Two-phase interfacial structure of bubbly-to-slug transition flows in a 12.7 mm ID vertical tube

Abstract

This experimental study focuses on the characteristics of air-water two-phase interfacial structure. Interfacial parameters including void fraction, interfacial area concentration, and bubble interfacial velocity are measured using four-sensor electrical conductivity probe on a 12.7 mm ID vertical tube. The tube size is approximately equal to the maximum distorted bubble size. Therefore, the bubbly-to-slug transition characteristics can be different from in other sizes of tubes. Comparing with previous studies, this study provides an experimental database with a wide range on the bubbly-to-slug transition flows, with 4 different superficial liquid velocities (0.3, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 m/s) and void fraction ranging from 0.07 to 0.66. Experimental results show that the wall-peak void distribution does not appear in a small diameter tube under the bubbly-to-slug flow transition flow. The distribution is related with both void fraction and the relative bubble size to the tube size. In this sense, a new correlation of distribution parameter in the Drift Flux model is proposed based on the previous studies by Ishii and Hibiki et al. This experimental study can be a good reference for the model development of flow regime transition and the Interfacial Area Transport Equation.

arXiv comment22 pages, 15 figures. Preprint submitted to International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer

Cited by in corpus (2)

• A physics-informed reinforcement learning approach for the interfacial area transport in two-phase flow
• Interfacial area transport for bubbly-to-slug transition flows in small diameter pipes