Experimental investigations of single-phase and two-phase flow resistance in narrow rectangular duct under rolling condition

Abstract

Effects of rolling motion on single-phase and two-phase flow resistance were compared experimentally under ambient temperature and pressure. In the single-phase flow experiments, the different pump head was obtained by a variable speed electromotor, and the flow rate was adjusted combining with a regulating valve. However, for the two-phase pressure drop measurements, the pump delivering water operated with an invariable pressure head of 48m, in order to neglect the effect of pump head on flow fluctuation. The results indicated that effects of rolling motion on single-phase flow resistance depend on the pump head. The fluctuation amplitude of flow rate and frictional pressure drop decreases rapidly as the pump head increases, finally, the flow will tend to be steady if the pump head dramatically exceeds the additional pressure drop. Different from the case of single-phase flow, transient frictional pressure drop of two-phase flow fluctuates synchronously with the rolling motion when liquid Reynolds number is less than 1400, whereas keeps a stable steady state without obvious oscillation for other cases. The fluctuation amplitude is independent of rolling period and amplitude and decreases with the increase of flow rate. The inclination angle and phase interface distribution is taken into account in analyzing the influence of rolling motion on two-phase flow resistance. Comparing with the vertical condition, rolling motion nearly has no effects on time-averaged frictional resistance for both the single-phase and two-phase flow.