Experiments and numerical simulations of horizontal two phase flow regimes

Stratified two-phase flow regimes can occur in the main cooling lines of Pressurized Water Reactors, Chemical plants and Oil pipelines. A relevant problem occurring is the development of wavy stratified flows which can lead to slug generation. Because slug flow cannot be predicted with the required accuracy and spatial resolution by the one-dimensional system codes, the stratified flows are increasingly modelled with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) codes. In CFD, closure models are required that must be validated. The recent improvements of the multiphase flow modelling in the ANSYS CFX code make it now possible to simulate these mechanisms in detail. In order to validate existing and further developed multiphase flow models, high-resolution measurement data is needed in time and also in space. For the experimental investigation of co-current air/water flows, the HAWAC (Horizontal Air/Water Channel) was built. The channel allows in particular the study of air/water slug flow under atmospheric pressure. Parallel to the experiments, CFD calculations were carried out. The two-fluid model was applied with a special turbulence damping procedure at the free surface. An Algebraic Interfacial Area Density (AIAD) model on the basis of the implemented mixture model was introduced, which allows the detection of the morphological form of the two phase flow and the corresponding switching via a blending function of each correlation from one object pair to another. As a result this model can distinguish between bubbles, droplets and the free surface using the local liquid phase volume fraction value. The behaviour of slug generation and propagation at the experimental setup was qualitatively reproduced by the simulation, while local deviations require a continuation of the work. The creation of small instabilities due to pressure surge or an increase of interfacial momentum should be analysed in the future. Furthermore, experiments with pressure and velocity measurements are planned and will allow quantitative comparisons, also at other superficial velocities.