Macro-to-microchannel transition in two-phase flow: Part 1 - Two-phase flow patterns and film thickness measurements

The classification of macroscale, mesoscale and microscale channels with respect to two-phase processes is still an open question. The main objective of this study focuses on investigating the macro-to-microscale transition during flow boiling in small scale channels of three different sizes with three different refrigerants over a range of saturation conditions to investigate the effects of channel confinement on two-phase flow patterns and liquid film stratification in a single circular horizontal channel (Part 2 covers the flow boiling heat transfer and critical heat flux). This paper presents the experimental two-phase flow pattern transition data together with a top/bottom liquid film thickness comparison for refrigerants R134a, R236fa and R245fa during flow boiling in small channels of 1.03, 2.20 and 3.04 mm diameter. Based on this work, an improved flow pattern map has been proposed by determining the flow patterns transitions existing under different conditions including the transition to macroscale slug/plug flow at a confinement number of Co ≈ 0.3-0.4. From the top/bottom liquid film thickness comparison results, it was observed that the gravity forces are fully suppressed and overcome by the surface tension and shear forces when the confinement number approaches 1, Co ≈ 1. Thus, as a new approximate rule, the lower threshold of macroscale flow is Co = 0.3-0.4 while the upper threshold of symmetric microscale flow is Co ≈ 1 with a transition (or mesoscale) region in-between.     

The interrelation between void fraction fluctuations and flow patterns in two-phase flow

A fast response, linearized X-ray void measurement system has been used to obtain statistical measurements in normally fluctuating air-water flow in a rectangular channel. It is demonstrated that the probability density function (PDF) of the fluctuations in void fraction may be used as an objective and quantitative flow pattern discriminator for the three dominant patterns of bubbly, slug, and annular flow. This concept is applied to data over the range of 0.0 to 37 m/sec mixture velocities to show that slug flow is simply a transitional, periodic time combination of bubbly and annular flows. Film thicknesses calculated from the PDF data are similar in magnitude in both slug and annular flows. Calculation of slug length and residence time ratios along with bubble lengths in slug flow are also readily obtainable from the statistical measurements. Spectral density measurements showed bubbly flow to be stochastic while slug and annular flows showed periodicities correlatable in terms of the liquid volume flux.     

Two-phase flow patterns in short horizontal rectangular microchannels

The two-phase flow in a short horizontal channel of a rectangular cross-section with the height of 100–500 µm and width of 9–40 mm was studied experimentally. The use of the Schliren and fluorescent methods made it possible to reveal the flow of liquid in the channel and to determine its characteristics quantitatively. The features of the churn, jet and drop flow patterns were studied in details. Two particular regimes that can be distinguished represent formation of immobile drops on the channel walls because of the liquid film or liquid bridges breakage and appearance of mobile drops due to the two-phase flow instabilities. It is found out that formation of various two-phase flow patterns and transitions between them are determined by instabilities of the liquid–gas flow in the side parts of a channel. Frontal instability has been observed during the liquid–gas interaction in the region of liquid output from the nozzle. It is shown that a change in the height and width of the horizontal channels has a substantial effect on the boundaries between the flow regimes. One of the results is that the region of the churn regime increases significantly with decreasing thickness of the channel.     

Two-phase flow patterns in a 90° bend at microgravity

Bends are widely used in pipelines carrying single-and two-phase fluids in both ground and space applications. In particular, they play more important role in space applications due to the extreme spatial constraints. In the present study, a set of experimental data of two-phase flow patterns and their transitions in a 90° bend with inner diameter of 12.7 mm and curvature radius of 76.5 mm at microgravity conditions are reported. Gas and liquid superficial velocities are found to range from (1.0≈23.6) m/s for gas and (0.09≈0.5) m/s for liquid, respectively. Three major flow patterns, namely slug, slug-annular transitional, and annular flows, are observed in this study. Focusing on the differences between flow patterns in bends and their counterparts in straight pipes, detailed analyses of their characteristics are made. The transitions between adjoining flow patterns are found to be more or less the same as those in straight pipes, and can be predicted using Weber number models satisfactorily. The reasons for such agreement are carefully examined. The project supported by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the visiting scholar program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)     

Two-phase flow pattern identification in a tube bundle based on void fraction and pressure measurements,with emphasis on churn flow

Two-phase flow are frequently encountered in the industry. In particular, in steam generators of nuclear plants, water is heated so that at the top of the generator an important fraction of water flows as vapor. In this upper part, a rising co-current two phase flow transverse to the tube bundle takes place. Fluids exert significant forces on the tubes in this area which highly depend on the two-phase flow pattern. Thus, as a prerequisite, it is essential to gather information on the flow conditions associated with the different two-phase flow patterns, which can be bubbly, intermittent, or annular. Then we must analyze the potentially dangerous flow patterns. This paper presents an experimental campaign aimed at characterizing those flow patterns for a rising co-current transverse flow in a tube bundle representative of the geometry in a steam generator. A new methodology based on the understanding of key contributions to vertical two-phase flow pattern maps in tube bundles is proposed that leads to a more complete flow pattern map. Finally, the paper focuses on the churn flow, which is the flow pattern for which significant pressure fluctuations occur. For this pattern, important damages could be expected on the tubes of a steam generator. Different kinds of pressure fluctuations are observed at different frequencies depending on the flow rates and the location in the test section.     

Wall shear stress and void fraction in Poiseuille bubbly flows: Part I: simple analytic predictions

Upward, co-current bubbly flows in a vertical rectangular duct are investigated at low liquid Reynolds numbers. The conditions considered are such that the pseudo-turbulent stresses remain negligible compared to the viscous stresses. The void fraction transverse distribution is idealised as step-functions and is then inserted in the conservation equations supplemented by appropriate closure laws. Analytical expressions are then obtained for the axial velocity profiles, for the lineic gas fraction and for the wall friction. The sensitivity of these quantities to the void distribution, characterised by the void fraction and the width of the three layers introduced, is discussed. It is shown that differential buoyancy effects govern the modification of the liquid velocity profiles. Notably, void peaking near walls is able to induce a wall shear stress many times higher than its single-phase flow counterpart at the same liquid flow rate. Also, the presence of a near wall region free of gas favours the onset of downward directed secondary flows. All these features correspond to experimental observations, and a few quantitative comparisons are also presented which support the validity of the model even in case of void coring. A companion paper (part II) will be devoted to systematic comparisons between predictions and experiments in the case of axisymmetric Poiseuille bubbly flows.     

Two-phase flow of refrigerants in 85 μm-wide multi-microchannels: Part I – Pressure drop

This article is the first part of a study on flow boiling of R236fa and R245fa. This part presents pressure drop measurements obtained on a silicon multi-microchannel evaporator with 85 μm wide and 560 μm high channels separated by 46 μm wide fins. The 135 microchannels were 12.7 mm long. Dielectric refrigerants R236fa and R245fa were used as the evaporating test fluids. The inlet saturation temperature was maintained at 30.5 °C while the mass fluxes were varied from 499 to 1100 kg/m² s and the base heat flux was tested from 130 to 1400 kW/m². A new experimental technique was developed to measure the outlet pressure losses, which represented up to 30% of the total pressure drop and thus cannot be neglected. The microchannel pressure drop measurements were very well predicted by the method of Cioncolini et al. (2009).     

Two-phase flow in bends

An equation is developed for use in predicting the two-phase multiplier for pressure drop in bends; the equation simplifies the use of an existing method. The method is also compared for the first time with data at high density ratios ($\text{?l/?g = 560}$).     

Comparison of void fraction correlations for different flow patterns in horizontal and upward inclined pipes

A comparison of the performance of 68 void fraction correlations based on unbiased data set (2845 data points) covering wide range of parameters than previous assessments was made. A comprehensive literature search was undertaken for the available void fraction correlations and experimental void fraction data. After systematically refining the data, the performance of the correlations in correctly predicting the diverse data sets was evaluated. Comparisons between the correlations were made and appropriate recommendations drawn. The analysis showed that most of the correlations developed are very restricted in terms of handling a wide variety of data sets. Based on the observations made, an improved void fraction correlation which could acceptably handle all data sets regardless of flow patterns and inclination angles was suggested. It was shown that this correlation has the best predictive capability than all the correlations considered in this study.     

Two-phase flow in heterogeneous porous media I: The influence of large spatial and temporal gradients

In order to capture the complexities of two-phase flow in heterogeneous porous media, we have used the method of large-scale averaging and spatially periodic models of the local heterogeneities. The analysis leads to the large-scale form of the momentum equations for the two immiscible fluids, a theoretical representation for the large-scale permeability tensor, and a dynamic, large-scale capillary pressure. The prediction of the permeability tensor and the dynamic capillary pressure requires the solution of a large-scale closure problem. In our initial study (Quintard and Whitaker, 1988), the solution to the closure problem was restricted to the quasi-steady condition and small spatial gradients. In this work, we have relaxed the constraint of small spatial gradients and developed a dynamic solution to the closure problem that takes into account some, but not all, of the transient effects that occur at the closure level. The analysis leads to continuity and momentum equations for the-phase that are given by

Two-phase flow patterns and size distribution of droplets in a microfluidic T-junction: Experimental observations in the squeezing regime

Generating micrometer sized droplets has been studied in a microfluidic system with T-junction geometry 250 μm in internal diameter and with PTFE capillary tubing. Several experiments were conducted by varying the flow rate of the dispersed phase from $2.78\cdot {10}^{-11}{\text{ m}}^3/\text{s}$ to $5.28\cdot {10}^{-9}{\text{ m}}^3/\text{s}$ and that of the continuous phase from $2.78\cdot {10}^{-10}{\text{ m}}^3/\text{s}$ to $1.94\cdot {10}^{-9}{\text{ m}}^3/\text{s}$. The visualization of different flow regimes (drop, plug, and annular) was carried out for three configurations (not inverted in a horizontal position, inverted in a horizontal position, and inverted in a vertical position) for low capillary numbers. The model of Gauss was also chosen for a droplet size distribution in the dispersed phase, with the flow quality x varying from 0.016 to 0.44. The evolution of the drop size distribution as a function of the flow quality in the dispersed phase shows that the variation coefficient of the droplet's diameter is inversely proportional to the flow quality.     

Two-phase flow in a vertical pipe and the phenomenon of choking: Homogeneous diffusion model—I. Homogeneous flow models

The paper examines the topological structure of all possible solutions which can exist in flows through adiabatic constant-area ducts for which the homogeneous diffusion model has been assumed. The conservation equations are one-dimensional with the single space variable $\text{z.}$ but gravity effects are included. The conservation equations are coupled with three equations of state: a pure substance, a perfect gas with constant specific heats, and a homogeneous two-phase system in thermodynamic equilibrium. The preferred state variables are pressure $\text{P.}$ enthalpy $\text{h.}$ and mass flux $\text{G}{}^2$.The three conservation equations are first-order but nonlinear. They induce a family of solutions which are interpreted as curves in a four-dimensional phase space conceived as a union of three-dimensional spaces ($\text{P, h, G}{}^2\text{, z}$) with $\text{G}{}^2\text{=}\text{const}$ treated as a parameter. It is shown that all points in these spaces are regular, so that no singular solutions need to be considered. The existence and uniqueness theorem leads to the conclusion that through every point in phase space there passes one and only one solution-curve.The set of differential equations, treated as a system of algebraic equations of each point of the phase space, determines the components of a rate-of-change vector which are obtained explicitly by Cramer's rule. This vector is tangent to the solution curve. Each solution curve turns downward in $\text{z}$ at some specific elevation $\text{z}{}^1$, and this determines the condition for choking. Choking occurs always when the exit flow velocity at $\text{L = z}{}^1$ is equal to the local velocity of propagation of small plane disturbances of sufficiently large wavelength, that is when the flow rate $\text{G}$ becomes equal to a specified, critical flow rate, $\text{G}{}^1$. (The possible dependence of the sonic velocity on frequency in a real flow is ignored, because it has not been allowed for in the equations of the model under study.) A criterion, analogous to the Mach number, which indicates the presence or absence of choking in a cross section is the ratio $\text{K = G/G}{}^7$ of the mass-flow rate $\text{G}$ to the local critical mass flow rate. $\text{G}{}^7$, $\text{K = 1}$ denoting choking. The critical parameters depend only on the thermodynamic properties of the fluid and are independent of the gravitational acceleration and shearing stress at the wall.The topological characteristics of the solutions allow us to study all flow patterns which can, and which cannot, occur in a pipe of given length $\text{L}$ into which fluid is discharged through a rounded entrance from a stagnation reservoir and whose back-pressure is slowly lowered. The set of flow patterns is analogous to that which occurs with a perfect gas, except that the characteristic numerical values are different. They must be obtained by numerical integration and the influence of gravity must be allowed for.The preceding conclusions are valid for all assumptions concerning the shearing stress at the wall which make if dependent on the state parameters only, but not on their derivatives with respect to $\text{z}$. However, the study is limited to upward flows for which the shearing stress at the wall and the gravitational acceleration are codirectional.