Flow Assurance & Operability

Pressure drop in flow lines

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Pressure drop
For a new field start the natural gas or oil in a reservoir
flows to the surface driven by the reservoir pressure.
Over time the reservoir will be depleted and the
pressure in the reservoir reduces.
When the pressure difference between reservoir and
receiving facilities gets to small to overcome the
hydraulic resistance in the system, the wells will
eventually stop producing and the flow in the line will
stop.
Pressure drop is a main parameter to determine both
early in the feasibility phase as well as over the years of
production.

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Pressure drop
The pressure drop is influenced by many different
parameters in multiphase flow.
In order to simplify we will consider single phase flow in
a pipe

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Pressure drop inclined pipe

Vertical
elevation
1
Flow

CV

mg sin(
)
D

mg

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Pressure drop inclined pipe

We will consider conservation of momentum, commonly
known as Newtons 2nd law, for the control volume in the
previous slide
=

Here
Parameter

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Explanation

Mass in control volume

Acceleration of the fluid particle defined by

the control volume.

Sum of all forces acting on the control

volume.

Pressure drop inclined pipe

=

The rate of momentum change on the left hand side of

the above equation for the control volume may be
defined as
=

Here
Parameter

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Explanation
Average (constant) density of fluid in control
volume.

Length of control volume.

Average (constant) cross-sectional area of the

control volume

Average velocity in control volume.

Average volume flow rate in control volume.

Pressure drop inclined pipe

=

Next consider the right hand side forces acting on the

control volume:
Normal acting pressure forces
Shear stress frictional force
Gravitational force
= 1 2 + sin

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Pressure drop inclined pipe

= 1 2 + sin

Here
Parameter

1
= 2
4
1

Pressure at location 1

Pressure at location 2

Mass in control volume

Average (constant) density of fluid in control volume.

Length of control volume.

Average (constant) cross-sectional area of the control volume

Gravitational acceleration.

Diameter of control volume (assumed constant)

Angle of inclination for the pipe

sin =

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Explanation
Cross-sectional area (assumed constant) in control volume.

Sin-function of angle of inclination.

Elevation change along pipe section defined by the control volume.

Wall shear stress

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Pressure drop inclined pipe

The wall shear stress may be expressed introducing
Darcy Weisbach friction factor
=

1
2
8

The frictional force term may be expressed as:

1
1
1 2
1 2
= = 2 = 2
=

8
4
2
2

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Pressure drop inclined pipe

Recap:

Newtonss 2nd law on control volume

=

The rate of momentum change

=

The sum of forces acting on the control volume

= 1 2 +

1 2

2

Combining these equations will give us the momentum equation

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Pressure drop inclined pipe

The momentum equation

1 2
=
1 2 +


2

For incompressible flow the density is taken to be

constant
1 2 +

1
2

Bernoulli's equation

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=0

Pressure drop inclined pipe

1 2 +

1
2

= constant

In order to calculate pressure drop between point (1)

and (2) we need to know

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Density of fluid:
Dimenstions of pipe: Length , inner diameter and
inclanation .
Darcy Weisbach friction factor

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Pressure drop Darcy Weisbach friction factor

The Darcy Weisbach friction factor may be expressed
as follows:
Laminar flow

< 2300

Turbulent flow
(Haaland)

2300

= 1.8 log10

64

3.7

1.11

6.9
+

Here:
Parameter

Explanation
Darcy Weisbach friction factor

Wall roughness

Internal pipe diameter

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Dimensional less Reynolds number

Fluid density

Fluid velocity

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Pressure drop Moody chart

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Pressure drop Moody chart

Transitional region
2000 < < 4000

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Pressure drop - recap

Pressure drop consist of a gravitational term and a
frictional term
= - +

1
2

Pressure drop multiphase flow

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Pressure drop contributing factors

Frictional pressure drop

For long flowlines the contribution from the friction between flow and
fluid is the most dominant parameter that causes pressure drop

Hydraulic resistance in pipe components

Gravity forces

The weight of the height column of multiphase will be important in

the vertical part of the well, long flowlines and risers

Fluid, amount of liquid

Length of flowline
Velocity
Temperature increase actual flow

For gas being highly compressible actual flow will increase with
higher temperature and resulting in a higher velocity, which again
impacts on the pressure drop.

Density

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The density in multiphase will be a function of the rates of the three

phases, the temperature and pressure.

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