An improved one-dimensional model for liquid slugs travelling in pipelines

An improved one-dimensional (1D) model—compared to previous work by the authors—is proposed, which is able to predict the acceleration and shortening of a single liquid slug propagating in a straight pipe with a downstream bend. The model includes holdup at the slug's tail and flow separation at the bend. The obtained analytical and numerical results are validated against experimental data. The effects of holdup, driving pressure and slug length are examined in a parameter variation study.