2000 Volume 66 Issue 646 Pages 1460-1466
Experiments were carried out to investigate the flow pattern, average void fraction, and pressure drop of upward air-water two-phase flow in vertical tubes of 25 mm inside diameter with wire coils fo varying wire diameter, pitch and number of coil. Five kinds of flow patterns, i.e., bubble, slug, churn, semi-annular and annular flow, were defined based on the observation of flow behaviors in the experiments. At higher water flow rate, the bubble-slug transition occurred at a lower air flow rate in tubes with wire coil than in the smooth tube. The average void fraction was clarified using the drift flux model. Furthermore, the experimental results of the friction pressure drop were compared with the Lockhart-Martinelli correlation. As a result, a correlation for the constant C in Chisholm's equation was obtained as a function of wire coil pitch-to-diameter ratio.