Bubble and liquid turbulence characteristics of bubbly flow in a large diameter vertical pipe

The bubble and liquid turbulence characteristics of air–water bubbly flow in a 200 mm diameter vertical pipe was experimentally investigated. The bubble characteristics were measured using a dual optical probe, while the liquid-phase turbulence was measured using hot-film anemometry. Measurements were performed at six liquid superficial velocities in the range of 0.2–0.68 m/s and gas superficial velocity from 0.005 to 0.18 m/s, corresponding to an area average void fraction from 1.2% to 15.4%. At low void fraction flow, the radial void fraction distribution showed a wall peak which changed to a core peak profile as the void fraction was increased. The liquid average velocity and the turbulence intensities were less uniform in the core region of the pipe as the void fraction profile changed from a wall to a core peak. In general, there is an increase in the turbulence intensities when the bubbles are introduced into the flow. However, a turbulence suppression was observed close to the wall at high liquid superficial velocities for low void fractions up to about 1.6%. The net radial interfacial force on the bubbles was estimated from the momentum equations using the measured profiles. The radial migration of the bubbles in the core region of the pipe, which determines the shape of the void profile, was related to the balance between the turbulent dispersion and the lift forces. The ratio between these forces was characterized by a dimensionless group that includes the area averaged Eötvös number, slip ratio, and the ratio between the apparent added kinetic energy to the actual kinetic energy of the liquid. A non-dimensional map based on this dimensionless group and the force ratio is proposed to distinguish the conditions under which a wall or core peak void profile occurs in bubbly flows.     

Experimental investigation of a developing two-phase bubbly flow in horizontal pipe

Experimental results for various water and air superficial velocities in developing adiabatic horizontal two-phase pipe flow are presented. Flow pattern maps derived from videos exhibit a new boundary line in intermittent regime. This transition from water dominant to water–gas coordinated regimes corresponds to a new transition criterion C_T = 2, derived from a generalized representation with the dimensionless coordinates of Taitel and Dukler.Velocity, turbulent kinetic energy and dissipation rate, void fraction and bubble size radial profiles measured at 40 pipe diameters for J_L = 4.42 m/s by hot film velocimetry and optical probes confirm this transition: the gas influence is not continuous but strongly increases beyond J_G = 0.06 m/s. The maximum dissipation rate, derived from spectra, is increased in two-phase flow by a factor 5 with respect to the single phase case.The axial evolution of the bubble intercept length histograms also reveal the flow organization in horizontal layers, driven by buoyancy effects. Bubble coalescence is attested by a maximum bubble intercept evolving from 2.5 to 4.5 mm along the pipe. Turbulence generated by the bubbles is also manifest by the 4-fold increase of the maximum turbulent dissipation rate along the pipe.     

A DNS study of laminar bubbly flows in a vertical channel

Direct numerical simulations are used to examine laminar bubbly flows in vertical channels. For equal size nearly spherical bubbles the results show that at steady state the number density of bubbles in the center of the channel is always such that the fluid mixture there is in hydrostatic equilibrium. For upflow, excess bubbles are pushed to the walls, forming a bubble rich wall-layer, one bubble diameter thick. For downflow, bubbles are drawn into the channel center, leading to a wall-layer devoid of bubbles, of a thickness determined by how much the void fraction in the center of the channel must be increased to reach hydrostatic equilibrium. The void fraction profile can be predicted analytically using a very simple model and the model also gives the velocity profile for the downflow case. For the upflow, however, the velocity increase across the wall-layer must be obtained from the simulations. The slip velocity of the bubbles in the channel core and the velocity fluctuations are predicted reasonably well by results for homogeneous flows.     

Characteristics of developing vertical bubbly flow under normal and microgravity conditions

The axial development of the void fraction profile, interfacial area concentration and Sauter mean bubble diameter of adiabatic nitrogen-water bubbly flows in a 9 mm-diameter pipe were measured using stereo image processing under normal and microgravity conditions. The flow measurements were performed at four axial locations (axial distance from the inlet, z normalized by the pipe diameter, D, z/D = 5, 20, 40 and 60) and with various flows: superficial gas velocity of 0.00840-0.0298 m/s, and superficial liquid velocity of 0.138-0.914 m/s. The effect of gravity on radial distribution of bubbles and the axial development of two-phase flow parameters is discussed in detail based on the obtained database and visual observation. Following Serizawa-Kataoka’s phase distribution pattern criteria under normal gravity conditions, the phase distribution pattern map was developed. Similar to normal gravity two-phase flows, wall, core and intermediate void peak patterns are observed under microgravity conditions but a transition void distribution pattern is not observed in the current experimental conditions. The data obtained in the current experiment are expected to contribute to the benchmarking of CFD simulation of phase distribution pattern and interfacial area concentration in forced convective pipe flow under microgravity conditions.     

On the liquid turbulence energy spectra in two-phase bubbly flow in a large diameter vertical pipe

The liquid turbulence structure of air–water bubbly flow in a 200 mm diameter vertical pipe was experimentally investigated. A dual optical probe was used to measure the bubble characteristics, while the liquid turbulence was measured using hot-film anemometry. Experiments were performed at two liquid superficial velocities of 0.2 and 0.68 m/s for gas superficial velocities in the range of 0–0.18 m/s, corresponding to an area averaged void fraction up to 13.6%. In general, there is an increase in the liquid turbulence energy when the bubbles are introduced into the liquid flow. The increase in the energy mainly occurs over a range of length scales that are on the order of the bubble diameter. A suppression of the turbulence was observed close to the wall at very low void fraction flows. Initially, the suppression occurs in the low wave number range and then extends to higher wave numbers as the suppression is increased.     

Modeling of three-phase heavy oil–water–gas bubbly flow in upward vertical pipes

A bubbly gas–bubbly oil flow pattern may occur when water, heavy oil and gas flow simultaneously in vertical pipes in such a way that water is the continuous phase. In this work, a one-dimensional, thermal, transient two-fluid mathematical model, for such flow, is presented. The model consists of mass, momentum and energy conservation equations for every phase whose numerical solution is based on the finite difference technique in the implicit scheme. The model is able to predict pressure, temperature, volumetric fraction and velocity profiles. For accurate modeling of multiphase flows, the key issue is to specify the adequate closure relationships, thus drag and virtual mass forces for the gas and oil phases were taken into account and special attention was paid on the gas–oil drag force. When this force was included into the model it was found that: (1) such force had the same order of magnitude than the oil drag force and both forces were smaller than the gas drag force, (2) the pressure, gas and oil velocities and gas and oil volume fraction profiles were affected, (3) the numerical stability was increased. The model predictions are in agreement with experimental data reported in literature.     

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.     

Multiphase CFD-simulation of bubbly pipe flow: A code comparison

CFD simulations of dispersed bubbly flow on the scale of technical equipment become feasible within the Eulerian two-fluid framework of interpenetrating continua. For practical applications suitable closure relations are required which describe the interfacial exchange processes. Implementations of such closures have been provided in major commercial codes for years, but more recently there is a growing interest also in open source packages among which in particular OpenFOAM has become widely known.In the present work a set of closure relations suitable for adiabatic bubbly flow has been implemented in OpenFOAM. Selection of closure models has been based on previous experience with ANSYS-CFX. Great effort has been made to match all details of the models so that only residual differences due to different numerical procedures would be expected in the results. Unfortunately this was not the case and the value of one empirical model parameter had to be changed in order to obtain similar results. Under this provision the new open source implementation is validated and shown to be comparable to commercial codes.     

Laminar bubbly flow in an open capillary channel in microgravity

The study of a bubbly laminar two-phase flow in an open capillary channel under microgravity conditions was conducted aboard the sounding rocket, Texus-45. The channel consists of two parallel plates of width b = 25 mm and distance a = 10 mm. The flow along the length l = 80 mm is confined by a free surface on one side and a plate on the opposite side. The bubbles are injected at the nozzle of the capillary channel via six capillary tubes of 100 μm in inner diameter. Different liquid and gas flow rates were tested leading to different liquid free surface shape and bubble size.     

Stability of the inviscid plane couette flow in bubbly fluids

The aim of this article is to study the stability of shear flows in bubbly fluids. A mathematical model of bubbly fluids is presented. The stability of shear flows is studied by two methods: by using a spectral approach and by solving the initial-value problem. It is proved that the linear velocity profile is stable in the long wave approximation. Communicated by R. Grimshaw     

Shear-opposed mixed-convection flow and heat transfer in a narrow, vertical cavity

A combined experimental and theoretical study has been carried out to investigate mixed-convection heat transfer in a narrow, vertical cavity. The shear force is produced at the left side of a cavity by a belt moving upward that constitutes the sixth wall of the cavity. The left wall of the cavity was cooled and the opposite (right wall) was heated. Hence, the buoyancy force tries to bring the fluid down, and the shear force tends to induce upward fluid flow. The test cell was equipped with two heat exchangers and three thermocouple racks for measuring the temperature distributions at 12 different positions. The temperature field was scanned in the cavity for various flow and temperature boundary conditions. Three-and-two-dimensional laminar models were used to analyze the problem theoretically. The experimental measurements were found to be in good agreement with the numerical predictions.     

Assessment of the validity of a log-law for wall-bounded turbulent bubbly flows

There has been considerable discussion in recent years concerning whether a log-law exists for wall-bounded, turbulent bubbly flows. Previous studies have argued for the existence of such a log-law, with a modified von Kármán constant, and this is used in various modelling studies. We provide a critique of this idea, and present several theoretical reasons why a log-law need not be expected in general for wall-bounded, turbulent bubbly flows. We then demonstrate using recent data from interface-resolving Direct Numerical Simulations that when the bubbles make a significant contribution to the channel flow dynamics, the mean flow profile of the fluid can deviate significantly from the log-law behaviour that approximately holds for the single-phase case. The departures are not surprising and the basic reason for them is simple, namely that for bubbly flows, the mean flow is affected by a number of additional dynamical parameters, such as the void fraction, that do not play a role for the single-phase case. As a result, the inner/outer asymptotic regimes that form the basis of the derivation of the log-law for single-phase flow do not exist in general for bubbly turbulent flows. Nevertheless, we do find that for some cases, the bubbles do not cause significant departures from the unladen log-law behaviour. Moreover, we show that if departures occur these cannot be understood simply in terms of the averaged void fraction, but that more subtle effects such as the bubble Reynolds number and the competition between the wall-induced turbulence and the bubble-induced turbulence must play a role.     

Bubbly-to-cap bubbly flow transition in a long-26 m vertical large diameter pipe at low liquid flow rate

The concurrent upward two-phase flow of air and water in a long vertical large diameter pipe with an inner diameter (D) of 200 mm and a height (z) of 26 m (z/D = 130) was investigated experimentally at low superficial liquid velocities from 0.05009 to 0.3121 m/s and the superficial gas velocities from 0.01779 to 0.5069 m/s. The resultant void fractions range from 0.03579 to 0.4059. According to the observations using a high speed video camera, the flow regimes of bubbly, developing cap bubbly and fully-developed cap bubbly flows prevailed in the flows. The developing cap bubbly flow appeared as a flow regime transition from bubbly to fully-developed cap bubble flow in the vertical large diameter pipe. The developing cap bubbly flow changes gradually and lasts for a long time period and a wide axial region in the flow direction, in contrast to a sudden transition from bubbly to slug flows in a small diameter pipe. The analysis in this study showed that the flow regime transition depends not only on the void fraction but also on the axial distance in the flow and the pipe diameter. The axial flow development brings about the transition to happen in a lower void fraction flow and the increase of pipe diameter causes the transition to happen in a higher void fraction flow. The measured void fraction showed an N-shaped axial changing manner that the void fraction increases monotonously with axial position in the bubbly flow, decreases non-monotonously with axial position in the developing cap bubbly flow, and increases monotonously again with axial position in the fully-developed cap bubbly flow. The temporary void fraction decrease phenomenon in the transition region from bubbly to cap bubbly flow can be attributed to the formation of medium to large cap bubbles and their gradual growth into the maximum size of cap bubble and/or cluster of large cap bubbles in the developing cap bubbly flow. In order to predict the N-shaped axial void fraction changing behaviors in the flow regime transition from bubbly to cap bubbly flow, the existing 12 drift flux correlation sets for large diameter pipes are reviewed and their predictabilities are studied against the present experimental data. Although some drift flux correlation sets, such as those of Clark and Flemmer (1986) and Hibiki and Ishii (2003), can predict the present experimental data with reasonable average relative deviations, no drift flux correlation set for distribution parameter and drift velocity can give a reliable prediction for the observed N-shaped axial void fraction changing behaviors in the region from bubbly to cap bubbly flow in a vertical large diameter pipe.     

On the role of the lateral lift force in poly-dispersed bubbly flows

An extensive experimental database comprising air–water as well as steam-water upwards vertical pipe flows for a pressure up to 6.5 MPa was used to investigate the effect of the lateral lift force on turbulent poly-dispersed flows with medium or high gas volume fraction. It was clearly shown that the lift force plays an important role also in such flows. Several effects such as bubble coalescence and breakup as well as fast rising large bubbles which push small bubbles towards the pipe wall superpose the effect of the lift force but can be separated from this effect. The critical bubble diameter, at which the lift force changes its sign, predicted by using Tomiyama’s correlation agrees well with experimental data obtained for turbulent air–water and steam-water flows with medium and high void fraction and a broad spectrum of bubbles sizes. The values for this critical bubble diameter are confirmed by the experimental data within the frame of the uncertainty of the data. Consequences of the action of the lateral lift force on flow structures in different flow situations are discussed. From the investigations it can be concluded that the lift force including the bubble size dependent change of its sign should be considered in a proper numerical 2D or 3D-simulation on flows in which bubbles in the range of several millimeters are present.     

Three-phase upward flow in a vertical pipe

In this paper we develop an approach to design a three-phase, gas–solid–liquid flow system that transports pneumatically scarified solid particles, including sticky ones, through a vertical pipe. The proposed system permits the introduction and maintenance of a liquid film that coats the pipe’s inner wall and acts as a lubricant that ensures sticky particles continue to move upward without permanently adhering to the pipe wall. The system’s operating conditions fall within the boundaries of the annular dispersed region on a typical flow pattern map of vertical flow of a gas–liquid mixture. High gas superficial velocities combined with low liquid superficial velocities characterize such a region. A combination of a modified one-dimensional, two-fluid annular dispersed flow model and a one-dimensional pneumatic conveying model is shown to describe this transport process satisfactorily. Solution of the combined models produces all the necessary design parameters including power requirements and superficial velocities of the two-fluid media needed to transport a given amount of solid particles. Results of model calculations are compared with rare three-phase flow data obtained prior to the development of the present model, by an independent experimental team that used the physical conditions of the present approach. Reasonable agreement justifies the use of the combined model for engineering design purposes.     

Experimental study of “laminar” bubbly flows in a vertical pipe

Measurement of bubbly two-phase flow parameters in a vertical pipe were performed. To keep the pipe Reynolds number below that for single-phase turbulent transition, a water-glycerin solution was used as the test liquid. Local void fraction and liquid velocity profiles along with the wall shear stress were measured by an electrochemical method. Experiments were made with bubbles of two different sizes. As the gas flow rate was increased, a gradual development of the liquid velocity profile from the parabolic Poiseuille flow to a flattened two-phase profile was observed. The evolution of the wall shear stress and of the velocity fluctuations were also quantified.Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. Université Joseph Fourier, Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble.     

Shock structure in bubbly liquids: comparison of direct numerical simulations and model equations

Shock wave structure in a bubbly mixture composed of a cluster of gas bubbles in a quiescent liquid with initial void fractions around 10% inside a 3D rectangular domain excited by a sudden increase in the pressure at one boundary is investigated using the front tracking/finite volume method. The effects of bubble/bubble interactions and bubble deformations are, therefore, investigated for further modeling. The liquid is taken to be incompressible while the bubbles are assumed to be compressible. The gas pressure inside the bubbles is taken uniform and is assumed to vary isothermally. Results obtained for the pressure distribution at different locations along the direction of propagation show the characteristics of one-dimensional unsteady shock propagation evolving towards steady-state. The steady-state shock structures obtained by the present direct numerical simulations, which show a transition from A-type to C-type steady-state shock structures, are compared with those obtained by the classical Rayleigh–Plesset equation and by a modified Rayleigh–Plesset equation accounting for bubble/bubble interactions in the mean-field theory.      

A numerical study of bingham turbulent flow in sudden-expansion straight circular pipe

I.IntroductionBinghamfluidisonebranchofnon-Newtonianfluid,suchascrudeparaffinoil,highsediment--ladenwaterflow,highconcentrationmudandthelikewhicharetransportedinpipelinesinmanyindustries,soit'sofgreatsignificancetostudytheflowmechanismsofBinghamfluid.Tsaietal.II]studiedthelinkagebetweenBinghamfluidandpluggedflow.Wangetal.I2]measuredtheturbulencestructureofBinghammud.Mengetal.[3]researchedthekineticenergycorrectionfactorofBinghamfluidinacircularpipe.However,thestudyofBinghamfluidsofarisn't…     

Magnetohydrodynamic flow of a Sisko fluid in annular pipe: A numerical study

This paper presents a numerical study for the unsteady flow of a magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) Sisko fluid in annular pipe. The fluid is assumed to be electrically conducting in the presence of a uniform magnetic field. Based on the constitutive relationship of a Sisko fluid, the non‐linear equation governing the flow is first modelled and then numerically solved. The effects of the various parameters especially the power index n, the material parameter of the non‐Newtonian fluid b and the magnetic parameter B on the flow characteristics are explored numerically and presented through several graphs. Moreover, the shear‐thinning and shear‐thickening characteristics of the non‐Newtonian Sisko fluid are investigated and a comparison is also made with the Newtonian fluid. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.