Droplet entrainment correlation for high pressure annular two-phase flow

Abstract

The amount of entrainment in annular flow is essential to predict the point of dryout. Most of the entrainment correlations available in the literature are obtained from air-water low pressure data. However many important industrial applications involve high pressure annular flows. There are very few correlations applicable in this range and they are solely based on empirical data fits. Comparing the low pressure entrainment data of Cousins and Hewitt (1968) and the high pressure data of Keeys et. al. (1970) and Wurtz (1978) with existing correlations, the agreement at high pressure is generally poor, except for the empirical correlation of Nigmatulin and Krushenok (1989) which depends on a Weber number that includes the droplet concentration. We propose a new semi-mechanistic entrainment correlation for fully developed annular flow conditions: E = (0.9642)/(1 + (3836/We{sub C})). It is developed based on the droplet continuity equation and the entrainment rate model of Dallman et. al. (1979). This model is then modified to introduce a Weber number that includes the droplet concentration, We{sub C}. This Weber number is shown to scale the available high and low pressure air-water and steam-water data better than the other definitions. Because the new correlation is based on amore » model of entrainment rate it may be used as a starting point in the development of a correlation for this process applicable to high pressure water-steam annular flows. A correlation is suggested pending validation with high pressure entrainment rate data. 12 refs., 11 figs.« less