Beggs and Brill (1973) correlation, is one of the few

correlations capable of handling all flow directions

encountered in oil and gas operations, namely uphill,
downhill, horizontal, inclined and vertical flow for two
phase fluid.
Total pressure gradient is described by following relation.
dP/dZ = [(dP/dZ)Fric. +(dP/dZ)Ele.]/(1-Ek)

where, (dP/dZ)Fric. is pressure gradient due to friction,

(dP/dZ)Ele. is hydrostatic pressure difference and Ek
estimates pressure loss due to acceleration.
Featured Resources :
For 86 years, World Oil has been the industry leader in
delivering clear, concise, technical how-to editorial to its
monthly worldwide audience of 36,000 decision makers.
World Oil is the leading oil and gas trade journal for the
exploration, drilling and production sector which provides
technical and operating information as well as research
and statistics.

Flow Pattern Map

A flow regime is identified based on the Froude number of
the mixture (Frm) and input liquid content (no slip liquid
holdup CL).
Frm = vm/ g.D

where, vm is mixture velocity, D is pipe inside diameter and

g is gravitational constant.
CL = QL/ (QL + QG)

where, QL is liquid volumetric flow and QG is gas

volumetric flow.
The transition lines for correlation are defined as follows:
L1 = 316 CL0.302
L2 = 0.0009252 CL-2.4684
L3 = 0.1 CL-1.4516
L4 = 0.5 CL-6.738

Segregated Flow
CL < 0.01 and Frm < L1
OR CL >= 0.01 and Frm < L2

Intermittent Flow
0.01 <= CL < 0.4 and L3 < Frm <= L1
OR CL >= 0.4 and L3 < Frm <= L4

Distributed Flow
CL < 0.4 and Frm >= L4
OR CL >= 0.4 and Frm > L4

Transition Flow
L2 < Frm < L3

Featured Resources :
Offshore provides a rich editorial blend of international
news and technology for marine/offshore operations
around the world. Topics covered include seismic services,
exploration, drilling, production, processing, pipelining,
operating problems and design solutions.
Liquid Holdup, EL()
Once flow type has been determined, liquid holdup for
horizontal flow EL(0) is calculated.
EL(0) = a CLb / Frmc

Flow Regime
Segregated
Intermittent
Distributed

a
0.98
0.845
1.065

b
0.4846
0.5351
0.5824

c
0.0868
0.0173
0.0609

EL(0) must be greater than CL, if EL(0) is smaller than CL,

then EL(0) is assigned a value of CL. Actual liquid volume
fraction is obtained by multiplying EL(0) by a correction
factor, B().

EL() = B() x EL(0)

B() is obtained as
B() = 1 + (sin(1.8) - (1/3)sin(1.8))

where is the angle of inclination of pipe with horizontal.

Correction factor is calculated as following
= (1 - CL)ln( d.CLe.NLVf.Frmg )

Uphill
Segregated
Intermittent
Distributed
Downhill
All

d
0.011
2.96
d
4.7

e
-3.768
0.305
e
-0.3692

f
3.539
-0.4473
=0
f
0.1244

g
-1.614
0.0978
g
-0.5056

Liquid velocity number, NLV is given by:

NLV = 1.938 Vsl(L/ (g.))1/4

Vsl is no slip liquid velocity, L is liquid density, g is

gravitational constant and is surface tension.

Featured Resources :
Maintenance and troubleshooting tips, technical primers
and case studies make Upstream Pumping Solutions an
indispensible guide for approaching pumping problems
onshore and offshore. An expert editorial advisory board
featuring prominent upstream professionals offers input on
topics including mud pumps, pressure pumping, frac
pumping, artificial lift, multiphase pumping and related
technologies.
For transition flow,
EL()transition = AEL()segregated + BEL()intermittent

where A and B are as following

A = ( L3 - Frm)/(L3 - L2)
B = 1- A

Liquid holdup, EL() is used to calculate mixture density

m.
m = L.EL() + G.(1-EL())

(dP/dZ)Elevation
Pressure change due to the hydrostatic head of the
vertical component of the pipe is given by:
(dP/dZ)Ele. = m.g.sin()/(144.gc)

(dP/dZ)Friction
Calculate no slip Reynolds number using no slip mixture
density and viscosity.
ReNS = NS.Vm.D/NS

No slip friction factor, fNS is then calculated using

Colebrook-White equation.
Ratio of friction factor is defined as
fTP/ fNS = eS

Value of S is governed by following conditions

S = ln(2.2y - 1.2)

if 1 < y < 1.2, otherwise

S = ln(y)/(-0.0523 + 3.182.ln(y) - 0.8725.(ln(y)) 2 + 0.01853.(ln(y))4 )

where y is defined as
y = CL / EL()

Pressure loss due to friction is:

(dP/dZ)Fric. = 2.fTP.Vm.NS /(144.gc.D)

Pressure loss due to acceleration, factor Ek is given by:

Ek = m.Vm.Vsg/(gc.P)

where, Vsg is no slip gas velocity and P is gas pressure.

Spreadsheet for Beggs & Brill Method
References
1. Pressure Loss Calculations at Fekete.com
2. Standard Handbook of Petroleum & Natural Gas
Engineering, William C Lyons, Volume 2