The mechanism of flooding in vertical countercurrent two-phase flow

✍ Scribed by A.G. Cetinbudaklar; G.J. Jameson

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1969
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 955 KB
• Volume: 24
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0009-2509
• DOI: 10.1016/0009-2509(69)87032-6

✦ Synopsis

When a liquid flows down the inside walls of a vertical pipe in which a gas is flowing upward, a critical gas velocity is reached where waves are formed which can grow so large as to bridge the tube and cause a change in the flow pattems. This phenomenon is known as "flooding".

It is suggested that flooding is caused by the appearance of infinitesimal waves moving with the interfacial velocity of the liquid. The stability of the gas-liquid interface has been examined using a linearized small-perturbation technique, and the critical gas velocity required to cause unstable waves has been calculated. These critical velocities are in excellent agreement with experimental data for the flooding velocity over a wide range of liquid viscosities.

Although most of the available experimental data is for air and water (or glycerol-water solutions) the predicted flooding velocities are given in graphical form to enable the flooding point to be calculated for other gases and liquids.