Model-based control of slugging flow: an experimental case study

In this paper, we compare two solutions for suppressing slug flow in pipes conveying a diphasic fluid by active feedback control of the outlet (production) choke. Conventionnaly, a non-collocated PI controller is used to stabilize the measured inlet pressure. Unfortunately, this method lacks robustness to changes in operating conditions and reveals difficult to calibrate. In this work, we propose a model-based approach to design a nonlinear state-feedback control law based on a first principles model of the slugging phenomenon. A theoretical proof of convergence of the closed-loop model is provided, as well as an experimental validation of these results on a mid-scale testbench.