A Semi-Empirical Model for Predicting the Onset of Drop Formation in Stratified Horizontal Oil-Water Flow

In this study, a semi-empirical modeling approach for predicting the onset of drop formation in stratified horizontal oil-water flow is presented. The model is suggested based on a correlation for the critical wave amplitude for drop detachment proposed by Al-Wahaibi et al. (2007) and an experimentally derived formula of the maximum wave amplitude at different phase flow rates in stratified flows that uses previous data with different viscosity oils. The proposed model was found to satisfactorily predict published experimental data when relatively low viscosity oils were used (less than or equal to 12 mPa.s cp) but was found to over-predict the velocities necessary for drop formation for higher viscosity oils (greater than 28 mPa.s).