High pressure annular two-phase flow in a narrow duct. Part 1: Local measurements in the droplet field, and Part 2: Three-field modeling

In Part 1, detailed measurements were made in a high pressure, adiabatic (boiled at the inlet) annular flow in a narrow, high aspect ratio duct using a gamma densitometer, hot-film anemometer and high-speed video photography. Measurements of void fraction, droplet frequency, velocity, drop size, and interfacial area concentration have been made to support the three field computational capability. An important aspect of this testing is the use of a modeling fluid (R-134a) in a vertical duct which permits visual access in annular flow. This modeling fluid accurately simulates the low liquid-to-vapor density ratio of steam-water flows at high pressures. These measurements have been taken in a narrow duct of hydraulic diameter 4.85 mm, and a cross-section aspect ratio of 22.5. However, the flow displays profiles of various shapes not only in the narrow dimension, but also in the width dimension. In particular, the shape of the droplet profiles depends on the entrained droplet flux from the edges in the vapor core. The average diameter from these profiles compare well with the models developed in the literature. Interfacial area concentration for these low density ratio flows is higher than the highest concentration reported for air-water flows. Video records show that along with the bow-shaped waves, three-dimensional {lambda}-shaped waves appear in annular flows for high flow rates. Part 2 outlines the development of a three-field modeling approach in annular flow and the predictive capability of an analysis code. Models have been developed here or adapted from the literature for the thin film near the wall as well as the droplets in the vapor core, and have been locally applied in a fully developed, two-phase adiabatic boiling annular flow in a duct heated at the inlet at high pressure. Numerical results have been obtained using these models that are required for the closure of the continuity and momentum equations. The two-dimensional predictions are compared with local void fraction and droplet velocity (using a hot film anemometer), and average void fraction (using gamma densitometry) for a refrigerant fluid flowing in a narrow vertical duct with a cross-section aspect ratio of 22.5. Predicted results match the experimental data well for high void fraction annular flows, validating the overall modeling approach