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Severe Slugging Prediction Calculator

Bøe · Pots · Taitel stability criteria — offshore pipeline-riser systems

Predict Type-1 severe slugging in a downward-inclined pipeline + vertical riser system. Returns the Bøe and Pots dimensionless stability numbers (Π < 1 → severe slugging), critical gas velocity, estimated slug period and per-cycle liquid volume, plus a prioritized mitigation list. Per Bøe 1981, Pots 1987, Taitel 1986.

Flow Rates

m/s
m/s

Fluid & Pressure

kg/m³
kg/m³
kPa abs

Geometry

m
°
m
°
mm

Equations

Bøe (1981) stability number — severe slugging if Π < 1:

ΠBøe = Pop · vSG / (ρL · g · Lp · vSL)

Lp is the upstream pipeline gas-accumulation length (not the riser height) — it sets how much gas can compress against the riser-base liquid plug.

Pots et al. (1987) — adds the pipeline gas void fraction αg:

ΠPots = Pop · vSG / (ρL · g · Lp · αg · vSL) = ΠBøe / αg

αg = vSG / (vSG + vSL): only the gas-filled fraction of the pipeline compresses, so Pots is more conservative than Bøe.

Critical vSG (Pots Π = 1 boundary):

vSG,crit = ρL · g · Lp · vSL / Pop − vSL

Riser-base max (slug-out) pressure:

Pbase,max ≈ Pop + ρL · g · Hriser (Hriser = Lr·sin α)