Experimental Studies on the Frictional Pressure Drop of Oil-Water-Air Three- phase Flow in Vertical Downward Pipe

Effects of superficial gas/liquid velocities and water volume fraction on the frictional pressure drop of three-phase flow in vertical downward pipe (40 mm i. d.) are experimentally investigated. According to the effect of superficial gas velocity, the change of frictional pressure drop of three-phase flow can be divided into several different regions, which are primarily attributed to the change of flow patterns. When water volume fraction increases from 18% to 50%, the frictional pressure drop gradient decreases. When above 50% water volume fraction, the frictional pressure drop gradient increases with the increase of water volume fraction.