UO

Two-Phase Flow

Introduction
In your fluid mechanics courses, the flowing fluid usually consisted of a single,
homogeneous phase, either a gas or a liquid. However, in many practical applications,
co-flow occurs of gas and liquid phases within a single pipe. Important industrial
examples of two-phase flow are oil and gas wells, where vapor- and liquid-phase
hydrocarbons are often produced simultaneously, and boilers and condensers.
Key features that distinguish two-phase gas-liquid flow from single-phase flow
are the importance of gravity, the gas compressibility, and the existence of slip between
the two phases. The significant density difference between gases and liquids leads to
additional buoyancy-driven forces that are most pronounced in vertical pipes. The fact
that gases are compressible means that pressure changes in a flowing fluid lead to
changes in relative volumes (and velocities) of the two phases.
In this lab, you will use an industrial size flow loop to first briefly study the flow
of water (single-phase) and then investigate the effects of two-phase air-water flow on the
physical parameters in the system. Two-phase flow will be studied both in horizontal and
vertical sections of the flow loop.

Theory
For the underlying theory, you should consult your ChBE3200 textbook
(Welty et al., 5th edition; specifically Chapters 13 and 14), and read the two handouts that
are attached to this manual (note that the book titles are the same):
Fluid mechanics for chemical engineers, 2nd ed., N. de Nevers, McGraw-Hill,
pp. 449-453, 1991.
Fluid mechanics for chemical engineers, 2nd ed., J.O. Wilkes, Prentice Hall,
pp. 531-542, 2006.

Equipment
As shown in the diagram below, the set-up is a flow loop of transparent PVC
piping. Water flow from an open reservoir is created by a centrifugal pump (Bell &
Gossett, model 1535-356T; see Appendix A for pump curve) and regulated by a remotecontrolled water control valve (WCV). Air flow is generated by compressed house air
and regulated by a manual air valve (ACV). The flow loop also contains six pressure
sensors (P1-P6) as well as a water flow meter (WFM) and air flow meter (AFM); all of
these sensors are connected to the computer and their signals can be monitored via
LabView. A special remote-controlled air release valve (ARV) is positioned at the top of
the vertical section of the flow loop; the role of this valve is to enable purging of excess
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air in the flow loop. Several manual valves in the flow loop can be used to redirect and
control water flow, or to isolate sections of the loop and/or sensors for maintenance; V1V3 are the only manual valves with relevance for this lab.
You have access to a tape measure to determine the various horizontal
dimensions of the flow loop. The vertical distance between sensors P5 and P6 is
122 inches, and the vertical distance from the horizontal pipe (sensors P3 and P4) to P5 is
also 122 inches. The internal diameter of the 1 schedule 40 PVC pipe is 1.476 in.
To start water flow in the system, use the following procedure:
Make sure that all manual valves are in the correct position (orange handle
perpendicular to the pipe is the closed position, parallel to the pipe is open), so
that unhindered flow through the loop is possible.
Open the WCV to 70% and the ARV to 100%.
Start the pump manually. For safety purposes, make sure that all group members
know how to switch it on and off!
Once no more bubbles can be observed in the horizontal pipe section, and all air
has been purged from the top of the loop, as indicated by steady water flow from
the ARV, close the ARV entirely.
If two-phase flow is needed, you can now open the ACV to let air into the system. The
maximum allowable air flow is 70 SCFM (standard cubic feet per minute; this is the unit
associated with the digital display on the ACV); above this value, the flow cannot be
controlled accurately.
Before you start up the flow, carefully review all equipment and make sure that
the LabView module for the lab is working properly and that you understand its
functionalities.

Materials and Data

The fluids used in this lab are water and air. To determine their physical
properties, you may assume that the water and air are both at room temperature, unless
the TA indicates otherwise.
A LabView module can be used to read out the data from pressure and flow
sensors in the system. All sensors, except P3, have been pre-calibrated; both the raw
signal (in V or mA) and the physical parameters (gauge pressure and flow rate) are
shown. Because the signals can be noisy when shown at full acquisition rate, a running
average is presented. The LabView module enables you to set the time over which the
signals are averaged; it is up to you to strike the balance between accuracy of the readings
and ability to monitor the dynamics of the signals. A recording option is available to
create a data log file of your experiments; when recording is on, all (averaged) signals
are logged every second in a text file.

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Finally, the LabView module also controls operation of the two remote-controlled
valves, WCV and ACV. Be careful not to fully close the WCV while the pump is running
in order to prevent high pressures that will activate the safety release valve that is
located immediately after the pump.

Figure 1. Two-Phase Flow Experimental Set-up

Experimental Procedures
Task 1: Single-phase flow
Task 1 consists of several sub-tasks that should help you to better understand the
operation of the flow loop. The deliverables from this task are:
1) Calibration parameters for pressure sensor P3;
2) Comparison of actual data for pump with manufacturer specifications;
3) Values for the Fanning friction factor of the PVC pipe when the WCV is 50%
and 100% open, respectively, and an estimate of the relative roughness of the
PVC pipe.

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First, start water flow in the loop by using the procedure outlined above. Then
stop the pump and use manual valves (V1-V3) to manipulate the water level in various
sections of the flow loop, while closely monitoring the pressure signals. Repeat these
steps if necessary. Use your experience here to devise a strategy to calibrate sensor P3 as
accurately as possible and carry out this procedure, so that you can enter the calibration
parameters in LabView. Before continuing, ask the TA to verify that your work is
acceptable, since it will affect all subsequent tasks. You should use this subtask also to
contemplate the accuracy of all your pressure data in the rest of this lab.
Restart water flow with the WCV 40% open, and monitor the water flow rate and
all pressures in the system. Make sure that you fully understand the relative value of all
pressures. Now open the WCV fully, and partially close valve V1 to regulate the water
flow rate so that its value is the same as before; monitor all pressures. Finally, open valve
V1 and use valve V3 to regulate the water flow rate so that its value is the same as before.
Compare the pressures in the system for these three cases, which should all have the same
water flow rates, and make sure that you understand the observed differences. Although
these data are not a deliverable for this lab, you must have a good grasp of the pressures
in the flow loop to successfully complete the lab.
Reopen valve V3 (both V1 and V3 should be fully open) and focus on the
pressure sensors around the pump. Use the WCV to determine how accurate the pump
curve supplied by the manufacturer is; specifically, you should check the pump head as a
function of flow rate.
The final subtask is to experimentally determine the values of the Fanning friction
factor of the PVC pipe when the WCV is 40% open and 100% open. Make sure that
manual valves V1 and V3 are fully open during these experiments. You are to use the
Fanning friction factor values to estimate the relative roughness of the PVC pipe, e/D.
Note: You should not pre-assume a roughness value to determine the Fanning friction
factors. Determine the friction factors from the experimental data, then estimate the
roughness. Your ChBE3200 textbook will be an important resource for this subtask.

Task 2: Two-phase flow in horizontal pipe

The deliverable from this task is a graph that shows the pressure drop P3-P4 as a
function of gas flow rate for three different water flow rate. In this graph, you should
compare the experimental values of P3-P4 with predictions that can be made based on the
correlations by Lockhart and Martinelli (see handout from Wilkes book). For each water
flow rate, you should measure the pressure drop for four (4) different air flow rates.
It is recommended that you first spend some time playing around with the flow
loop in two-phase mode before choosing the water and gas flow rate values that you want
to study. For these two-phase flow experiments, do not open the WCV more than 40%, in
order to prevent splashing issues at the tank and to enable sufficient air flow; high water
flow rates cause too much back pressure at the air inlet and thus reduce air flow. Take full

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advantage of the transparency of the pipe to observe the different flow types that occur as
a function of air and water flow rate. Of particular concern are the signal-averaging
settings that you use in LabView; dedicate some time to the optimization of these
settings.
The hand-out describes the data analysis to translate measured water and air flow
rates into model predictions for the pressure drop in detail and you should be able to carry
out that analysis fairly efficiently for all data points using Excel. Note: An example in
the handout has a Fanning friction factor already pre-determined. You need to determine
the appropriate friction factor(s) for each of the conditions in your experiment.

Task 3: Two-phase flow in vertical pipe

The deliverable from this final task is a graph that shows the pressure drop P5-P6
as a function of the ratio of gas to water flow rate for a fixed water flow rate (analogous
to Fig. 14.2 in De Nevers book). The graph should also identify the different flow
patterns that are observed in the vertical pipe section; transitions should be determined as
accurately as possible. You may use the ladder in the lab (after obtaining permission from
the TA) to inspect the flow patterns more closely.
For this task, there is no prescribed number of data points, but you should
carefully choose the water flow rate and range of air flow rates, so that you maximize the
information obtained from this task. A justification of these choices must be provided in
your lab report. Hint: A region is not defined by a single point.

Shutdown
Make sure the compressed air is not flowing (turn ACV off). Turn off the water pump,
but leave all manual valves as they are in your last experiment in case the next users
forget to check that they are open. Exit the LabView program, copy the data file, and log
off the computer.
Safety
You should not close the flow loop by shutting valves V1 or V3 while
compressed air is flowing (i.e. ACV partially open), since this can lead to
undesirable pressure build-up of compressible gas in the PVC piping. As noted
above, closing the flow loop while the pump is running is also not advised, but
this is less of a safety risk because water is incompressible.
When using the stairs, make sure that the wheels are locked.

ChBE 4200/4210 Georgia Tech Two-phase Flow (updated 5/23/2016)

 Appendix A:
Performance curves for Bell & Gossett centrifugal pumps (1535 series)

ChBE 4200/4210 Georgia Tech Two-phase Flow (updated 5/23/2016)