Frictional Pressure Drop for Gas–Liquid Two-Phase Flow in Coiled Tubing

Abstract

Coiled tubing (CT) is widely used in drilling, workover, completion, fracturing and stimulation in the field of oil and gas exploration and development. During CT operation, the tubing will present a gas–liquid two-phase flow state. The prediction of frictional pressure drop for fluid in the tube is an important part of hydraulic design, and its accuracy directly affects the success of the CT technique. In this study, we analyzed the effects of the gas void fraction, curvature ratio and fluid inlet velocity on frictional pressure drop in CT, numerically. Experimental data verified simulated results. Flow friction sensitivity analysis shows the frictional pressure drop reaches its peak at a gas void fraction of 0.8. The frictional pressure gradient increases with the increase in curvature ratio. As the strength of secondary flow increases with the increase in inlet velocity, the increased trend of gas–liquid two-phase flow friction is aggravated. The correlation of friction factor for gas–liquid two-phase flow in coiled tubing is developed by regression analysis of simulation results. The research results can support high quality CT hydraulics design, through which the success of CT operations can be guaranteed.