Geothermal Two-Phase Pressure Loss in a Bend

Abstract

When a two-phase fluid flows through a bend, its flow pattern is disturbed. The Chisholmís (1980) pressure drop correlation for bends was tested using geothermal two-phase flow data. Chisholmís (1980) correlation under-predicts the measured pressure drops by 50%. Other correlations: Chisholm C-type (1967), Sookprasong (1980), Kuhn & Morris (1997) and Paliwoda (1992) all use a twophase multiplier method. A new correlation is proposed using frictional and momentum components for the total pressure drop through a long radius (LR) elbow. The new correlation predicts the measured data to within 5%.