Experimental study on interfacial area transport of two-phase bubbly flow in a vertical large-diameter square duct

Shen, X.*; Sun, Haomin   ; Deng, B.*; Hibiki, Takashi*; Nakamura, Hideo  

An experimental study on upward bubbly air-water flows in a vertical large-diameter square duct have been performed by mainly using four-sensor probes. Local measurements of interfacial area concentration (IAC), void fraction, 3D bubble velocity vector and bubble diameter at 3 axial positions were conducted. Although the interfacial area transport equation (IATE) and its bubble coalescence and breakup models have already played an important role in predicting the IAC in general two-phase flow fields, they are mainly developed based on the two-phase flow experimental data taken in round pipes or small diameter channels. To confirm their usability in large-diameter square duct, this study has evaluated the 1D one-group IATE with its 6 sets of bubble coalescence and breakup models with the presently-obtained database. It was found the relative error between the best prediction and the database was 25%.