The Multiphase Flow Facility

 

Southwest Research Institute has a long track record of providing multiphase flow research and testing services to the oil and gas industry. SwRI offers unique facilities and capabilities to help oil and gas companies advance the technology required for topside and subsea applications - including the Multiphase Flow Facility.

 

The main components of the flow loop are a twin-screw multiphase pump  with variable speed drive, a gas/liquid separator, various meters and control valves, and a test section.  Although the flow loop can be configured in various ways to accommodate different types of testing, the general operation of the loop consists of the multiphase flow stream from the pump discharging into the separator where the flow is divided into gas and liquid streams that can be separately metered and routed to the test section.  The flow loop also has gas and liquid bypass lines around the pump that are used for capacity control and to maintain the minimum 5% liquid flow volume required by the pump.  A heat exchanger on the liquid bypass is used for control of the loop temperature.

 

The reference gas flow rate is measured using a 6-inch, Sch. 160 orifice meter with the bore orifice plate size appropriate to cover the full range of gas flow rates required for the testing. Typical uncertainty for an orifice flow meter with dry gas is 0.5% to 1%.

 

The reference liquid flow rate and liquid density are measured with a Coriolis meter manufactured by Micro Motion.