Droplet size of vertically upward annular flow in a narrow rectangular channel

Abstract

Entrained droplets play an important role in heat and mass transfer in annular flow, but there are few studies on droplet size of annular flow in narrow rectangular channels. In this paper, we use the HELOS/KR Vario particle size analyzer to measure droplet size of vertically upward annular flow in a narrow rectangular channel. The results show that the Sauter mean diameter of droplets in narrow rectangular channel decreases with increasing gas velocity and increase with the increase of liquid velocity. Meanwhile, the distribution of droplet sizes has two types: single-peaked distribution and double-peaked distribution. Furthermore, we propose a correlation that can predict the droplets Sauter mean diameter of annular flow in a narrow rectangular channel.