Dividing annular flow in a horizontal tee

The prediction of mixture composition in a branch from a manifold in which two-phase mixtures flow has been examined. A linear relationship is found to exist between the branch mass flowrates of the individual phases over a range of flow conditions. This observation is used as the basis of a correlation which contains coefficients that are functions of the manifold flow condition. 90 per cent of the data are correlated to within ±20 per cent.     

Entrainment for horizontal annular gas-liquid flow

Measurements of entrainment are presented for air and water flowing in horizontal 2.54 and 5.08 cm pipelines. After the initiation of atomization, entrainment increases with the third power of the gas velocity. At very high gas velocities a fully entrained oendition in reached for which further increases in the gas velocity do not cause a decrease in the flow rate of the wall film. Gas density bas a small effect provided comparisons are made at the same gas velocity rather than at the same mass flowrate. The results are interpreted by asauming that the rate of deposition of droplets on the wall film varies linearly with the concentration of droplets and that the rate of atomization of the wall film varies linearly with its flow rate.     

Time-dependent behaviour of the liquid film in horizontal annular flow

A crucial point still to be established in the prediction of the film thickness distribution in horizontal annular two-phase flow is the mechanism(s) for transporting liquid from the bottom to the top part of the tube. To resolve this issue, the time-dependent behaviour of the liquid film is studied. Wave characteristics such as velocity and frequency are measured around the circumference. It is inferred from the autospectral density functions of film thickness variation that disturbance waves play an important, but as yet unclear, role in the formation of a liquid film in the top part of the tube. A new mechanism, based on the shape of disturbance waves is proposed.     

Pressure drop and film height measurements for annular gas-liquid flow

Measurements of the pressure drop and the film height averaged around the circumference are presented for air and water flowing in horizontal 2.54 and 5.08 cm pipelines. Film height measurements are interpreted using relations similar to those that have been developed for vertical flows. The frictional pressure loss is found to be primarily related to properties of the liquid film and to be approximately independent of the amount of entrained liquid.     

Effect of secondary flow on droplet distribution and deposition in horizontal annular pipe flow

In horizontal annular dispersed pipe flow the liquid film at the bottom is thicker and rougher than at the top of the pipe. A turbulent pipe flow experiencing a variation of roughness along the pipe wall will show a secondary flow. Such secondary flow, consisting of two counter-rotating cells in the cross-section of the tube, can change the distribution of the droplets inside the pipe and their deposition at the wall. Here, we compare the behaviour of the droplets (dispersed phase) with and without secondary flow, using large-eddy simulations. It is shown that the presence of secondary flow increases the droplet concentration in the core of the pipe and the droplet deposition-rate at the top of the pipe.     

Experimental investigation of ice slurry flow pressure drop in horizontal tubes

Pressure drop behaviour of ice slurry based on ethanol–water mixture in circular horizontal tubes has been experimentally investigated. The secondary fluid was prepared by mixing ethyl alcohol and water to obtain initial alcohol concentration of 10.3% (initial freezing temperature ?4.4 °C). The pressure drop tests were conducted to cover laminar and slightly turbulent flow with ice mass fraction varying from 0% to 30% depending on test conditions. Results from flow tests reveal much higher pressure drop for higher ice concentrations and higher velocities in comparison to the single phase flow. However for ice concentrations of 15% and higher, certain velocity exists at which ice slurry pressure drop is same or even lower than for single phase flow. It seems that higher ice concentration delay flow pattern transition moment (from laminar to turbulent) toward higher velocities. In addition experimental results for pressure drop were compared to the analytical results, based on Poiseulle and Buckingham–Reiner models for laminar flow, Blasius, Darby and Melson, Dodge and Metzner, Steffe and Tomita for turbulent region and general correlation of Kitanovski which is valid for both flow regimes. For laminar flow and low buoyancy numbers Buckingham–Reiner method gives good agreement with experimental results while for turbulent flow best fit is provided with Dodge–Metzner and Tomita methods.Furthermore, for transport purposes it has been shown that ice mass fraction of 20% offers best ratio of ice slurry transport capability and required pumping power.     

Heat transfer to air–water annular flow in a horizontal pipe

Two-phase air–water flow and heat transfer in a 25 mm internal diameter horizontal pipe were investigated experimentally. The water superficial velocity varied from 24.2 m/s to 41.5 m/s and the air superficial velocity varied from 0.02 m/s to 0.09 m/s. The aim of the study was to determine the heat transfer coefficient and its connection to flow pattern and liquid film thickness. The flow patterns were visualized using a high speed video camera, and the film thickness was measured by the conductive tomography technique. The heat transfer coefficient was calculated from the temperature measurements using the infrared thermography method. It was found that the heat transfer coefficient at the bottom of the pipe is up to three times higher than that at the top, and becomes more uniform around the pipe for higher air flow-rates. Correlations on local and average Nusselt number were obtained and compared to results reported in the literature. The behavior of local heat transfer coefficient was analyzed and the role of film thickness and flow pattern was clarified.     

Pressure drop and heat transfer characteristics of turbulent flow in annular tubes with internal wave-like longitudinal fins

Measured were pressure drop and heat transfer characteristics with uniform axial heat input using air as the working fluid in both the entrance and fully developed regions of annular tubes with wave-like longitudinal fins. Five series of experiments were performed for turbulent flow and heat transfer in the annular tubes with number of waves equal to 4, 8, 12, 16 and 20, respectively. The test tube has a double-pipe structure with the inner blocked tubes as an insertion. The wave-like fins are in the annulus and span its full width. The friction factor and Nusselt number in the fully developed region were obtained. The friction factor and Nusselt number can be well corrected by a power-law correction in the Reynolds number range tested. In order to evaluate the thermal performance of the longitudinal finned tubes over a plain circular tube, comparisons were made under three conditions: (1) identical pumping power; (2) identical pressure drop and (3) identical mass flow. It was found that under the three constraints all the wave-like finned tubes can enhance heat transfer with the tube with wave number 20 being superior. Finally, discussion on the enhancement mechanism is conducted and a general correlation for the fully developed heat transfer is provided, which can cover all the fifty data of the five tubes with a mean deviation of 9.3%.     

Condensation from steam—air mixtures in a horizontal annular flow channel

Experiments were performed on the condensation of steam from steam-air mixtures in annular flow at a cooled inner tube. The range of investigation was varied for laminar and turbulent flow for 1.5 × 10³ Re 1.3 × 10⁴ and inlet concentrations 0.59 p_steam/p_total 0.95. The measurements, performed at an open test loop at p_total ≈ 0.96 bar, allowed local heat and mass transfer coefficients to be evaluated for various inlet lengths in the 2 m long annulus. The steam concentration was measured locally inside the annulus with a newly developed dew-point probe. The heat flux was measured locally using the temperature gradient in the cooled inner tube.

Near the inlet region the experiments showed a slightly higher heat flux at the bottom of the tube compared to the top, although it is expected to be smaller there owing to a thicker liquid film. Far downstream from the inlet region the heat transfer at the top was higher than at the bottom. The reasons for these effects are discussed, yielding a better understanding of the thermal and fluid processes involved in condensation from vapor-gas mixtures. The measured data allow the development of correlations for predicting the local Nusselt and Sherwood numbers in a horizontal annular-flow chanbel.     

Effect of drop size distribution on the flow behavior of oil-in-water emulsions

The effect of drop size distribution on the viscosity was experimentally examined for oil-in-water emulsions at volume fractions of = 0.5, 0.63 and 0.8. At = 0.5, the hydrodynamic forces during drop collisions govern the viscosity behavior. The viscosity versus shear rate curve is scaled on the root-mean-cube diameter which is related to the number of drops per unit volume. At = 0.8, the resistance to flow arises from the deformation and rearrangement of thin liquid films between drops. The viscosity at a given shear rate is inversely proportional to the volume-surface mean diameter which is related to the total interfacial area per unit volume. However, since the drops come into contact and the liquid film separating adjacent drops is generated without drop deformation at = 0.63, the viscosity curve is not scaled on the mean diameter. The flow behavior near the critical volume fraction strongly depends not only on the mean drop size, but also on the width of the distribution.     

Use of lagrangian methods to describe drop deposition and distribution in horizontal gas—liquid annular flows

Drop distribution and deposition in horizontal gas—liquid annular flow is described by a diffusion model, which views the concentration field as the result of dispersion from a distribution of sources. Drops originating from a wall source are considered to diffuse in a field of homogeneous turbulence, while simultaneously being swept downward by the gravitational field. Deposition is assumed to be controlled by two mechanisms operating in parallel, and boundary conditions are derived which correctly satisfy conservation of mass. This analysis for an instantaneous source is shown to be equivalent to considering diffusion in a coordinate system moving with the settling velocity of the particles. The results are found to be useful for understanding droplet distribution and deposition.     

Visual measurements of droplet size in gas–liquid annular flow

Drop size distributions have been measured for nitrogen–water annular flow in a 9.67 mm hydraulic diameter duct, at system pressures of 3.4 and 17 bar and a temperature of 38 °C. These new data extend the range of conditions represented by existing data in the literature, primarily through an increase in system pressure. Since most existing correlations were developed from data obtained at lower pressures, it should be expected that the higher-pressure data presented in this paper would not necessarily follow those correlations. For two volume median correlations tested, one does not predict the new data very well, while the other only predicts those data taken at the lower pressure of 3.4 atm. An existing maximum drop size correlation predicts the current data to a reasonable approximation. Similarly, a related correlation for the Sauter mean diameter can predict the new data, provided the coefficient in the equation is adjusted.     

A separated flow model for predicting two-phase pressure drop and evaporative heat transfer for vertical annular flow

A separated flow model has been developed that is applicable to vertical annular two-phase flow in the purely convective heat transfer regime. Conservation of mass, momentum, and energy are used to solve for the liquid film thickness, pressure drop, and heat transfer coefficient. Closure relationships are specified for the interfacial friction factor, liquid film eddy-viscosity, turbulent Prandtl number, and entrainment rate. Although separated flow models have been reported previously, their use has been limited, because they were tested over a limited range of flow and thermal conditions. The unique feature of this model is that it has been tested and calibrated against a vast array of two-phase pressure drop and heat transfer data, which include upflow, downflow, and microgravity flow conditions. The agreements between the measured and predicted pressure drops and heat transfer coefficients are, on average, better or comparable to the most reliable empirical correlations. This separated flow model is demonstrated to be a reliable and practical predictive tool for computing two-phase pressure drop and heat transfer rates. All of the datasets have been obtained from the open literature.     

Adiabatic steam-water annular flow in an annular geometry

Experimental results for fully developed steam-water annular flow in annular geometries are presented. Rod and tube film flow rates and axial pressure gradients were measured for mass fluxes between 500 and 2000 kg/m²s, steam qualities between 20 and 60 per cent and pressures ranging from 3 to 9 MPa. It was found that the measured tube film flow rate per unit tube perimeter is always many times greater than the corresponding rod film flow rate. Possible explanations for this asymmetry are discussed.     

Heat transfer,pressure drop and flow patterns during flow boiling of R407C in a horizontal microfin tube

The heat transfer, pressure drop and flow patterns during flow boiling of R407C in a horizontal microfin tube have been investigated. The microfin tube is made of copper with a total fin number of 55 and a helix angle of 15°. The fin height is 0.24 mm and the inner tube diameter at fin root is 8.95 mm. The test tube is 1 m long. It is heated electrically. The experiments have been performed at saturation temperatures between −30°C and +10°C. The mass flux was varied between 25 and 300 kg/m²/s, the heat flux from 20,000 W/m² down to 1,000 W/m². The vapour quality was kept constant at 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 at the inlet and 0.8, 1.0 at the outlet, respectively. The measured heat transfer coefficient is compared with the correlations of Cavallini et al., Shah as well as Zhang et al. Cavallini’s correlation contains seven experimental constants. After fitting these constants to our measured values, the correlation achieves good agreement. The measured pressure drop is compared to the correlations of Pierre, Kuo and Wang as well as Müller-Steinhagen and Heck. The best agreement is achieved with the correlation of Kuo and Wang. Almost all values are calculated within an accuracy of ±30%. The flow regimes were observed. It is shown, that changes in the flow regime affect the heat transfer coefficient significantly.     

Influence of a sudden expansion on slug flow characteristics in a horizontal two-phase flow: a pressure drop fluctuations analysis

Experimental investigations were conducted to study the evolution of air/water slug flow characteristics through a horizontal sudden expansion having a ratio of \(\sigma_{A}\)?=?0.444. A series of acquisition of differential pressure upstream and downstream were carried out leading to statistical as well as spectral analyses. The influences of both liquid and gas superficial velocities on flow behavior as well as standard deviation were studied. Substantial modifications of two-phase flow distribution were reported downstream the singularity with a quantitative reduction in standard deviation. Besides the fact that the slug flow regime didn’t persist downstream the singularity for low values of superficial phasic-velocities, the latter (\(J_{\ell }\) and \(J_{g}\)) seem to have no noticeable effects downstream the expansion. Reduction of slug frequency between upstream and downstream the singularity was also observed.     

Drop size measurements for annular two-phase flow in a 20 mm diameter vertical tube

As part of a study on the effect of tube diameter on the mean drop size and liquid film flow rate in annular two-phase flow, data was obtained for the vertical upflow of an air-water system in a 20 mm internal diameter tube, held at a pressure of 1.5 bar and ambient temperature. This complements data taken in earlier experiments on 10 and 32 mm tubes. Increases in the superficial gas velocity caused reductions in the mean drop size whilst increasing the liquid mass flux in all but the lowest gas velocity case, caused the drop size to rise. Comparisons were made between the current drop size data and that from a 10 mm and 32 mm internal diameter tube, for similar conditions of temperature and pressure. The current drop size measurements, which fall between those from earlier work, confirm the dependence of drop size on tube diameter. The performance of several drop size correlations have been tested. Because the correlations do not account for the influence of tube diameter, they fail to predict the drop size data accurately. The influence of gas and liquid flow rate on the measured film flow rate show trends similar to those seen in data from the 10 mm and 32 mm diameter tubes. Models, to calculate the entrained liquid mass flux were tested; good predictions were given.     

Drops in annular two-phase flow

Drops, one of the forms in which liquid is present in annular gas—liquid flow, are formed from the wall film, carried by the gas or vapour and redeposited. During this time they exert a strong influence on many important parameters of both flow and heat transfer. The available information on the creation, size and velocity, and removal of drops is identified and reviewed.

This review shows that there is an extensive literature on drops and the associated topic of waves in annular gas—liquid flows. In spite of the large number of papers that have been published, there are still some fundamental questions which remain unanswered and there are large gaps in the parameter ranges to be considered.     

Entrainment in condensing annular flow

Experiments were carried out on low pressure, steam-water, condensing annular flow in a 38.1 mm i.d. horizontal tube. The velocity of the steam at inlet was in the range 97–186 m/s.Measurements of the liquid film flow rate at the end of the test section, which arose as a result of condensation, entrainment, and deposition, were made by extracting the film through a porous sinter bush. The liquid flow rate in the vapour core at exit was deduced from these measurements together with a heat balance on the condenser section.These results were compared with three correlations for entrainment developed from air-water studies. On the basis of the experimental data available, there was sufficient agreement in one case to warrant further investigation.