Multiphase flows occurring in pipelines with a serpentine configuration is an important phenomenon, which can be encountered in heat exchangers used in a variety of industrial processes. More specifically, in many industrial units such as a large cracking furnace in a refinery, the tubes are arranged in a serpentine manner and are relatively short. As flow negotiates round the 180o bend at the ends of the tubes, the generated centrifugal force could cause flow maldistribution creating local dry spots, where no steady liquid film is formed on the adjacent straight sections of the pipe. As a result, events including coking, cracking and overheating of heat transfer surfaces may occur and lead to frequent shutdown of the facilities. Consequently, this could increase operating costs and reduce production revenue. Thus, it is desirable to know the effect that the bends exert on the flow in the straight part of the pipe. Apart from this, knowledge of the bend effects on the flows in the pipeline could also be important for the design of other pipelines for gas/liquid transport, e.g. offshore gas and oil pipelines. Quite a large number of studies have been found in the literature. The majority of them were for two-phase flow with small diameter pipes (i.d. ≤ 50 mm). However, studies with large diameter pipes (i.d. ≥ 100 mm), have increasingly been considered in recent years as problems related to large diameter vertical pipes are being encountered more and more often in industrial situations. This thesis studies the effect of 180o bends on the characteristics and development of gas-liquid two-phase flows in large diameter downward and upward pipes. The study particularly focuses on the influence of serpentine configuration on flow structure, cross-sectional void distribution and circumferential liquid film profiles and their development along the downward and upward sections. It was found that both the top and bottom bends have considerable impacts on flow behaviour, although to varying degrees. These impacts were highly dependent on the air and water flow rates. For sufficient flow rates, the bends were observed to create flow maldistribution in the adjacent straight section, due to the effects of centrifugal force. The air moved towards the inner zone of the bend and the water towards the outer zone, while a lesser quantity of water was identified on the other surfaces of the pipe. Investigation of the film thickness development in the downward and upward sections showed that, the liquid film behaviour close to the bends was significantly different from those located further away. This can be attributed to the centrifugal force of the bends. Examination of the power spectral density (PSD) along the downward and upward sections showed that, the shape of PSD located in the adjacent section to the bends, was substantially different from those located further away. Furthermore, several flow regime maps were generated which showed that, in addition to bubbly, intermittent and annular flows, unstable flows existed along the upward section, particularly for low gas and water flow rates. In this study it was found that, the lower bend was periodically blocked by the liquid and then blown through by the accumulated air. The data obtained from this study were compared with different theoretical correlations found in the existing literature. Some discrepancy between the results of the current study and those of previous published materials was noted. Updated correlations were presented which provided well results when they applied for the data obtained from the current study and previous studies.

A novel technique to study the two-phase flow field around an asymmetric diaphragm in a vertical pipe is presented, that enables producing data for CFD code validation in complex geometries. Main feature is a translocation of the diaphragm to scan the 3D void field with a stationary wire-mesh sensor. Besides the measurement of time-averaged void fraction fields, a novel data evaluation method was developed to extract estimated liquid velocity profiles from the wire-mesh sensor data. The flow around an obstacle of the chosen geometry has many topological similarities with complex flow situations in bends, T-junctions, valves, safety valves and other components of power plant equipment and flow phenomena like curved stream lines, which form significant angles with the gravity vector, flow separation at sharp edges and recirculation zones in their wake are present. In order to assess the quality of the CFD code and their underlying multiphase flow and turbulence models pre-test calculations by ANSYS CFX 10.0 were carried out. A comparison between the calculation results and the experimental data shows a good agreement in term of all significant qualitative details of the void fraction and liquid velocity distributions. Furthermore, the report contains a method to assess the lateral components of bubble velocities in the form of a basic theoretical description and visualisation examples. The plots show the deviation of the flow around the obstacle in term of vectors represented the average velocities of the instantaneous cross-sections of all bubbles in the time interval when they pass the measuring plane. A detailed uncertainty analyse of the velocity assessments concludes the presented report. It includes remarks about the comparison with a second method for calculating bubble velocity profiles - the cross-correlation. In addition, this chapter gives an overview about the influence of acceleration and deceleration effects on the velocity estimation.

Two-phase flow experiments at vertical pipes are much suitable for studying the action of different constitutive relations characterizing the momentum exchange at the gas/liquid interface as well as the dynamic behaviour of the gas/liquid interface itself. The flow can be observed in its movement along the pipe and, in particular, within the shear field close to the pipe wall over a considerable vertical distance and, consequently, over a comparatively long time without the immediate separation of gas and liquid characteristic for horizontal flows. Wire-mesh sensors, which were the working horse in the described experiments, supplied sequences of instantaneous two-dimensional gas fraction distributions with a high-resolution in space and time. This allows to derive from the data not only void fraction and bubble velocity profiles, but also bubble size distributions, bubble-size resolved radial gas fraction profiles as well as the axial evolution of these distributions. An interfacial surface reconstruction algorithm was developed in order to extract the extension of interfacial area from the wire-mesh sensor data. The sensors were upgraded to withstand parameters that are close to nuclear reactor conditions. Most of the experiments were performed for both air/water flow at ambient pressure and steam/water flow of up to 6.5 MPa at identical combinations of the gas and liquid superficial velocities. This offers excellent conditions for studying the influence of the fluid properties.

The works aimed at the further development and validation of models for CFD codes. For this reason, the new thermal-hydraulic test facility TOPFLOW was erected and equipped with wire-mesh sensors with high spatial and time resolution. Vertical test sections with nominal diameters of DN50 and DN200 operating with air-water as well as steam-water two-phase flows provided results on the evaluation of flow patterns, on the be¬haviour of the interfacial area as well as on interfacial momentum and heat transfer. The validation of the CFD-code for complex geometries was carried out using 3D void fraction and velocity distributions obtained in an experiment with an asymmetric obstacle in the large DN200 test section. With respect to free surface flows, stratified co- and counter-current flows as well as slug flows were studied in two horizontal test channels made from acrylic glass. Post-test calculations of these experiments succeeded in predicting the slug formation process. Corresponding to the main goal of the project, the experimental data was used for the model development. For vertical flows, the emphasis was put on lateral bubble forces (e.g. lift force). Different constitutive laws were tested using a Multi Bubble Size Class Test Solver that has been developed for this purpose. Basing on the results a generalized inhomogeneous Multiple Size Group (MUSIG) Model has been proposed and implemented into the CFD code CFX (ANSYS). Validation calculations with the new code resulted in the conclusion that particularly the models for bubble coalescence and fragmentation need further optimisation. Studies of single effects, like the assessment of turbulent dissipation in a bubbly flow and the analysis of trajectories of single bubbles near the wall, supplied other important results of the project.

Ziel der Arbeiten war die Weiterentwicklung und Validierung von Modellen in CFD-Codes. Hierzu wurde am FZD die thermohydraulische Versuchsanlage TOPFLOW aufgebaut und mit räumlich und zeitlich hochauflösenden Gittersensoren ausgestattet. Vertikale Teststrecken mit Nenndurchmessern von DN50 bzw. DN200 für Luft/Wasser- sowie Dampf/Wasser-Strömungen lieferten Ergebnisse zur Entwicklung von Strömungsformen, zum Verhalten der Zwischenphasengrenzfläche sowie zum Wärme- und Impulsaustausch zwischen den Phasen. Die Validierung des CFD-Codes in komplexen Geometrien erfolgte anhand von 3D Gasgehalts- und Geschwindigkeitsfeldern, die bei Umströmung eines asymmetrischen Hindernisses auftreten, das in der Teststrecke DN200 eingebaut war. Im Hinblick auf Strömungen mit freier Oberfläche untersuchte das FZD in zwei horizontalen Acrylglas-Kanälen geschichtete Zweiphasenströmungen im Gleich- bzw. Gegenstrom sowie Schwallströmungen. Bei den Nachrechnungen dieser Versuche gelang die Simulation der Schwallentstehung. Entsprechend des Projektziels wurden die experimentellen Ergebnisse zur Modellentwicklung genutzt. Bei vertikalen Strömungen stand die Wirkung der lateralen Blasenkräfte (z.B. Liftkraft) im Vordergrund. Zum Test unterschiedlicher Modellansätze wurde hierzu ein Mehrblasenklassen-Testsolver entwickelt und genutzt. Darauf aufbauend wurde ein neues Konzept für ein Mehrblasenklassenmodell, das Inhomogene MUSIG Modell erarbeitet und in den kommerziellen CFD Code CFX (ANSYS) implementiert. Bei Validierungsrechnungen zeigte sich, dass vor allem die Blasenkoaleszenz- und -zerfallsmodelle weiter optimiert werden müssen. Untersuchungen zu Einzeleffekten, wie z.B. die Abschätzung von Turbulenzkoeffizienten und die Analyse der Trajektoren von Einzelblasen in unmittelbarer Wandnähe, lieferten weitere wichtige Ergebnisse des Projekts.

Multiphase flows occurring in pipelines with a serpentine configuration is an important phenomenon, which can be encountered in heat exchangers used in a variety of industrial processes. More specifically, in many industrial units such as a large cracking furnace in a refinery, the tubes are arranged in a serpentine manner and are relatively short. As flow negotiates round the 180o bend at the ends of the tubes, the generated centrifugal force could cause flow maldistribution creating local dry spots, where no steady liquid film is formed on the adjacent straight sections of the pipe. As a result, events including coking, cracking and overheating of heat transfer surfaces may occur and lead to frequent shutdown of the facilities. Consequently, this could increase operating costs and reduce production revenue. Thus, it is desirable to know the effect that the bends exert on the flow in the straight part of the pipe. Apart from this, knowledge of the bend effects on the flows in the pipeline could also be important for the design of other pipelines for gas/liquid transport, e.g. offshore gas and oil pipelines. Quite a large number of studies have been found in the literature. The majority of them were for two-phase flow with small diameter pipes (i.d. ≤ 50 mm). However, studies with large diameter pipes (i.d. ≥ 100 mm), have increasingly been considered in recent years as problems related to large diameter vertical pipes are being encountered more and more often in industrial situations. This thesis studies the effect of 180o bends on the characteristics and development of gas-liquid two-phase flows in large diameter downward and upward pipes. The study particularly focuses on the influence of serpentine configuration on flow structure, cross-sectional void distribution and circumferential liquid film profiles and their development along the downward and upward sections. It was found that both the top and bottom bends have considerable impacts on flow behaviour, although to varying degrees. These impacts were highly dependent on the air and water flow rates. For sufficient flow rates, the bends were observed to create flow maldistribution in the adjacent straight section, due to the effects of centrifugal force. The air moved towards the inner zone of the bend and the water towards the outer zone, while a lesser quantity of water was identified on the other surfaces of the pipe. Investigation of the film thickness development in the downward and upward sections showed that, the liquid film behaviour close to the bends was significantly different from those located further away. This can be attributed to the centrifugal force of the bends. Examination of the power spectral density (PSD) along the downward and upward sections showed that, the shape of PSD located in the adjacent section to the bends, was substantially different from those located further away. Furthermore, several flow regime maps were generated which showed that, in addition to bubbly, intermittent and annular flows, unstable flows existed along the upward section, particularly for low gas and water flow rates. In this study it was found that, the lower bend was periodically blocked by the liquid and then blown through by the accumulated air. The data obtained from this study were compared with different theoretical correlations found in the existing literature. Some discrepancy between the results of the current study and those of previous published materials was noted. Updated correlations were presented which provided well results when they applied for the data obtained from the current study and previous studies.

A novel technique to study the two-phase flow field around an asymmetric diaphragm in a vertical pipe is presented, that enables producing data for CFD code validation in complex geometries. Main feature is a translocation of the diaphragm to scan the 3D void field with a stationary wire-mesh sensor. Besides the measurement of time-averaged void fraction fields, a novel data evaluation method was developed to extract estimated liquid velocity profiles from the wire-mesh sensor data. The flow around an obstacle of the chosen geometry has many topological similarities with complex flow situations in bends, T-junctions, valves, safety valves and other components of power plant equipment and flow phenomena like curved stream lines, which form significant angles with the gravity vector, flow separation at sharp edges and recirculation zones in their wake are present. In order to assess the quality of the CFD code and their underlying multiphase flow and turbulence models pre-test calculations by ANSYS CFX 10.0 were carried out. A comparison between the calculation results and the experimental data shows a good agreement in term of all significant qualitative details of the void fraction and liquid velocity distributions. Furthermore, the report contains a method to assess the lateral components of bubble velocities in the form of a basic theoretical description and visualisation examples. The plots show the deviation of the flow around the obstacle in term of vectors represented the average velocities of the instantaneous cross-sections of all bubbles in the time interval when they pass the measuring plane. A detailed uncertainty analyse of the velocity assessments concludes the presented report. It includes remarks about the comparison with a second method for calculating bubble velocity profiles - the cross-correlation. In addition, this chapter gives an overview about the influence of acceleration and deceleration effects on the velocity estimation.

The works aimed at the further development and validation of models for CFD codes. For this reason, the new thermal-hydraulic test facility TOPFLOW was erected and equipped with wire-mesh sensors with high spatial and time resolution. Vertical test sections with nominal diameters of DN50 and DN200 operating with air-water as well as steam-water two-phase flows provided results on the evaluation of flow patterns, on the be¬haviour of the interfacial area as well as on interfacial momentum and heat transfer. The validation of the CFD-code for complex geometries was carried out using 3D void fraction and velocity distributions obtained in an experiment with an asymmetric obstacle in the large DN200 test section. With respect to free surface flows, stratified co- and counter-current flows as well as slug flows were studied in two horizontal test channels made from acrylic glass. Post-test calculations of these experiments succeeded in predicting the slug formation process. Corresponding to the main goal of the project, the experimental data was used for the model development. For vertical flows, the emphasis was put on lateral bubble forces (e.g. lift force). Different constitutive laws were tested using a Multi Bubble Size Class Test Solver that has been developed for this purpose. Basing on the results a generalized inhomogeneous Multiple Size Group (MUSIG) Model has been proposed and implemented into the CFD code CFX (ANSYS). Validation calculations with the new code resulted in the conclusion that particularly the models for bubble coalescence and fragmentation need further optimisation. Studies of single effects, like the assessment of turbulent dissipation in a bubbly flow and the analysis of trajectories of single bubbles near the wall, supplied other important results of the project.

Two-phase flow experiments at vertical pipes are much suitable for studying the action of different constitutive relations characterizing the momentum exchange at the gas/liquid interface as well as the dynamic behaviour of the gas/liquid interface itself. The flow can be observed in its movement along the pipe and, in particular, within the shear field close to the pipe wall over a considerable vertical distance and, consequently, over a comparatively long time without the immediate separation of gas and liquid characteristic for horizontal flows. Wire-mesh sensors, which were the working horse in the described experiments, supplied sequences of instantaneous two-dimensional gas fraction distributions with a high-resolution in space and time. This allows to derive from the data not only void fraction and bubble velocity profiles, but also bubble size distributions, bubble-size resolved radial gas fraction profiles as well as the axial evolution of these distributions. An interfacial surface reconstruction algorithm was developed in order to extract the extension of interfacial area from the wire-mesh sensor data. The sensors were upgraded to withstand parameters that are close to nuclear reactor conditions. Most of the experiments were performed for both air/water flow at ambient pressure and steam/water flow of up to 6.5 MPa at identical combinations of the gas and liquid superficial velocities. This offers excellent conditions for studying the influence of the fluid properties.

Ziel der Arbeiten war die Weiterentwicklung und Validierung von Modellen in CFD-Codes. Hierzu wurde am FZD die thermohydraulische Versuchsanlage TOPFLOW aufgebaut und mit räumlich und zeitlich hochauflösenden Gittersensoren ausgestattet. Vertikale Teststrecken mit Nenndurchmessern von DN50 bzw. DN200 für Luft/Wasser- sowie Dampf/Wasser-Strömungen lieferten Ergebnisse zur Entwicklung von Strömungsformen, zum Verhalten der Zwischenphasengrenzfläche sowie zum Wärme- und Impulsaustausch zwischen den Phasen. Die Validierung des CFD-Codes in komplexen Geometrien erfolgte anhand von 3D Gasgehalts- und Geschwindigkeitsfeldern, die bei Umströmung eines asymmetrischen Hindernisses auftreten, das in der Teststrecke DN200 eingebaut war. Im Hinblick auf Strömungen mit freier Oberfläche untersuchte das FZD in zwei horizontalen Acrylglas-Kanälen geschichtete Zweiphasenströmungen im Gleich- bzw. Gegenstrom sowie Schwallströmungen. Bei den Nachrechnungen dieser Versuche gelang die Simulation der Schwallentstehung. Entsprechend des Projektziels wurden die experimentellen Ergebnisse zur Modellentwicklung genutzt. Bei vertikalen Strömungen stand die Wirkung der lateralen Blasenkräfte (z.B. Liftkraft) im Vordergrund. Zum Test unterschiedlicher Modellansätze wurde hierzu ein Mehrblasenklassen-Testsolver entwickelt und genutzt. Darauf aufbauend wurde ein neues Konzept für ein Mehrblasenklassenmodell, das Inhomogene MUSIG Modell erarbeitet und in den kommerziellen CFD Code CFX (ANSYS) implementiert. Bei Validierungsrechnungen zeigte sich, dass vor allem die Blasenkoaleszenz- und -zerfallsmodelle weiter optimiert werden müssen. Untersuchungen zu Einzeleffekten, wie z.B. die Abschätzung von Turbulenzkoeffizienten und die Analyse der Trajektoren von Einzelblasen in unmittelbarer Wandnähe, lieferten weitere wichtige Ergebnisse des Projekts.