Prediction of interfacial shear stress and pressure drop in vertical two-phase annular flow

Abstract

The interfacial shear stress and pressure drop of an upward vertical annular flow of nitrogen–water, HFC134a–water, and nitrogen–95 % ethanol solution were comprehensively investigated considering the effect of the liquid–gas density ratio and surface tension. A direct link between the disturbance wave height and equivalent sand-grain roughness was noted through the analogy with the famous Moody chart for single-phase turbulent flows. A predictive model of the interfacial friction factor was developed based on this finding. To predict the pressure drop of the annular flow, a new model with good predictive performance for annular flows of various working fluids including steam–water under boiling water reactor operating condition (286 °C and 7 MPa) was proposed.