Damping of Tubes With Internal Two-Phase Flow

Abstract

Two-phase internal flow is present in many piping system components. Although two-phase damping is known to be a significant constituent of the total damping, the energy dissipation mechanisms that govern two-phase damping are not well understood. In this paper, damping of vertical clamped-clamped tubes subjected to two-phase air-water internal flow is investigated. Experimental data is reported, showing no dependence of two-phase damping on tube natural frequency, and a strong dependence on void fraction, flow velocity and flow regime. Two-phase damping increases with void fraction, reaches a maximum, and decreases beyond that point. The maximum damping ratio is roughly 3% for all flow velocities. It is reached at around 50% void fraction for high velocities, and 25% void fraction for low velocities. Data points plotted on two-phase flow pattern maps indicate that damping is greater in a bubbly flow regime than it is in a slug or churn regime. The maximum two-phase damping is reached at the highest void fraction before the transition to a slug or churn flow regime. It appears that two-phase damping may depend on the interface surface area between phases.