ICONE19-43162 EFFECT OF GRAVITY ON DISTRIBUTION PARAMETER AND DRIFT VELOCITY IN VERTICAL UPWARD BUBBLY TWO-PHASE FLOW

Abstract

In view of the practical importance of the drift-flux model for two-phase flow analyses in microgravity conditions, the distribution parameter and the drift velocity were estimated by experimentally for vertical upward bubbly flows in a 9 mm-diameter pipe in normal- and micro-gravity conditions by using a stereo imageprocessing method. The effects of gravity and liquid Reynolds number on the distribution parameter and the drift velocity were discussed in detail. It was confirmed that the drift velocity in microgravity conditions didn't become zero and the local slip effect due to the wall friction couldn't be ignored. Comparison of the previously proposed constitutive equations of the distribution parameter and the drift velocity with the experimental data showed a good agreement.