Experimental study on hydrodynamic characteristics of upward gas–liquid slug flow

Abstract

To clarify the impacts of the hydrodynamic boundary layer and the diffusion boundary layer in the near wall zone on gas–liquid two-phase flow induced corrosion in pipelines, the hydrodynamic characteristics of fully developed gas–liquid slug flow in an upward tube are investigated with limiting diffusion current probes, conductivity probes and digital high-speed video system. The Taylor bubble and the falling liquid film characteristics are studied, the effects of various factors are examined, and the experimental results are compared with the data and models available in literature. The length of Taylor bubble, the local void fraction of the slug unit and the liquid slug, the shear stress and mass transfer coefficient in the near wall zone, are all increased with the increase of superficial gas velocity and decreased with the increase of superficial liquid velocity, whereas the length of liquid slug and the liquid slug frequency are changed contrarily. The alternate wall shear stress due to upward gas–liquid slug flow is considered to be one of the major causes for the corrosion production film fatigue cracking. A normalized formula for mass transfer coefficient is obtained based on the experimental data.