CFD verification of total pressure loss coefficient for gas-liquid two-phase flow

Abstract

Traditionally, we design gas-liquid two-phase flow systems with pressure loss that is assumed by homogeneous flow. However, in real phenomena, the flow rate of water or air through a system cannot be correctly predicted unless we evaluate by the total pressure loss. there are currently few methods for measuring total pressure loss, and the value of total pressure loss is not yet clearly. Therefore, we devised a method to measure total pressure loss by pump Q-H characteristic and succeeded in measuring total pressure loss indirectly. We compared the test results with the analysis to clarify the prediction accuracy of the analysis using commercial codes. We apply three two-phase flow models for the simulation: a VOF model, a homogeneous flow model, and a two-fluid model. The simulation results of comparison between each fluid model indicated that the VOF model predicted with the best accuracy, with the error of 46% compared to the test results. This study provides a benchmark for the current commercial code, and the prediction accuracy of the different models provides a direction for future improvements in the analysis.