Liquid entrainment through a large-scale inclined branch pipe on a horizontal main pipe

Abstract

T-junction structures play an important role in nuclear power plant systems. Research on liquid entrainment is mostly based on small-scale branch pipes (d/D ≤ 0.2) and attention paid to large-scale branch pipes (0.33 < d/D < 1) is insufficient. Accordingly, this study implements a series of experiments on the liquid entrainment of T-junction with different angles (32.2°,47.9°,62.3°,90°) through a large-scale branch (d/D = 0.675).The onset liquid entrainment is related to the gas phase Froude number Frg, the dimensionless gas chamber height hb/d and the branch pipe angle θ. As Frg increases, hb/d also rises. With a constant hb/d, the onset liquid entrainment changes from droplets entrainment by the gas phase to that by the rising liquid film. The steady-state liquid entrainment is related to w3g, h/d and θ. With constant w3g and h/d, the branch quality grows as the branch angle increases. With a certain h/d, the branch quality increases, as the w3g number increases.