TY - JOUR
T1 - Lubricated pipelining
T2 - Stability of core-annular flow
AU - Preziosi, Luigi
AU - Chen, Kangping
AU - Joseph, Daniel D.
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2016 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 1989/4
Y1 - 1989/4
N2 - The stability of core-annular flow (CAF) in pipes is analysed using the linear theory of stability. Attention is confined to the potentially stable case of lubricated pipelining with the less viscous liquid, say water, in the annulus. The effects of surface tension and density are included, but gravity is excluded. We find upper and lower branches of the neutral curve in a Reynolds number (IR) Vs wavenumber (a) plane. A window of parameters is identified in which CAF is stable to small disturbances. When R is below the lower critical value, CAF is destabilized by surface tension and long waves break up into slugs and bubbles. The sizes of slugs and bubbles of oil in water observed by Charles, Govier & Hodgson (1961) are given by the wavelength of the fastest growing long wave. This long-wave instability is a capillary instability, modified by shear, which reduces to Rayleigh's instability in the appropriate limit. At higher R, the capillary instability is stabilized by shear. At yet higher R, above the upper critical value, the flow is unstable to generally shorter waves which leads to emulsification, water droplets in oil. The theory agrees with experiments. The analysis seems to be applicable to the design of lubricated pipelines; for example, there is an optimum viscosity ratio for stability, greater stability can be obtained by using heavy liquid as a lubricant when the flow is unstable to capillary modes on the lower branch and by using light liquids when the flow is unstable to emulsifying disturbances on the upper branch.
AB - The stability of core-annular flow (CAF) in pipes is analysed using the linear theory of stability. Attention is confined to the potentially stable case of lubricated pipelining with the less viscous liquid, say water, in the annulus. The effects of surface tension and density are included, but gravity is excluded. We find upper and lower branches of the neutral curve in a Reynolds number (IR) Vs wavenumber (a) plane. A window of parameters is identified in which CAF is stable to small disturbances. When R is below the lower critical value, CAF is destabilized by surface tension and long waves break up into slugs and bubbles. The sizes of slugs and bubbles of oil in water observed by Charles, Govier & Hodgson (1961) are given by the wavelength of the fastest growing long wave. This long-wave instability is a capillary instability, modified by shear, which reduces to Rayleigh's instability in the appropriate limit. At higher R, the capillary instability is stabilized by shear. At yet higher R, above the upper critical value, the flow is unstable to generally shorter waves which leads to emulsification, water droplets in oil. The theory agrees with experiments. The analysis seems to be applicable to the design of lubricated pipelines; for example, there is an optimum viscosity ratio for stability, greater stability can be obtained by using heavy liquid as a lubricant when the flow is unstable to capillary modes on the lower branch and by using light liquids when the flow is unstable to emulsifying disturbances on the upper branch.
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U2 - 10.1017/S0022112089000960
DO - 10.1017/S0022112089000960
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0024645954
SN - 0022-1120
VL - 201
SP - 323
EP - 356
JO - journal of fluid mechanics
JF - journal of fluid mechanics
ER -