FLOW-RATE MEASUREMENT IN TWO-PHASE FLOW

Online, continuous, two-phase flow measurement is often necessary, particularly in the oil and gas industry. In this article, we describe some of the commercially most important techniques for gas-liquid, gas-solid, liquid-solid, and liquid-liquid flows, and provide associated illustrative sketches and regime maps. These techniques involve Venturi pressure drop, Coriolis, electromagnetic, and cross-correlation flow meters, gamma-ray absorption and gradio-manometer densitometers, and local electrical and fiber-optic sensors, for which we describe the principles of operation and interpretation. References are given to more comprehensive texts and papers; these are representative rather than exhaustive. It is emphasized that empirical calibration is the norm and that detailed fluid-mechanical analysis has so far played little part in instrument design and operation.