This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is an investigation of two-phase (slackline) flow in pipelines. The objective is to develop a simple, robust, numerical model of slack-line flow which can be incorporated into real-time transient simulations of pipeline flow used for leak detection, batch tracking, and inventory management. An approximate theoretical model of slack-line flow will be developed which makes use of known (or suspected) features of slack-line flow which makes it simpler than the general two-phase flow problem. The assumptions of the model regarding the two-phase topology will be checked by a laboratory experiment with small, clear pipes in which slack-line flow can be created and controlled. The model will be programmed for numerical integration in conjunction with a single-phase model for the rest of the pipeline. The numerical results will be checked against a rigorous transient two-phase flow model which has already been developed. Experiments will be conducted with an operating pipeline on which slack-line flow can be created by the operators, with the objective of testing the accuracy of the slack-line flow model in calculating bubble growth and shrinkage rates. It is anticipated that the model will be correct, or correctable by minor adjustments of parameters.
