Design and numerical simulation on an auto-cumulative flowmeter in horizontal oil–water two-phase flow

In order to accurately measure the flow rate under the low yield horizontal well conditions, an auto-cumulative flowmeter (ACF) was proposed. Using the proposed flowmeter, the oil flow rate in horizontal oil–water two-phase segregated flow can be finely extracted. The computational fluid dynamics software Fluent was used to simulate the fluid of the ACF in oil–water two-phase flow. In order to calibrate the simulation measurement of the ACF, a novel oil flow rate measurement method was further proposed. The models of the ACF were simulated to obtain and calibrate the oil flow rate under different total flow rates and oil cuts. Using the finite-element method, the structure of the seven conductance probes in the ACF was simulated. The response values for the probes of the ACF under the conditions of oil–water segregated flow were obtained. The experiments for oil–water segregated flow under different heights of the oil accumulation in horizontal oil–water two-phase flow were carried out to calibrate the ACF. The validity of the oil flow rate measurement in horizontal oil–water two-phase flow was verified by simulation and experimental results.