Study on Bubble Velocity under Bubble Flow Scenario in the Horizontal Water Transmission Pipeline

Abstract

Abstract. In order to put forward some feasible suggestions for the air emission in water transmission pipeline, this article mainly studies the bubble velocity under bubble flow scenario in the horizontal water transmission pipe. It was assumed that the bubble in the horizontal pipe could be regarded as a rigid body with a spherical shape, and the concept of sliding friction was introduced into the stress analysis to represent for the interaction between the bubble and the pipe wall. Taking all the forces on the bubble into consideration, a completely theoretical model was established to calculate the bubble velocity. During the experiments, the method of continuous photographing was employed to record the bubble size and velocity, and the experimental data was used to verify the accuracy of the model. It was found that the experimental data fitted well with the theoretical model after multiplying a correction factor. Ultimately, the corrected model was used to study the effects of pipe diameter, pipe variety, pipe pressure and temperature on the bubble size and bubble velocity, and it was proposed that more air release valves should be installed at the terminal part of the water transmission pipeline for air emission.