution
of complex networks and an easy maintenance of the
code in view of future evolutions of the physical model
and
the
numerical
resolution
algorithms.
The
performance of the numerical scheme and in particular,
its ability to follow holdup waves, are illustrated
in
this paper.

Transport

equations

The TACITE modei is a drift fiux type modei with one

mass consewation equation for each phase (Eqs. 1&2),
one mixture
momentum
equation
(Eq. 3) and one
mixture energy equation (Eq.4), as given beiow:
gaa

maaa

conservation

:[PG&]+-&Jw]=m......................(l)

One of the main objectives

of TACITE is to predict
accurately the propagation
of large liquid slugs. Thus,
an accurate
numerical
scheme
with good shock
preserving capabilities was proposed (reference 3) and
improved (reference 4). The time advancing scheme is
---1.-:. .....I.
--- . .. . . .. :,. -,4
UXPIiWL
WILII ~ee~tid
~i(hi
au~wu~y
Ill *:-A
wrJw a
w S~C~
to limit numerical diffusion. The choice of an explicit
scheme
presents
several
advantages
which
are
identified in this paper.

iiquid

maas

~[PL~L]+~[PL%UL]

--

conservation

=-m

The determination
of physical properties has also been
given special attention. A thermodynamic
package is
king deveiop~,
.Which ~~e5 ifiie ~eeeuni the ~resen~
of water, glycol,

methanol

and dissolved

salts.

In the present paper, we give an overview on the

hydrodynamic
model in TACITE including the transport

= T - (pGRG+ /YLRL)&sin@

312

.. ..... .............(2)

C. PAUCHON, H. DHULESIA, G. BINH ClR.LOT, J. FABRE

SPE 28545

in the case of intermittent

dependent.

conservation

energy

mixture

In

Ia

addition,

two

k
U:, U;, RD
heat fluxes
Tw

= -Qw - (pGRGUG+pLRLUL)g.sin 8

!C horiz~nta!,

of the wall friction

terms

Mc and Ec

gas
S, D
and
the
the
with

and 0. Moreover,

the wail

friction

and

may be written:
................ .. ...(6)

+(2-~)QwD

.. ..... .............(7)

in which the contributions

of separated and dispersed
parts appear. A unified formulation is used for the gas
and liquid wall friction and the interfaciai friction. That
is, the form of these closure laws is independent of the
flow regime and has the same structure as a single
phase flow relationship.
Furthermore,
we must ensure
a continuous solution of the hydrodynamic model across
flow regime transitions,
even though the analytical
form of the hydrodynamic
model for the two basic
regimes is very different.

2,2

Closure

laws

In this section the solution

algorithm
used for the
general case (O<B<l ) corresponding
to intermittence,
and for the Iwo aegerierated
easas i3=0 (dispersed
flow) and 8=1 (separated flow) are presented.

Tw and QW are the contributions

and heat transfer

complementary

=fl~+(~+)~ti

Qw =~~

reepec!

flow. Thus, it is flow regime

appear in the mortrentum and energy equations. These

terms
vanish
for dispersed
flow (8=0),
and for
separated
flow
(0=1 ); in intermittent
flow,
they
account for the non-homogeneous
distribution of void
and velocities
in the separated
and dispersed
parts.
They are expressed
using the secondary
variables

The subscript k stands for the phase (G for the

phase and L for the liquid phase), the $ufwscripts
for the two ba$ic
regimes
(Separated
flow
Dispersed flow). p, P, R, U and H are the density,
pressure
the volume
fraction,
the velocity and
enthalpy
respectively.
e is the inclination angle

across the wall.

As thermal equilibrium is assumed between the phases,

this problem involves five main unknown variables:
2.2.1

RG the gas voiume fraction,

P the pressure,
T the temperature,
UG the gas velocity,

UL the liquid velocity.

.
.

Thus, an additional
system of 4 partial
fi@@~,~,%,P~ ~]=00

equation is required
differential
equations:

flow

(i3sO)

The closure equation (5) reduces to a drift flux relation

expressing
the gas velocity
versus
the
mixture
velocity

to close

the bubble drift velocity

VB.

... .......... ... ...(8)

The problem is solved implicitly provided the bubble

diameter is known. The bubble diameter results from a
balance between the work of surface tension and the
turbulent dissipation
(reference
5):

. . . . ... ...... .....(5)

flow and it is a set of algebraic

UD and

U: =COUD+VB dB,R&@ )

this

This equation reduces to a slip equation in the case of

dispersed flow. It is a macroscopic momentum balance
in stratified

Dispersed

d, .!,++il-i

equations

313

..

(9)

TACIT12
A TRANSIENT TOOL FOR PIPELINE AND WELL SIMULATION

where Pi and S are the interracial

cross section area respectively.

where the turbulent dissipation e results from the work

of both wall and interracial friction (reference 6):

1- II

4 TDU: + (PG PL ) g sineR:(u: -Uq

The

bubble

velocity

VB

in still

2.2.3
liquid

Intormlttent

flow

Ap@2 ,Re . !_,

Bo=
0
:!
db

flow

(0=1)

For separated flow, Eq. (5) is a combination of the gas

and liquid
momentum
equations
from which
the
pressure gradient has been eliminated:

[k

Tg_ll-
R;

R: + RS
G

-*=

.
r

&

(PL-PJ?W..(lO)
G

The iterative solution of this equation is obtained from

the expressions
of the wall and interracial
friction,

T~, TN, T. The key point in the solution of Eq. (1O)

lies in the expression of the interracial friction. It was
found after comparisons
with existing data that the
best choice is the law proposed in reference 7. This
relation has been modified to take into account the
wave velocity with respect to the liquid C$:

r=-~
~fPG(u

function of the
Reynolds number

are

In order to close the model, the knowledge

of the
distribution
of gas between the long bubbles and the
liquid
slugs
is needed.
Usually,
this problem
is
overcome by using a closure law for the void fraction
in the liquid slugs. The accuracy of the model appears
to be very sensitive to this closure law. Aa none of the
existing
laws gives satisfactory
results
for slopes
ranging between O to 90, the correlation proposed in
reference 9 has been improved to take into account the
gas density in the bubble generation at the slug front
We consider the net gas flux at the slug front @G (see
figure 2)

Figure 1: Bubble velocity as a function of diameter

Separated

..................(12)

CO and CL
where the coefficients
inclination angle, the Bond number,
and Froude number defined as:

qime

2.2.2

(O<t3<l)

AP ~
+ C. (Re, Bo,Fr, 9) Kg

Distorted bubbles

Ellipsoidal

and the

V = CO(Re,Bo,Fr, $)UD

1/

perimeter

In intermittent
flow, we have a periodic structure of
dispersed and separated flows.
The solution of the model depends on an accurate
prediction
of the slug velocity. An expression
of the
law derived from the critical review of reference 8 is
used, it takes the following form:

is a

continuous
function
of the bubble diameter.
In the
viscctus stokes regime, the bubbles
are considered
spherical and the bubble velocity results from a balance
between buoyancy and viscosity. In the distorted bubble
regime, the bubble diameter
is larger, and surface
two
tension
effects
become
important.
Of these
regimes, the one corresponding
to the minimum bubble
velocity is considered
to prevail. Figure 1 illustrates
the relation between the bubble diameter and velocity.

Vb
T[Stokes
I
I

SPE 28545

where 01 is the gas flux from bubbles entrained into

the slug, and 02 is the gas flux from bubbles coalescing
with the leading
bubble.
@ 1 is assumed
to be
proportional
to the net flux of liquid ar the slug front,
02 is assumed proportional
to the gas fraction in the
liquid slug.
The
as:

resulting

form

of the

holdup

correlation

is given

Cl(vp- u~- Uf)

E = (v+uD)(l+cl)-uo~

-a-CJJHJ:-+..(11)

314

C. PAUCHON, H. DHULESIA, G. BINH CIRLOT, J. FABRE

SPE 28545

When 13= O, the hydrodynamic modei reduces

to the dispersed
fiow model, that is a siip
equation
in the iiquid siug. The transition
between
dispersed
and intermittent
fiow
occurs when the void fraction in the liquid
slug is equal to the void fraction
of pure
dispersed fiow.

where UD is the mixture velocity and Uf and U. are

characteristic
velocities
related to the fluid properties.
The effect of inertia is contained in the coefficient Cl
which is a function
of the density ratio of the two
fluids.

When 13= 1 the hydrodynamic modei reduces

the stratified
flow model,
that is , a
momentum baiance in the separated region. To
force the continuity
of the hydrodynamic
modei between
separated
and intermittent
fiows, we assume
that the prevailing
flow
regime is the one with the highest RG (or

to

smaliest
reiative
velocity
between
the
phases) .This condition ensures the continuity
between the two flow regimes.
Figure 3 shows typicai

Figure 2: Schematics of bubble flux at the

liq;id slug front.

by

TACITE,

vertical

2.3

Flow

regime

transitions

previously ranges
calculation.

from O to 1, and is a resuit

and calculated

maps as calculated
from

is observed

horizontal

to

between

the

fiow regimes.

Thermodynamic
treatment
The giobal composition
of the fiuid is assumed
constant along the pipe, so that the fluid properties are
given in tabuiar form as a function of pressure and
temperature.
The thermodynamic
state of the mixture
is taken into account through a non equilibrium
term
which
enters
as a source
term
in the
mass
conservation
equations:

m=K

pGRGUG
[ PGRGUG

+ PLRLUL

Equ.MassFrac ...( 14)

)

This mass transfer

term takes
into account
the
difference
between the gas mass fraction computed
from the hydrodynamic
calculation,
and the gas mass
fraction in thermodynamic
equilibrium
conditions.
This
term acts as a restoring
force. Note that in steady
state
conditions,
this term
vanishes,
thus
it is
compatible with the steady state calculation.
The coefficient
K is flow
regime
dependent,
it
characterizes the speed at which the system wiii reach
thermodynamical
equilibrium.

Consequently,
the
individual
hydrodynamic
models
shouid
have
identicai
solutions
at their
transition.
the basic
regime.
The

ranging

2.3

-l-I _- -- _-.-_,-.
*L-.
.L _ -- 1-..1-.-4
..-.: _l- l-Lwri-i[
mu
Galculdluu
Vdrldulus
Uu
I
I ne c0rr5watn
continuous
across the transitions,
impiies that the
hydrodynamic
models representing
the different
flow
regimes, though very different in form, shouid iead to
continuous soiutions across transition boundaries.

in practice
intermittent
fiow

flow regime

siopes

fiow. Good agreement

experimental

A standard approach to determine

flow regimes is to
apply a set of transition
criteria. if these criteria are
not iinked to the individual
modeis for the different
lead
to
they
wili
generaily
flow
regimes,
discontinuities
in the soiution. These discontinuities
are
not acceptable for severai reasons which are discussed
in reference 1.
The averaged equations
of motion are based on the
assumption that the iength scaie of the flow is smail
with respect to the iength of the control voiume over
which the equations are averaged. Simiiarly, the fiow
regime must be understood as an averaged property of
the flow structure in the controi volume. Thus, even if
iocally, the void fraction and siip veiocity may present
a discontinuous
behaviour,
these variables cannot be
discontinuous in an averaged sense.

for

3.

Numerical

approach

The numerical scheme used in TACiTE was proposed

originally
by Lerat
(reference
10),
it was first
implemented in TACiTE by Benzoni-Gavage
(reference
predictor
corrector
finite
11). it is a three point
voiume scheme. The time advancing scheme in TACITE

fiow
regime
is the
parameter
f3 defined
of the

315

is explicit,
is dictated

with a second order accuracy.

by the following requirements:

where

This choice

Good accuracy and front tracking capability.

Explicit schemes are easy to implement.
Explicit schemes give more flexibility for the
treatment of complex transient networks.

3.1

SPE 28545

TACIT13
A TRANSIENT TOOL FOR PIPELINE AND WELL SIMULATION

Time
advanaing
discretization

scheme,

where the indices a and fi are defined

spatiai

For p = 1/2, this scheme

direction,

The set of conservation equations

written in the following way:

~w+ $~=Q
i%

given in (1) can be

........ ........... ..........- ..... .....(l5)

............... ................ ............ .........(l6)

n+a

With the evolution

towards
ever faster
computer
processors, this limitation is bound to become less of a
constraint.

On the other hand, the choice of an explicit time

advancing
scheme
presents
substantial
advantages
compared to implicit or semi-implicit
methods:

t-l

t-1+ p

Figure 4 dhition
For transient simulation
of complex networks
it allows for the solution of individual network
components
sequentially
instead of requiring
their simultaneous
soiution.

set of partial
differential
equations
using a finite volume method as follows:

m+l

Wi

-W:

Al

+ 4:112-

4:1/%=

t+ p

t+ 1

of the discretization

To avoid
these
oscillations,
a hybrid
scheme
is
formulated,
combining
the Lax Friedriechs
first order
scheme with the second order Lerat scheme. The flux is
then evaluated as follows:

It has also the advantage

of a clear separation
between the hydrodynamic
calculation module
and the treatment of the numericai scheme.
This aliows an independent
evoiution of the
physical modei and tie numericai scheme.

The
discretized

when

n+l

km

is minimized

This flux preserving

method has good conservative
properties, and it is second order accurate.
iiowever, as most second order schemes, it tends to be
dispersive.
In particular
when
steep
fronts
are
encountered, the numerical scheme generates ripples in
the neighborhood of the propagating shock.

Explicit schemes are stable provided that the Courant

Friedriech
Levy criterion is satisfied.
in practice this
condition
imposes
a limitation
on the time step At
depending on the speed of the fastest wave propagating
in the system Cmax:

dissipation

in figure 4,
of the flow

a=l+@J2.

The time advancing scheme is explicit, so that the state

of the system at iime n+f k caicuiahsd on the basis of
the flux term F and source terms Q evaluated at time n.

Ax
Ats
.

and numerical

is independent

hi+l,z= 8h::~,2+ (1- Oh:://z

with OS@Sl

O= O outside the shock

8 = 1 for strong discontinuities

is

h(1)

is the flux estimation

with the first order scheme,

h(2)
is the flux estimation
with the second order
scheme. The performance
of the hybrid scheme is
demonstrated
in figure 5. This figure shows how the
first order scheme smears the shock, the second order
scheme captures the shock with some oscillation, while

~;

&i

316

~pE ~m5

c. PAUGKX4,H. ML!!?!A, G. Em. mm,J: Flmm

the hybrid scheme captures

the shock without any
numerical dispersion.
This front tracking capability
is very irmpotian! when
SMId velocity
of large liquid Shqs
~$!~~ati~g thn
...- siza
----

4lilm

Treetment

of

boundery

Ibackwmd

reaching the pipeline outfet.

3.2

enthalpy
void fraction

pesswe wsve
conditions

[1

The hyperboli$
nature of the problem makes it very
important
to treat
precisely
the
transport
of
information
through
the pipe, and in particular
the
information going in and out of the system. Four types
of waves are identified in the analytical model:

Ftow dice!don

F@rs 6 Ctraractfxistic waves of the system

Void waves traveling

downstream.
Pressure waves traveling
downstream.
Pressure waves traveling
upstream.
Enthalpy waves traveling with the mean flow.

3.3Treatment

The treatment
of boundary
conditions
takes into
account the information going out of the system through
a set of compatibility
relations, which must be solved
together with the imposed boundary conditions. Thus,
this system of equation depends on the direction of
-f
*ha
r!iffnrnnt
in normal
propagation
r
.!!- ,.,-.
-... way~ sp?a~s,
subsonic cocurrent flowing conditions,
the information
going out of the system is as shown in Figure 6. In
these conditions,
the solution of the following set of
eqQa!~OnS @WE@a r@MOUS treatment
conditions:
At

the
,

.
.

At

th;
.

Inlet :
Mass flowrate of gas
Mass flowrate of ~quid
Temperature
Compatibility
condition
traveling
upstream
Hydrodynamic
function
outlet
:
Pressure
Compatibility condition
propagation
Compatibility condition
traveling
downstream
Compatibility
condition
waves
Hydrodynamic
function

Of the boundary

for pressure

chsnges

in

slope

or

diameter

In the case of a diameter change or a change in

slope,
the
response
of the
physical
model
is
discontinuous.
Jump conditions must then be resoiveci
together
with
the hydrodynamic
model
and the
compatibility
relations
associated
to
outgoing
characteristics
on either side of the discontinuity.
In
this case as in the treatment of boundary conditions,
!h~ r~s~l~tian
of the singular
point must take into
account the number of characteristics
pointing towards
the singular point on either side of the discontinuity.
In
particular, in severe slugging, the backflow in the riser
after
the
liquid
carry-over
period
leads
to a
characteristic
changing
sign at the singular point. In
this case, we must assume that the phase velocities ~i
the singular point are zero.
Figure 7 illustrates the behavior of the model in the
neighborhood
of the singular points. On this particular
case, the pipe is divided in 5 segments of constant
slops. Figure 7 shows a strong discontinuity
at each
junction in the initial state, moreover a void fraction
wave is generated at each junction when it is reached
by the first pressure perturbation.
This void fraction
wave travels along the individual
segments
until it
reaches the next junction
and perturbs the f~llowing
segment.

waves

for enthalpy
for pressure

of

waves

for void fraction

3.4

Numeriesl

implementation

3.4.1

First
estimation
of
initial
condition
A first estimate of the initial state of the system
is obtained by assuming a constant total flowrate along
the pipe. The pressure is known at the outlet of the
pipe, thus the gas and liquid superficial velocities are
known, and the holdup and pressure drop along the line
can be determined
starting from the outlet computing
mesh by mesh towards the inlet of the pipe. This first
estimate of the inlet pressure is used together with the
known inlet temperature
and flowrate to compute the

317

pressure profile from the inlet to the outlet. Sucessive

estimates of the pipe pressure profile can then be made
until an outlet pressure
is reached,
which is close
enough to the prescribed outlet pressure value.
3.3.2

True
estimation
ot the
Initial
condition
Once a first estimate of the initial condition has
been obtained,
the numerical scheme is used to
calculate
the, actual
initial
condition
with constant
boundary conditions. This additional step helps take into
account
the
momentum
flux
terms
which
were
neglected
in the first estimation.
At this step the
approach is not essentially different from a calculation
with transient boundary conditions.

w(u)+:F(U)=Q(U)

together

with the algebraic

Hydro(u) =

.....................(I4)
constraint:

o... .... .......... ...... .... ...... ..........(15)

U = (RG,

UG, UL,P, T)

is the set of dependent

variables. At each time step, W is computed by the

time advancing scheme, and the dependent
variables
are calculated with the help of the hydrodynamic model
(Eq. 16).
A first iteration gives the holdup and pressure from the
consewation
of mass of each phase, and then the
conservation
together
momentum
with
the
hydrodynamical
rnodei gives ine source terms in the
momentum
equation.
With the energy equation,
the
iteration can no longer be divided in two steps, since
the fluid properties are functions of both the pressure
and temperature. One option is to solve simultaneously
for the 5 dependent
variables.
A more convenient
approach can be to decouple the energy equation from
the other consecration equations.
For a given time step, once the interior points are
computed, the mesh points next to the boundary points
need to be evaluated
using a substitute of the three
point discretization.
Finally the boundary conditions are
is
computed,
ensuring
that the following
condition
satisfied at all times:
1
P:::\=-l::::f/+[

(variables

::$

[conditions

4.
4.1

Validation
Stead y

stete

Cooperation between IFP, TOTAL and ELF in the field of

two-phase flow began in 1974 with the construction of
the semi-industrial
Bouseens test loop. Data from this
loop were used for the development of the steady state
simulation
models PEPITE (for horizontal
and slightly
inclined pipes) and WELLSITE (for vertical wells).

3.3.3
Tranalent
calculation
The solution of a hyperbolic set of partial differential
equations of the form given in (1) is required:

Thus the treatment of boundary conditions is dependent

on the evaluation
of the local characteristics
of the
model. In particular, in cases of counter current flow
or pure backflow, the void wave characteristic changes
sign and the treatment of the boundary conditions has
to be adapted, based on physical considerations.

(charactensticsj

318

The hydrodynamic
module of TACITE has been tested
extensively on the Boussens data, which cover a wide
range of inclinations
(-30, -.5, 0, 10, 40, 150, 45,
75 and 90) with 3 and 6 piping. Diesel oil and
condensate have been used alternatively
together with
natural gas as working fluids. The fluid properties were
measured in the laboratory.
Pressures up to 50 bars
were investigated over a wide range of flowrates. The
horizontal and slightly inclined data bank contains about
1750 points of which 900 are in stratified flow, 600 in
slug flow, and 250 in dispersed fioii. The data bank on
vertical and highly inclined flow consists of about 700
measurement points (260 for bubbly flow, 400 for slug
flow and 40 for annular flow). More details on this loop
are given in reference 12.

4.2

Transient

Transient
data from the Tulsa University
Fluid Flow
Projects (TUFFP) were used to make preliminary tests
of TACITE. The flow loop is horizontal, 420 m long with
a diameter of 77.9 mm. A schematics of the flow loop
is given in figure 8. Air and Kerosene
of known
flowrates are sent to a mixing tee. The loop comprises
four measuring
section which enable visualization
of
the flow.Each measuring
section is instrumented
with
an absolute and a deferential pressure transducer, and
two capacitance sensors to measure the void fraction.
The data are sent to a 12 bit ND converter and an
expansion board with a total number of 64 channels. 23
signals
are fed into this system with a sampling
frequency of 10 to 50 Hz per channel. 23 experimental
runs were conducted
on this rig. 4 Experiments
presenting
sharp
discontinuities
in the measured
variables
were
selected
in order
to assess
the
capability
of the
code
to follow
wave
fronts
propagating in the pipe.

C. PAUCHON, H. DHULESIA.

SPE 28545

G. BINHCIRLGT,J. F-w
ability to
~~m~rica!

Case 1:
Start with single phase gas flow; QG =.088 Sm3/sec.
At t = 76 S6C;
+hIi-, iid {Inw
rata ,is W! ~? Q~ = ,00066 m3/sec.
LIIU tlql
,. . ,---

several

At t = 460 see;
the liquid flow rate is stopped. The prediction of the
model is compared with the experimental data on figure
9.

Im

follow front propagations

without
diffdsion
is demonstrated
on

test cases.

..-1:4-,:-

VUIIUGWA

..6 *h_
w
LIIU

.na~nl
II IWU=I -1,

tr9nei
.I-. l-oe, nt
i. Aats
-q.q

shows that TACITE

recovers
the dynamic
features
of the transient
and gives good
predictions
of wave
front
propagation
velocity
Moreover
the final values of local
holdup and pressure are reproduced with good
accuracy.

Case 2:
Start with a single phase gas flowQG

-L-

= .065 Sm3/sec.

At t = 280 see;

6.

Nomenclature

the liquid flow rate is set at QL = .0018 m3/eec .

The prediction of the model is compared
experimental data in figure 10.

with the

Case 3:
Start with liquid filled pipe.
Between t = 80 to t = 110 see;
the gas flow rate is increased to QG = .0366 kg/see ,
the liquid flow rate is increased to $2L.= 0.207 kg/see.
The prediction
of the model is compared
experimental data in figure 11.

with

the

bubble diameter
mixture pressure
mixture temperature

Hk,Hkc

enthalpy of phase k in

Rint

configuration
c
thermal resistance

Rk, Rkc

proportion

%
m
Tw
QW

of phase k, and of

Conclusions

This paper has given an overview of the TACITE code

stressing its originalities
which can be summarized as
follows:
The physical model integrates
a number of
existing
closure
laws into a unified model
working for all slopes and flow regimes. Some
of these closure laws have been improved and
a
large
using
evaluated
number
of
experimental
data.
The approach
to flow
regime characterization
is based on a single
configuration
parameter
fl which leads to a
continuous solution across the transitions.
The numerical scheme, explicit in time, gives
second order accuracy in time and space. Its

319

supetilcial

velocity

of. phase

k,

and of phase k in configuration

mixture velocity

mass transfer
friction

between

phases

at wall

Vp

heat flux at wall

gravitational
acceleration
numerical
flux
gas slug velocity

conservative

P
&
0

configuration
density
rate of energy dissipation
inclination of flowline to the
horizontal
net gas flux in the slug region

9
h

These four cases show that TACITE is able to predict

with a reasonable
accuracy,
the void wave front
propagation
velocity,
together
with the final steady
state value of the pressure and void fraction.

*
P
T

Uk,Ukc

the liquid flow rate is increased to QL = 3.022 kg/see.

The prediction
of the model is compared
with the
experimental data in figure 12.

cross-section area of the pipe

diameter
hydraulic diameter of phase k

ph$ise k in configuration

Case 4:
Start with liquid filled pipe.
Between t = 80 to t = 110 see;
the gas flow rate is increased to QG = .0267 kg/see ,

A
D
Dhk

*
01
q
Pk#kc
0
k
v
Subscripts:

variable

gas flux from bubbles

entering

the slug region

gas flux from bubbles coalescing
with the leading bubble
density of phase k, and of phase
k in configuration c
surface tension
conductivity
viscosity

coefficient

10

TACITIl
A TRANSIENT TOOL FOR PIPELINE AND WELL SIMULATION
G
L

Gas phase
Liquida phase

10. Lerat, A., Sur la calcul des solutions faibles des

syst~mes hyperboliques de Iois de conservation ~ Iaide
de schdmas aux differences , Thbse. 0NE13A, France,
1981.

Dispersed region of the slug unit

Separated region of the slug unit

11. Benzoni-Gavage, S., Analyse des mod61es

hydrodynamiques
d%coulements diphasiques
instationnaires clans Ies r6seaux de production
p6troli&re, Th&e. Lyon 1, France, 1991;

Superscripts:
D

s
7. Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Tulsa University Fluid

Flow Projects
(TUFFP)
for allowing
publication
of
comparisons of TACITE with their experimental data.
n
.

Rnfnranen*
. ,....

1. Pauchon, C., Dhulesia, H., Lopez, D., Fabre, J., ,

TACITE: A comprehensive
mechanistic model for twophase flow, BHRG Conference on multiphase production,
Cannes, june 16.19, 1993
2. Fabre, J., Lin6, A., P6resson L., Two fluid/two flow
pattern model for transient gas liquid flow in pipes, Int.
Conference on Multi-Phase Flow, Nice, France, pp 269,
284, Cranfield, BHRA, 1969
3. Caussade, B., Fabre,
B., Unsteady phenomena
-..,
I..* vurl
6.. - f UIUII*U
A.---A urI
AIluw,
l!!!.
France,

Cranfield,

SPE 28545

J., Jean, C., Ozon, P., Th6ron,

in horizontal gas-iiquid slug
L ,,1*JDhaas IC[a..,
.
I4 ulu-rllae
iv,
F!KX,
BHRA,, 1989

4. Bouvier,V., Ferachneider, G, Fabre, J., Gilquin, H.,

A oractical
hyprbol!~
pr~!em:
the uns!eady gas-!iq~id
~. ------flow in pipe, 4th Int. Conf. on Hyperbolic Problems}
Taormina , Italy, April 3-8, 1992.
5. Hinze, J. O., Fundamentals of the hydrodynamic
mechanism of splitting in dispersion processes. Al~hE
J., Vol 1, Pp 289-295, 1955.
6. Colin, C., Ecoulements diphasiques A bulles et A
poches en micropeaanteur,
hvstitut National
Pcdytechnique, Toulouse, 1990.
7. Andristos, N., Hanratty, T. J., Influence of
interracial waves in stratified gas-liquid flows,
J., vol. 33, pp 444-454, 1987.

AIChE

8. Fabre,J., Lin6, A., Modelling of two-phase slug flow,

Annu. Rev. Fiuicf M@3h., Voi 24, pp 21-46, 19%?.
9. Andreussi, P., Bendiksen, K., An Investigation of
void fraction in liquid slugs for horizontal and inclined
gas-liquid flow, Int. J. Multiphase Flow, Vol. 15, 2 pp
937-948,
1989.

320

12. Corteville, J., Grouvel, J. M., Roux, A., & Lagi6re,

M., Exp&imentation
des dcoulements diphasiques en
conduites pdtrolidres: boucle dessais de Boussens,
Rev. Inst. Fran$ais du P6trole, Vol 36, pp 143-151,
1983.

Onr

m-n

LOJW

-V.bcd.
C.l$llc,
fin,
.

10.0

Io.of

0.01

)
.lobm

0. I

.0

:Y ..*
fzz
,...
---

low

11

G. BJNH CIRLOT, J. FABI@

c
ICHCN ., --H. DHULESIA,
-. .PA1
-------

mOc.4c

0.0
I .0

k.

..

mu

A- /..-/

y.

0.5

0.1-/

/7 //l///*/(=.

0. I

0.05

I.0
M

}. I
0.05

().01

0.005

0.005

0.005

1
1
O.on

!-)Ihll

ooo-~

(Iml.

W.13*S

(), I
0.05

0.05
:

REGIMEs

.si. lotw,

. ..
1 . ..
I
.

1
0.1

0.05

.0.01

0.01

0.01

:Slug

::

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,im

! 0.001

0.001
0.0!

I
I lb

I
i) I

ill)!

Illil

1(10

I .0

01

.O.(X-)5

O.(X)5

0.C05

I
100

+0.001
Illno

Figure 3: Flow regime prediction in terme of the gas slug faction p for different
slopes and pressures. The symbols refer to the experimental data. 13= 1 for
stratified

flow,

p = O for dispersed
0.7S
0.7

flow, O < p < 1 for intermittent

1

flow.

Lax F. scheme (1st order) _ _

......
Hybride scheme
Lerat scheme (2nd order) _

0.65 0.6 (jr).;

LJ~n

O.-i0.35 I

0.3
0

1000 2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000 S000 t

Figure 5:FIow rate increase at the inlet of a 10 km line. Comparison between the Hybrid scheme, the
Lerat scheme (second order) and the Lax Freidriech scheme (first order). The hybrid scheme
preserves the steepness of the shock without the oscillations of the second order scheme.Ax = 20 m.
The comparison is made at x = 10 km

321

TACITE:
A TRANSIENT TOOL FOR PIPELINE AND WELL SIMULATION

12

ole~

SPE28545

L&.-

O.ffi:

LTlo

110

Tlo

2-10

I
410

Slo

Length

Clo

710

1
8-10

1
970

(m)

Figure 7: The flow rate increase at the inlet generates a pressure

pulse which propagates along the pipe. As this pressure pulse meets a
change of slope, it generates a void fraction wave which propagates
along each segment of the pipe.

* id
,,,

41Ei!3Yl
..*

Figure 8 : Schematics
by K. Minami , 1991)

-Ui-s!.!m

of the TUFFP two-phase

322

facility (TUFFP report

*104
0.3

0.2s

---

--

(Pa)
26-

----

.
72

25-

---

_-.~-. __, ___ .. . . ... ..

240,
a

~-

II

30.15

;,,

--l

,~

,,
:-

0.1

~
I 1

0.0s

t
,--

-w
--

i
--

I
1
0, II

/ * 1,1

1,

h
4CQ

21.

.
\

_. ..-

- --\

20
-

I
?

7*
.:

11-

19
~

12U0

1000

400

Time (s)

Time (s)
(Kg/s)
o.12-

0,1- +0
Z
h

measurement
simulation

o.oe-

J
: 0.06:
~ 0.04
--

..-.
0.02
--

260

4ca

603

Time (s)

1,

rn

i4cu

-m-x.

-x=
x.

- - __
I

O.m
Mm
020E+03m

x-

023E+03 m

x-

0.40E+LU m

x-

0.42E*U3 m

m+-i-$-~.
0

400

Tlma (s)

l-l

TACI111
A TRANSIENT TOOL FOR PIPELINE AND WELL SIMULATION

Tulsa Minami simulation RUN

18

Horizontal pipe: 420.3 m. 0.0762 m

Pressure: 1.95 bar
Gas: 0.754 kg/s / Liquid: 0, I@ to 1.43 Icg/s at t.280s

sJnsseJd

l!:
0

Figure 10: Step increase

phase gas flow.

in liquid flow rate from a pipe with single

C. PAUCHON, H. DHULESIA, G. BINH CIRLOT, J. FABRE

SPE 28545

SUPERflCIAL VELOCITIES
10

,-pA.&A-,-.-+*+A+*+A

%m+fiwd-e

1200

omaoemml~

1400

Isa

woo

TIME (sac)

PRESSURE
3.s

N
I (,+
2
w
%,

[:piiq
G--1---1

F3

: 25 ~~
m
#
2. j
n

mea-p-asp

2.s g
m
%
2=
&

~,
!
~t

tao-p.stl

tac-p-ssp

1.5

1.5 i

Ozomemm

low

130)

14C0

lSCO

lm

TIME (aec)

LIQUID HOLDUP
1+

-1

o.8&

. . .

=
0.8 ~
s

- - - - - m~h~stq

G 0.4.

0.4 e

tsc-hl-stl

3
~ 0.2.

~
0.2 ~

tsc-hl-st4

0.0

~ ,;
,. .-~
%,.-=,

w.-

.,
-~

- - mea-hl-stl

07
02c04c060)soJlm

la

1400 1s00

1s00

TIME (SSO)
measurement
simulation

- - _

Figure 11: Increase in gas and liquid flow rate from a still liquid
filled pipe. stl = 61 m, st4 = 400 m.

15

SPE 28545

TACITJ2
A TRANSIENT TOOL FOR PLPELINEAND WELL SIMULATION

SUPERFICIAL VELOCITIES
-3

32.5<
~

G2
1:
1.5
d.
9

~;

1.

:
0+
0

mss-vsi-in

--

2~

tsc-vsl-in

2
1.5 g

tsc-vsl-out

1 >

-----

mss-vsg-in

tswsg-in

0.5

0.5.

- -

2.5

7oo~=

lcom3coa=~

TIME (ssc)

PRESSURE
4.5

4.5
1

IF4

3s g

3.5

w
53

--mss-p-stl

-----

msa-p-ssp

Sg
,,

% 2,5
UJ
K
LX2

tec-pstl

tac-pesp

2.5 ;

,,
/,

*&
~>,

,,

}
1.5

1.5
0

la)2003004m5m~

7oo~933

TIME (sac)

LIQUID HOLDUP
1.

&
=
n
g

0.8.

G!

0.4.

3
0
i

0.2.

],
0.6.

0+
o

lco2003m4w200sco

7o0300~

TiME ($SC)

Figure 12: Increase in gas and liquid fiow rate from a still liquid
filled pipe. stl = 60 m, st4 = 400 m.