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The evolution of interfacial waves on a stratified flow was investigated experimentally for air-water flow in a horizontal pipe. Waves were introduced in the liquid level of stratified flow near the pipe entrance using an oscillating plate. The mean height of liquid layer and the fluctuations superimposed on this mean level were captured using high speed cameras. Digital image processing techniques were used to detect instantaneous interfaces along the pipe. The driving signal of the oscillating plate was controlled by a D/A board that was synchronized with acquisitions. This enabled to perform phaselocked acquisitions and to use ensemble average procedures. Thereby, it was possible to measure the temporal and spatial evolution of the disturbances introduced in the flow. In addition, phaselocked measurements of the velocity field in the liquid layer were performed using standard planar Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). The velocity fields were extracted at a fixed streamwise location, whereas the measurements of the liquid level were performed at several locations along the pipe. The assessment of the setup was important for validation of the methodology proposed in this work, since it aimed at providing results for further comparisons with theoretical models and numerical simulations. Therefore, the work focuses on validation and characterization of interfacial waves within the linear regime. Results show that under controlled conditions, the wave development can be well captured and reproduced. In addition, linear waves were observed for liquid level oscillations lower than about 1.5% of the pipe diameter. It was not possible to accurately define an amplitude threshold for the appearance of nonlinear effects because it strongly depended on the wave frequency. According to the experimental findings, longer waves display characteristics similar to linear waves, while short ones exhibit a more complex evolution, even for low amplitudes.

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The present work reports an experimental characterization of linear and weakly nonlinear interfacial waves in stratified air-water horizontal pipe flow. An oscillating paddle was employed to generate controlled waves at the liquid interface. The driving signal of the oscillating paddle was controlled and synchronized with image acquisitions, enabling phase-locked measurements and the application of ensemble averaging techniques. Velocity field measurements in the liquid and gas phases were performed simultaneously using an off-axis Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) set-up and Shadowgraphy. The combined techniques allowed us to extract the coherent part of flow fluctuations related to the excited waves. This was done for a range of flow rates and wave frequencies. The selected conditions are close to the transition from stratified to slug/plug flow regimes. In the presence of linear waves, the coherent disturbances in both phases were weakly dependent of near-wall disturbances. Flow changes in the presence of weakly nonlinear waves were also investigated. In these cases, noticeable modifications in the mean flow and in turbulence distribution were observed near the interface whereas close to the wall the flow was weakly affected. This investigation follows the work of Farias et al. (2023), where the threshold for linear and weakly nonlinear waves was studied. Here, a clear comparison between wave-induced disturbances in linear and weakly nonlinear regimes is reported in the literature for the first time for stratified turbulent gas-liquid pipe flows. The methodology proposed is relatively simple and can contribute to describe wave-related phenomena in stratified pipe flows.