Flow Pattern of Gas-Liquid Two-Phase Annular Flow in a Spiral Tube

Abstract

To clarify the effect of the centrifugal force on the phase distribution of gas-liquid two-phase flow in a coiled tube, air-water two-phase annular flows in a spiral tube were visualized by a thermal neutron radiography method, and the two-dimensional void fraction distributions were measured from the obtained images by some image processing methods. An aluminum tube coiled in a plane and placed vertically was used as the test section. As a result, inversion, that is whether the liquid phase tends to flow at the inside or outside, of the spiral tube, could be determined. The condition of the inversion was correlated by body force on the gas and the liquid phases, that is, the centrifugal force and gravity.