Flow-induced vibration of a circular cylinder subjected to wake interference at low Reynolds number

Two- and three-dimensional numerical simulations of the flow around two circular cylinders in tandem arrangements are performed. The upstream cylinder is fixed and the downstream cylinder is free to oscillate in the transverse direction, in response to the fluid loads. The Reynolds number is kept constant at 150 for the two-dimensional simulations and at 300 for the three-dimensional simulations, and the reduced velocity is varied by changing the structural stiffness. The in-line centre-to-centre distance is varied from 1.5 to 8.0 diameters, and the results are compared to that of a single isolated flexible cylinder with the same structural characteristics, m^?=2.0 and ζ=0.007. The calculations show that significant changes occur in the dynamic behaviour of the cylinders, when comparing the flow around the tandem arrangements to that around an isolated cylinder: for the tandem arrangements, the lock-in boundaries are wider, the maximum displacement amplitudes are greater and the amplitudes of vibration for high reduced velocities, outside the lock-in, are very significant. The main responsible for these changes appears to be the oscillatory flow in the gap between the cylinders.     

Flow pattern and flow characteristics for counter-current two-phase flow in a vertical round tube with wire-coil inserts

Flow pattern, void fraction and slug rise velocity on counter-current two-phase flow in a vertical round tube with wire-coil inserts are experimentally studied. Flow pattern and slug rise velocity are measured visually with a video camera. The void fraction is measured by the quick-closing valve method. Four kinds of coils with different coil pitches and coil diameters are used as inserts. The presence of wire-coil inserts induces disturbance into gas and liquid flows so that the shape and motion of gas slug or bubbles in a wire-coil inserted tube are quite different from those observed in a smooth tube without insert. The bubbly flow occurs in the low gas superficial velocity region in the wire-coil inserted tube, while the slug or churn/annular flow only appears in the smooth tube without insert over the all test range. The measured slug rise velocity in the wire-coil inserted tube is higher than that in the smooth tube. With modified mean flow velocity calculated with core area, the slug rise velocity in wire-coil tube inserted is in good agreement with Nicklin's correlation. The void fraction in a wire-coil inserted tube is lower than that in a smooth tube in the range of high gas superficial velocities. By introducing a simple assumption on considering the effective flowing area, the measured void fractions in a wire-coil inserted tube are in relatively good agreement with the predicted result based on the drift flux model proposed by others with the correlation for slug rise velocity given by others when the coil pitch is dense.     

层流条件下并列三圆柱涡激振动响应与尾流形态

应用基于嵌入式压强-力迭代的高精度浸入边界法研究等间距并列三圆柱涡激振动。其中,雷诺数Re=100,间距比T/D=2.0～5.0,圆柱质量比m*=2.0,折合流速Ur=2.0～10.0,忽略振动系统的阻尼且三圆柱仅横向振动。研究发现,圆柱的振动响应随折合流速的增加呈现初始响应分支和下端响应分支两种模式;振幅响应出现不连续现象,且随着间距比的增加,该不连续现象对应的折合流速增加;尾流模式与间距比和折合流速密切相关。共发现六种尾流形态,分别为窄宽窄尾流、不规律尾流、反相同步尾流、调制尾流、同相同步尾流和偏斜尾流。总结并绘制了尾流形态在参数空间[Ur,T/D]内的分区图。     

An investigation of pressure transients in pipelines with two-phase bubbly flow

This paper presents a two-dimensional model for the analysis of the pressure transient of a two-phase homogeneous bubbly mixture flowing in a pipeline and the numerical integration using the centre implicit method (CIM). Experiments were conducted to confirm the proposed sonic speed equation of an air–water mixture for an air concentration of less than 1%. The 2D CIM model is compared with the method of characteristics (MoC) for a two-phase bubbly flow in a pipeline. The comparisons show that the proposed 2D CIM model generally gives good agreement with the method of characteristics.     

Study of two-phase bubbly flow dynamics in binary mixtures

The results of an investigation of the bubble dynamics and wave phenomena in two-component vapor-liquid mixtures are presented. These mixtures are widely used in industrial systems as heat transfer media. The effects of various additives on the wave dynamics of vapor-liquid mixtures are of particular interest. A single-velocity two-pressure model was used which takes into account both the liquid radial inertia due to medium volume changes, and the temperature distribution around the bubbles. The claim that mixture composition may have a peculiar effect on the bubble dynamics of a boiling non-ideal solution is substantiated. It is noted that the small free radial oscillation damping ratio for some binary systems lies outside the domain defined by the damping ratio of the constituents as a result of phase change diffusion effects. A criterion is proposed to identify cases of diffusion resistance responsible for the anomalous effect of component concentration on bubble behavior. The phase change delay due to diffusion results in observably higher mixture wave velocities and a smaller damping ratio than for respective single-component systems.This article was processed using Springer-Verlag T_EX Shock Waves macro package 1992 and the AMS fonts, developed by the American Mathematical Society.     

Modeling of two-phase flow in porous media with heat generation

The main purpose of this work is investigation of coolability of a boiling debris bed. The main governing equations are derived using volume averaging technique. From this technique some specific interfacial areas between phases are appeared and proper relations for modeling these areas are proposed. Using these specific areas, a modification for the Tung/Dhir model in the annular flow regime is proposed. The proposed modification is validated and the agreements with experimental data are good. Finally, governing equations and relations are implemented in the THERMOUS program to model two-phase flow in the debris bed in the axisymmetric cylindrical coordinate. Two typical configurations including flat and mounted beds are considered and the main physical phenomena during boiling of water in the debris bed are studied. Comparing the results with the one-dimensional analysis shows higher specific power of the bed.     

Development of models correlating vibration excitation forces to dynamic characteristics of two-phase flow in a tube bundle

Recent experiments revealed significant quasi-periodic forces in both the drag and lift directions in a rotated triangular tube bundle subjected to two-phase cross-flow. The quasi-periodic drag forces were found to be related to the momentum flux fluctuations in the main flow path between the cylinders. The quasi-periodic lift forces, on the other hand, are mostly correlated to the oscillation in the wake of the cylinders. In this paper, we develop semi-analytical models for correlating vibration excitation forces to dynamic characteristics of two-phase flow in a rotated triangular tube bundle for a better understanding of the nature of vibration excitation forces. The relationships between the lift or drag forces and the dynamic characteristics of two-phase flow are established through fluid mechanics momentum equations. A model has been developed to correlate the void fraction fluctuation in the main flow path and the dynamic drag forces. A second model has been developed for correlating the oscillation in the wake of the cylinders and the dynamic lift forces. Although still preliminary, each model can predict the corresponding forces relatively well.     

An efficient pressure-velocity procedure for gas-droplet two-phase flow calculations

This paper presents a non-iterative numerical technique for computing time-dependent gas-droplet flows. The method is a fully interacting combination of Eulerian fluid and Lagrangian particle calculations. The interaction calculations between the two phases are formulated on a pressure-velocity-coupling procedure based on the operator-splitting technique. This procedure eliminates the global iterations required in the conventional particle-source-in-cell (PSIC) procedure. Turbulent dispersion calculations are treated by a stochastic procedure. Numerical calculations and comparisons with available experimental data as well as efficiency assessments are given for some sprays typical of spray combustion applications.     

Interfacial drag of two-phase flow in porous media

In this paper, the influence of the interfacial drag on the pressure loss of combined liquid and vapour flow through particulate porous media is investigated. Motivation for this is the coolability of fragmented corium which may be expected during a severe accident in a nuclear power plant. Cooling water is evaporated due to the particles decay heat. To reach coolability, the outflowing steam has to be replaced by inflowing water.     

Experimental study on a two-phase critical flow with a non-condensable gas at high pressure conditions

An experimental study was performed on a two-phase critical flow with a non-condensable gas at high pressure conditions. Experimental data for the critical flow rates were generated by using sharp-edged stainless steel pipes with an inner diameter of 10.9 mm, a thickness of 3.2 mm, and a length of 1000 mm. The test conditions were varied by using the stagnation pressures of 4.0, 7.0, and 10.0 MPa, water subcoolings of 0.0, 20.0, and 50.0 °C, and nitrogen gas flow rates of 0.0–0.22 kg/s. The experimental results show that the critical mass flux decreases rapidly with an increase of the volumetric non-condensable gas fraction. Also the critical mass flux increases with an increase of the stagnation pressure and a decrease of the stagnation temperature. An empirical correlation of the non-dimensional critical mass flux, which is expressed as an exponential function of the non-condensable gas fraction of the volumetric flow, is obtained from the experimental data.     

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.     

Flow regime transition criteria for two-phase flow in a vertical annulus

In this work, a new flow regime transition model is proposed for two-phase flows in a vertical annulus. Following previous works, the flow regimes considered are bubbly (B), slug (S) or cap-slug (CS), churn (C) and annular (A). The B to CS transition is modeled using the maximum bubble package criteria of small bubbles. The S to C transition takes place for small annulus perimeter flow channels and it is assumed to occur when the mean void fraction over the entire region exceeds that over the slug–bubble section. If the annulus perimeter is larger that the distorted bubble limit the cap-slug flow regime will be considered since in these conditions it is not possible to distinguish between cap and partial-slug bubbles. The CS to C transition is modeled using the maximum bubble package criteria. However, this transition considers the coalescence of cap and spherical bubbles in order to take into account the flow channel geometry. Finally, the C to A transition is modeled assuming two different mechanisms, (a) flow reversal in the liquid film section along large bubbles; (b) destruction on liquid slugs or large waves by entrainment or deformation. In the S to C and C to A flow regime transitions the annulus flow channel is considered as a rectangular flow channel with no side walls. In all the modeled transitions the drift-flux model is used to obtain the final correlations. The final equations for every flow regime transition are easy to be implemented in computational codes and not experimental input is needed. The prediction accuracy of the newly developed model has been checked against air–water as well as boiling flow regime maps. In all the cases, the new developed model shows better predicting capabilities than the existing correlations most used in literature.     

Nitrogen/non-Newtonian fluid two-phase upward flow in non-circular microchannels

This paper presents experimental investigations on nitrogen/non-Newtonian fluid two-phase flow in vertical noncircular microchannels, which have square or triangular cross-section with the hydraulic diameters being D_h = 2.5, 2.886 and 0.866 mm, respectively, by visualization method. Three non-Newtonian aqueous solutions with typical rheological properties, i.e., 0.4% carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), 0.2% polyacrylamide (PAM) and 0.2% xanthan gum (XG) are chosen as the working fluids. The common flow patterns are identified as slug flow, churn flow and annular flow. The dispersed bubble flow is only found in the case with nitrogen/CMC solution two-phase flow in the largest channel. A new flow pattern of nitrogen/PAM solution two-phase flow, named chained bubble/slug flow, is observed in all the test channels. The flow regime maps are also developed and the results show that the rheological properties of the non-Newtonian fluid have remarkable influence on the flow pattern transitions. The geometrical factors of the microchannel such as the cross-section shape and hydraulic diameter of the channel can also affect the flow regime map. Finally, the results obtained in this work are compared with the available flow pattern transitions.     

Fluctuation characteristics of two-phase flow splitting at a vertical impacting T-junction

In order to investigate the fluctuation characteristics of two-phase flow splitting at a T-junction, particular attention was paid on Churn flow which had the strongest fluctuation comparing with bubble flow and annular flow. The main tube of the T-junction was vertical and the two branches were horizontal. All three pipes connecting to the junction were of 15 mm inner diameter. A statistical analysis based on Root Mean Square (RMS) was applied to temporal differential pressure signals and gas flow rate signals. The Power Spectral Density (PSD) was also employed to reveal their peculiar features in frequency domain as well. The effects of the extraction flow ratio and the gas and liquid superficial velocity upstream on fluctuation characteristics of gas-liquid two-phase flow splitting at the T-junction were investigated in detail. It is found that there is a wide fluctuation in both differential pressure and gas flow rate downstream at every extraction ratio (W₃/W₁) and the fluctuation intensity increases as W₃/W₁ increasing. It is also made clear that increasing either water superficial velocity or gas superficial velocity in inlet causes fluctuation to become more intensive.     

Evaluation analysis of prediction methods for two-phase flow pressure drop in mini-channels

Two-thousand and ninety-two data of two-phase flow pressure drop were collected from 18 published papers of which the working fluids include R123, R134a, R22, R236ea, R245fa, R404a, R407C, R410a, R507, CO₂, water and air. The hydraulic diameter ranges from 0.506 to 12 mm; Re_l from 10 to 37,000, and Re_g from 3 to 4 × 10⁵. Eleven correlations and models for calculating the two-phase frictional pressure drop were evaluated based upon these data. The results show that the accuracy of the Lockhart–Martinelli method, Mishima and Hibiki correlation, Zhang and Mishima correlation and Lee and Mudawar correlation in the laminar region is very close to each other, while the Muller-Steinhagen and Heck correlation is the best among the evaluated correlations in the turbulent region. A modified Chisholm correlation was proposed, which is better than all of the evaluated correlations in the turbulent region and its mean relative error is about 29%. For refrigerants only, the new correlation and Muller-Steinhagen and Heck correlation are very close to each other and give better agreement than the other evaluated correlations.     

Flow regime development analysis in adiabatic upward two-phase flow in a vertical annulus

In this work radial and axial flow regime development in adiabatic upward air-water two-phase flow in a vertical annulus has been investigated. Local flow regimes have been identified using conductivity probes and neural networks techniques. The inner and outer diameters of the annulus are 19.1 mm and 38.1 mm, respectively. The equivalent hydraulic diameter of the flow channel, D_H, is 19.0 mm and the total length is 4.37 m. The flow regime map includes 1080 local flow regimes identifications in 72 flow conditions within a range of 0.01 m/s < 〈j_g〉 < 30 m/s and 0.2 m/s < 〈j_f〉 < 3.5 m/s where 〈j_g〉 and 〈j_f〉 are, respectively, superficial gas and liquid velocities. The local flow regime has been classified into four categories: bubbly, cap-slug, churn-turbulent and annular flows. In order to study the radial and axial development of flow regime the measurements have been performed at five radial locations. The three axial positions correspond to z/D_H = 52, 149 and 230, where z represents the axial position. The flow regime indicator has been chosen as some statistical parameters of local bubble chord length distributions and self-organized neural networks have been used as mapping system. This information has been also used to compare the results given by the existing flow regime transition models. The local flow regime is characterized basically by the void fraction and bubble chord length. The radial development of flow regime shows partial and complete local flow regime combinations. The radial development is controlled by axial location and superficial liquid velocity. The radial flow regime transition is always initiated in the center of the flow channel and it is propagated towards the channel boundaries. The axial development of flow regime is observed in all the flow maps and it is governed by superficial liquid velocity and radial location. The prediction results of the models are compared for each flow regime transition.     

Numerical study on the two-phase flow distribution in a T-junction

The main objective of this paper is to investigate the ability of a two-dimensional two-fluid computer code to predict the phase separation in a T-junction. A new semi-implicit numerical scheme is developed for solving the two-fluid model equations. Special attention is directed to the modelling of the constitutive for the interfacial friction term. Detailed distribution of void fraction, pressure and velocities are obtained for an air–water mixture in a vertical tee. Good agreement was obtained between the computer code results and the experimental data for the phase separation in the T-junction.     

Flutter of an elastic plate in a channel flow: Confinement and finite-size effects

When a cantilevered plate lies in an axial flow, it is known to exhibit self-sustained oscillations once a critical flow velocity is reached. This flutter instability has been investigated theoretically, numerically and experimentally by different authors, showing that the critical velocity is always underestimated by two-dimensional models. However, it is generally admitted that, if the plate is confined in the spanwise direction by walls, three-dimensionality of the flow is reduced and the two-dimensional models can apply. The aim of this article is to quantify this phenomenon by analysing the effect of the clearance between the plate and the side walls on the flutter instability. To do so, the pressure distribution around an infinite-length plate is first solved in the Fourier space, which allows to develop an analytical model for the pressure jump. This model is then used in real space to compute instability thresholds as a function of the channel clearance, the plate aspect ratio and mass ratio. Our main result shows that, as the value of the clearance is reduced, the convergence towards the two-dimensional limit is so slow that this limit is unattainable experimentally.