1. CHARACTERIZING TWO-PHASE TRANSPORT AND FLOW DYNAMICS IN COMPLEX NATURAL GAS NETWORKS L. Ayala, Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering– Penn State U.
A comprehensive research study was carried out for the analysis of the underlying physical factors that control multiphase transport and flow dynamics in complex natural gas network topologies. The behavior associated with highly interlinked, closed-loop natural gas networks has been scrutinized in order to denude all fundamental relationships, critical links, and major parameters controlling performance in order to achieve the characterization of the most relevant transport features. The study included the formulation of proper governing equations coupled with thermodynamics, implementation of FVM schemes, and application to single-phase gas networks. The study concluded with the extension of the model to two-phase flow conditions and the preliminary analysis of the associated uneven split of phases at the T-junctions.