L51442a Field Measurement of Liquid Holdup in Commercial Two Phase Flow Pipelines A

This report contains the results of a research program in which gamma ray densitometers were used to make direct measurements of the liquid volume fraction in two and three phase pipelines. The calibration and analysis procedures that were developed for the densitometers are described. Also included are the results of several special tests to investigate the sensitivity and operating characteristics of these instruments.Test were conducted at one oil field and three gas fields for pipe diameters ranging from 4 to 16 inches. The project concluded that the densitometers can provide useful data from two phase pipeline even when the liquid hold-up is very small. However, It is recommended that they not be used to obtain liquid holdup data for three phase pipeline, except under conditions described in the report.