Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-03T16:30:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 RESUMO - Kelly Portugal Rodrigues.pdf: 90584 bytes, checksum: a9009d09309f76e094fc03b33ceabe30 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-10-04 / The aim of this in vitro study was to compare the friction resistance among conventional and aesthetic orthodontic brackets with metal and vitreous slot with round and rectangular wires of different sections, simulating some situations without wire displacement, 2 mm of displacement and binding of 3o. A group of 125 brackets from 5 brands (Roth Standard, Composite, Elation, Invu and Radiance) was tested, 25 brackets for each brand. Five brackets were set on a device in order to simulate a top right hemi-arch (lateral and central incisors, canine, first and second premolars) and after that, the device was coupled on an universal testing machine EMIC DL2000. The archwires 0.016 , 0.018 and 0.017 x 0.025 NiTi were used on the no displacement and 2 mm displacement tests, while the wires 0.017 x 0.025 , 0.019 x 0.025 and 0.021 x 0.025 stainless steel were used to simulate the binding effect. Variance analysis and Tukey tests (p<0,05) were run to compare brackets with different archwires sizes and angulation. The study demonstrated that the polycarbonate aesthetic bracket Composite had the least friction in all archwires sizes tested. On the other hand, the monocrystalline ceramic bracket Radiance showed the greatest frictional resistance on the tests without wire displacement. Studies with archwire displacement and binding showed a statistically significant difference between the five accessories, of which Composite, Roth Standard, Elation, Invu and Radiance produced the highest friction resistance, in increasing order. Moreover, the insertion of a metal slot in the polycarbonate bracket Elation significantly reduced the friction. However, these friction was greater than the one from a metal bracket. To sum up, the insertion of a vitreous slot in the polycrystalline ceramic bracket Invu offered a greater surface smoothness, reducing consequently the friction and favoring the displacement. / O presente estudo visou comparar in vitro o atrito produzido por braquetes convencionais metálicos e estéticos com canaleta metálica e vítrea quando inseridos fios de secções redonda e retangular de diferentes dimensões, simulando situações sem deslocamento, com deslocamento de 2 mm e com simulação do efeito binding 3º. Foram utilizados 125 braquetes de 5 marcas comerciais (Roth Standard, Composite, Elation, Invu e Radiance), sendo 25 braquetes para cada corpo de prova. Para os ensaios laboratoriais, foram colados 5 braquetes simulando uma hemi-arcada superior direita (incisivos central e lateral, canino, primeiro e segundo premolares) em um dispositivo para posicionamento dos braquetes, sendo este acoplado à máquina universal de ensaios EMIC DL2000. Foram empregados os fios 0,016 , 0,018 e 0,017 x 0,025 NiTi para realização dos ensaios sem deslocamento e com deslocamento de 2 mm e os fios de secção 0,017 x 0,025 , 0,019 x 0,025 e 0,021 x 0,025 CrNi para realização dos ensaios com angulação zero grau e 3º. Para a comparação entre os braquetes nos diferentes fios e angulações, foi utilizada a Análise de Variância e o teste de Tukey (p<0,05). Os resultados demonstraram que nos ensaios sem deslocamento o braquete estético de policarbonato Composite apresentou menor atrito em todos os fios avaliados, enquanto o maior atrito em todas as combinações realizadas foi observado no braquete estético cerâmico monocristalino Radiance em relação aos demais braquetes. Nos ensaios com deslocamento de 2 mm e simulação do efeito binding 3º, os resultados foram semelhantes aos observados nos ensaios sem deslocamento. Contudo, houve uma diferença estatisticamente significante entre os cinco corpos de prova, sendo o atrito verificado, respectivamente e de forma crescente, nos braquetes Composite, Roth Standard, Elation, Invu e Radiance. Pôde-se concluir que a resistência friccional teve influência da composição dos braquetes, diâmetro dos fios e tipo de ensaio realizado (deslocamento de 2 mm e angulação de 3º). Além disso, a inserção da canaleta metálica no braquete estético de policarbonato Elation reduziu de forma estatisticamente significante o atrito, porém esse foi maior do que o gerado por um braquete convencional metálico e, por fim, a incorporação da canaleta vítrea no braquete estético cerâmico policristalino Invu ofereceu uma maior lisura de superfície, reduzindo as irregularidades e imperfeições presentes na canaleta o que levou, consequentemente, a uma redução estatisticamente significante no atrito, o que demonstra que a modificação em sua canaleta favoreceu o deslocamento e reduziu de forma efetiva essa resistência à fricção.

Dans les modules de puissance à connexion filaire de type wire-bonding (WB), les forts courants commutés (jusqu’à 200A pour une puce de 10x10mm²) imposent de faibles résistances et inductances d’interconnexion pour réduire la chute de tension et les surtensions. Pour cette raison, les concepteurs multiplient les fils de bonding de grand diamètre (jusqu’à 500μm) en parallèle. De plus, quand la surface de puce le permet, les WB sont soudés à au moins deux endroits différents pour améliorer la distribution du courant. A la différence d’un assemblage standard de type WB, dans un module de puissance de type Direct-Lead-Bonding (DLB), la puce et la diode sont généralement brasées d’un côté, via la technique du flip-chip, sur le dissipateur intégré. L’autre face est brasée ou frittée directement sur une broche (ou clip) interne large pour former la maille électrique grâce à une brasure à base d'étain, d’argent et de cuivre (SAC ou Sn-Ag-Cu), très épaisse pour éviter le claquage broche-terminaison de puce. Par conséquent, le DLB peut offrir une surface de contact plus performante sur les plans électrique et thermique que le WB, réduisant ainsi la résistance de contact d’environ 50% selon la bibliographie (d’un facteur dix selon nos simulations électromagnétiques), améliorant la distribution du courant dans les puces et homogénéisant la température au sein du composant. De plus, l’inductance parasite interne peut être atténuée de 57% comparé au WB selon la littérature. Si l’on aborde la dimension sécuritaire, la tenue en surintensité ou I²T d’un module de puissance WB rempli de gel de silicone est faible et procure un effet fusible naturel bien qu’imparfait (mode de défaut circuit-ouvert). Les fils de bonding subissent un phénomène de soulèvement même si leur design n’a pas été pensé dans ce sens. En remplaçant le gel par de la résine époxy, ce comportement se dégrade pour donner un mode de défaut intermédiaire dû à la limitation en température de la résine. A l’inverse, le DLB devrait montrer un très fort I²T et donc, un mode de défaut se rapprochant du court-circuit. Ces travaux proposent une approche innovante sur le thème du design des topologies de conversion sécurisées à tolérance de panne : pourquoi ne pas construire une topologie autour du mode de défaillance intrinsèque d’un module de puissance, au lieu de mettre en place des moyens classiques pour le contrecarrer, i.e. essayer d'isoler systématiquement le défaut avec des fusibles ? Le module de puissance DLB était le candidat idéal pour mettre à l’œuvre notre philosophie. Dans un premier temps, nous avons cherché à comparer les modes de défaillance des deux technologies, WB et DLB, grâce à des essais destructifs d’énergies maîtrisés. Les résistances de défaut, énergies critiques et I²T ont été mesurées sur un banc dédié, de même que des analyses d'endommagements des zones de défaillance ont été réalisées au sein du CNES-THALES Lab de Toulouse par une méthode non intrusive de type Lock-In-Thermography (LIT). Il a été montré que la technologie DLB pouvait présenter une résistance de défaut dix fois plus faible que celle de la technologie WB à même surface de puce et à même énergie de destruction. La présence du clip permet aussi de réduire le gradient thermique dans la région du défaut et de moins contraindre thermiquement l'encapsulant par rapport à la technologie WB. La forte épaisseur du joint de brasure broche – puce garantit aussi une meilleure métallisation par refusion de la zone de perçage et ainsi une résistance de défaut plus faible. Dans un second temps, les modules détruits WB et DLB ont subi des essais d’endurance sur 5 semaines, afin d’éprouver la robustesse et la stabilité de leur résistance de défaut à faible et fort courants. Les résultats montrent clairement la supériorité de la technologie DLB. Par la suite, une campagne de caractérisation thermique (Rth/Zth) des deux technologies WB et DLB a été réalisée sur la base d'un banc développé à cet effet. / In wire-bonding (WB) power-modules, high current commutated by fast power chips (up to 200A on a 10x10mm² chip) implies low resistance and low stray inductance interconnections in order to reduce voltage drop and overvoltage. For this purpose, designers use numerous large-diameter bonding wires (up to 500μm) in parallel. Whenever the die surface is large enough (like IGBTs), bonding wires are soldered at least in two different spots to improve current distribution. Compared to conventional WB structure, inside Direct-Lead-Bonding (DLB) power-modules, chip and diode are generally soldered on one side, using flip-chip method, to the heat spreader. The other side is directly soldered or sintered to the large inner lead (or clip) to form the electrical loop with a thick standard SAC soldering (Sn-Ag-Cu) in order to avoid electrical breakdown between chip and clip. Therefore, DLB would provide a wider bonding area than WB design, reducing the emitter contact resistance by almost 50% in the literature (by a factor of 10 according to our simulation results), improving current uniformity in the chips and thus resulting in a uniform surface temperature distribution inside the device. Besides, DLB internal inductance could be reduced to 57% of wire-bonded modules according to literature. Considering safety aspects, the overcurrent capability of a gel-filled wire-bonding power module is low and provides a natural but imperfect wire-fuse-effect (as an open-failure mode). Lift-offs happen even if WB design is not optimized for it. Replacing the gel with an epoxy resin, this behaviour gets worse and an intermediate failure-mode is reached due to the epoxy temperature limitation. On the opposite, DLB should have a very high overcurrent capability characteristic and thus short-failure mode behaviour. This work offers a quite new approach in the field of fault-tolerant structure design: what if we use the faulty power module in a new way, instead of getting rid of it using classic methods to disconnect it, i.e. systematically isolating the power device using fuses? The DLB power module was the perfect candidate to experience our philosophy. In the first place, a comparison of both technologies has been performed through post-fault-behaviour characterisation using controlled energy failure tests. Post-fault resistances, critical energies and overcurrent capability have been measured on a dedicated test-bench, along with defect localization and analysis through micro-section thanks to the CNES-THALES Lab in Toulouse, using non-intrusive Lock-In Thermography (LIT) method. Failed DLB power-modules have showed post-fault resistances 10 times lower than wire-bonded power-modules with the same die size and the same destruction energy. The clip also reduces temperature gradient around the defect location and thus, releases the resin’s thermal constraints compared to WB technology. The very thick solder joint between clip and chip ensures a better metallic reforming and therefore a less resistive post-fault resistance. In the second place, faulty power modules under low and high destruction energy, both WB and DLB, have been tested during 5 weeks for durability and robustness. Results clearly show DLB supremacy. Then, a long campaign of thermal characterization of both designs (Rth/Zth) has been carried out thanks to another dedicated bench. We have proposed a new heating technique setting the die in its linear mode, which avoids using a high current power supply. We have modelled both designs using COMSOL Multiphysics in order for them to be simulated and compared in terms of thermal resistance and impedance, electrical resistance and inductance. The DLB thermal diffuser effect has been analysed. Thermal resistances are very similar (~0,13°C/W) meanwhile, surprisingly, WB is better than DLB in terms of thermal impedance with a maximum difference of 20% at 0.1s.

Wire and Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) is a novel Additive manufacturing method. It is a high deposition rate process which can be suitable for producing low to medium quantities of medium to large sized components. Because it is such a novel method, there are still somechallenges to solve for the method to be useful. This project have been focusing on how to dealwith these challenges and how to manufacture a torque arm with WAAM. This includes the process on how to go from a CAD model to a printed product. Tests have been done during the project parallel with the design of the torque arm. The design have been modied according to the results from the tests. The result of the project was a more specic description how the softwares can be used to optimizethe process for a successful print. The used slicing software, Simplify3D, have some limitations and other options should be considered. Some limitations for the part design have been identied and some known challenges have been solved. The torque arm was successfully printed but with more time and refinement, the added offset could be reduced. The process was time consuming and needs to be more automated in the future. Some proposals on what should be further tested and evaluated is also stated in this report.

This marter’s thesis deals with the technology of electrical discharge wire cutting. There is described the basic nature of the electrical erosion, EDM principle and WEDM principle. The main part deals with the application of wire cutting in the manufacture pulley 68-8M-130 with a description of technology on the wire cutter Excetek V 650. At the end of the work is devoted to the statistical evaluation of the precision machined surfaces.

This thesis deals with flow measuring techniques applied on steady and pulsatingflows. Specifically, it is focused on gas flows where density changes canbe significant, i.e. compressible flows. In such flows only the mass flow ratehas a significance and not the volume flow rate since the latter depends onthe pressure. The motivation for the present study is found in the use of flowmeters for various purposes in the gas exchange system for internal combustionengines. Applications can be found for instance regarding measurements of airflow to the engine, or measurements of the amount of exhaust gas recirculation.However the scope of thesis is wider than this, since the thesis aims toinvestigate the response of flow meters to pulsating flows. The study is mainlyexperimental, but it also includes an introduction and discussion of several inindustry, common flow measuring techniques.The flow meters were studied using a newly developed flow rig, designedfor measurement of steady and pulsating air flow of mass flow rates and pulsefrequencies typically found in the gas exchange system of cars and smallertrucks. Flow rates are up to about 200 g/s and pulsation frequencies from 0 Hz(i.e. steady flow) up to 80 Hz. The study included the following flow meters:hot-film mass flow meter, venturi flowmeter, Pitot tube, vortex flowmeter andturbine flowmeter. The performance of these meters were evaluated at bothsteady and pulsating conditions. Furthermore, the flow under both steady andpulsating conditions were characterized by means of a resistance-wire basedmass flow meter, with the ability to perform time resolved measurements ofboth the mass flux ρu, and the stagnation temperature T0.Experiments shows that, for certain flow meters, a quasi-steady assumptionis fairly well justified at pulsating flow conditions. This means that thefundamental equations describing the steady flow, for each instant of time,is applicable also in the pulsating flow. In the set-up, back-flow occurred atcertain pulse frequencies, which can result in highly inaccurate output fromcertain flow meters, depending on the measurement principle. For the purposeof finding means to determine when back flow prevails, LDV measurementswere also carried out. These measurements were compared with measurementsusing a vortex flow meter together with a new signal processing technique basedon wavelet analysis. The comparison showed that this technique may have apotential to measure pulsating flow rates accurately.Descriptors: Flow measuring, compressible flow, steady flow, pulsating flow,hot-wire anemometry, cold-wire anemometry. / QC 20101208

Simulation tools have progressed largely and in modern times they are commonly usedby engineers to design and simulate machines or part of machines before building and deploying them in the field. The field of Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) is gaining significant interest among companies as they strive to enhance product safety and reliability simul-taneously reducing testing costs and accelerated development speed. This study presents the Real Time simulation improvements effectuated to the Steer and Brake by wire system on an underground face drill rig. These improvements in the model are validated with a comparison between simulated environment and real test data from the machine using a cosimulation between Matlab&amp;Simulink with AMESim. At the end, this improved model is prepared to be compatible with an Hardware-in-the-loop application that requires an adequate computational time.

Despite its importance in various industrial applications there is still a lack of experimental studies on the dynamic and thermal field of swirling jets in the near-field region. The present study is an attempt to close this lack and provide new insights on the effect of rotation on the turbulent mixing of a passive scalar, on turbulence (joint) statistics as well as the turbulence structure. Swirl is known to increase the spreading of free turbulent jets and hence to entrain more ambient fluid. Contrary to previous experiments, which leave traces of the swirl generating method especially in the near-field, the swirl was imparted by discharging a slightly heated air flow from an axially rotating and thermally insulated pipe (6 m long, diameter 60 mm). This gives well-defined axisymmetric streamwise and azimuthal velocity distributions as well as a well-defined temperature profile at the jet outlet. The experiments were performed at a Reynolds number of 24000 and a swirl number (ratio between the angular velocity of the pipe wall and the bulk velocity in the pipe) of 0.5. By means of a specially designed combined X-wire and cold-wire probe it was possible to simultaneously acquire the instantaneous axial and azimuthal velocity components as well as the temperature and compensate the former against temperature variations. The comparison of the swirling and non-swirling cases clearly indicates a modification of the turbulence structure to that effect that the swirling jet spreads and mixes faster than its non-swirling counterpart. It is also shown that the streamwise velocity and temperature fluctuations are highly correlated and that the addition of swirl drastically increases the streamwise passive scalar flux in the near field. / QC 20101124

A ocorrência frequente de escoamentos multifásicos em tubulações tem motivado um grande interesse acadêmico nas últimas décadas. O caso particular de escoamentos líquidolíquido é geralmente encontrado na indústria do petróleo, onde uma série de aplicações envolve escoamentos óleo-água, tais como a produção de petróleo e seu transporte. No entanto, ele não tem recebido a mesma atenção quando comparado com escoamentos gás-líquido. Ainda não existe uma explicação física razoável para um número significativo de fenômenos observados em escoamento óleo-água, como o fenômeno de redução de atrito, observado em escoamento disperso, e a estrutura interfacial ondulada em escoamento estratificado. Os escoamentos trifásicos têm sido ainda menos estudados. Há técnicas de medição, desenvolvidas para escoamento gás-líquido, que supostamente são adaptáveis aos escoamentos líquido-líquido, mas várias delas ainda precisam de validação adequada. O sensor wire-mesh, um método híbrido baseado na medição de resistência ou capacitância, que combina medição local intrusiva da fração de fase e imagens tomográficas transversais, oferece uma boa resolução espacial e alta resolução temporal em comparação com outras técnicas atuais. Porém, a literatura existente em aplicações do sensor wire-mesh cobre quase apenas o escoamento gás-líquido e, até agora, não é possível avaliar o limite de viscosidade do fluido para a sua aplicação. Neste contexto, este projeto propõe o estudo de aspectos importantes da fenomenologia de escoamentos líquido-líquido e líquido-líquido-gás com o auxílio da tecnologia wire-mesh. O principal objetivo prático é a validação da técnica wire-mesh como ferramenta de referência para o desenvolvimento de instrumentação para aplicações em campos petrolíferos, com especial atenção devotada ao efeito da viscosidade do óleo sobre a confiabilidade da medição e à extensão da tecnologia para lidar com escoamentos óleo-água-gás. / The frequent occurrence of multiphase flows in pipes has motivated a great research interest over the last decades. The particular case of liquid-liquid flow is commonly encountered in the petroleum industry, where a number of applications involve oil-water flow such as crude oil production and transportation. However, it has not received the same attention when compared to gas-liquid flow. There is no reasonable physical explanation for a significant number of phenomena observed in oil-water flow, as the drag reduction phenomenon observed in dispersed flow and the interfacial wavy structure of stratified flow. Much less has been investigated when it comes to three-phase flow. Several measurement techniques that are supposed to be adaptable to liquid-liquid flow have been proposed recently, but many of them still need proper validation. The wire-mesh sensor, a hybrid impedance-based method that combines intrusive local measurement of phase fraction and tomographic cross-sectional imaging, offers good spatial resolution and high temporal resolution in comparison with other current techniques. However, the existing literature on wire-mesh sensor applications covers almost only the gas-liquid flow and, so far, it is not possible to evaluate the fluid-viscosity limit for its application. In that context, this project proposes the study of important aspects of liquidliquid and liquid-liquid-gas flow phenomenology with the aid of the wire-mesh technology. The main goal is the validation of the wire-mesh technique as a reference tool for the development of instrumentation for oilfield application, with especial attention paid to the effect of oil viscosity on measurement reliability and the extension of the technology for dealing with oil-water-gas flow.

O interesse em escoamento bifásico líquido-líquido aumentou recentemente, em especial devido às grandes perdas de energia envolvidas no transporte de petróleo, onde comumente uma mistura bifásica óleo-água é deslocada ao longo de grandes distancias. Embora este tipo de escoamento seja comum na indústria, não existem tantos trabalhos na literatura quanto os relacionados ao escoamento gás-líquido. Alguns estudos sobre escoamentos óleo-água reportam uma redução de atrito em dispersões e emulsões em regime turbulento sem adição de qualquer tipo de substancia química, mas a física por trás do fenômeno ainda não é bem compreendida. Neste trabalho, foi estudado o padrão de escoamento disperso óleo-água em tubulação horizontal, visando a obtenção de novos dados experimentais e um melhor entendimento do fenômeno de redução de atrito. Uma série de parâmetros considerados importantes para a caracterização do escoamento foi investigada: queda de pressão, fração volumétrica e sub-padrões de escoamento disperso. Apresentam-se dados de distribuição das fases e fração volumétrica in situ, obtidos através de um moderno sensor intrusivo, do tipo wire-mesh, baseado em medidas de capacitância (permissividade). Câmera de alta velocidade e técnica das válvulas de fechamento rápido foram utilizadas para validar os sinais do sensor. Um modelo prospectivo simplificado foi desenvolvido como uma tentativa de explicar a ocorrência do fenômeno de redução de atrito no padrão disperso óleo-água estudado. O modelo sugere que a presença de uma fina película de água rente a parede hidrofílica/oleofóbica do tubo poderia explicar a diminuição no gradiente de pressão bifásico observada. / The interest in two-phase liquid-liquid flow has increased recently mainly due to the petroleum industry where oil and water are often produced and transported together for long distances and the significant frictional pressure gradient involved. Liquid-liquid flows are present in a wide range of industrial processes; however, they have not been studied as intensively as gas-liquid flows. Drag reduction phenomenon in oil-water flows without the addition of any drag reduction agent has been detected in previous works, but the physics behind the phenomenon is yet not well understood. The aim of the research was to study the dispersed oil-water flow pattern in a horizontal pipe in order to better understand the phenomenon and the obtaining of new experimental data of oil-water dispersed flows. Important issues related to oil-water pipe flow were investigated: pressure drop, volume fraction and flow patterns. Phase distribution and holdup data were obtained by a new wire-mesh sensor based on capacitance (permittivity) measurements. A high-speed video camera and the Quick-Closing-Valves technique were used to compare and validate the signals of the wire-mesh sensor. A simplified mathematical model was proposed to explain the drag reduction phenomenon in the oil-water dispersed flow studied. The model suggests that the presence of a thin water film between the homogenously dispersed flow and the pipe wall could explain the observed decreases of the two-phase pressure gradient.

O interesse em escoamento bifásico líquido-líquido aumentou recentemente, em especial devido às grandes perdas de energia envolvidas no transporte de petróleo, onde comumente uma mistura bifásica óleo-água é deslocada ao longo de grandes distancias. Embora este tipo de escoamento seja comum na indústria, não existem tantos trabalhos na literatura quanto os relacionados ao escoamento gás-líquido. Alguns estudos sobre escoamentos óleo-água reportam uma redução de atrito em dispersões e emulsões em regime turbulento sem adição de qualquer tipo de substancia química, mas a física por trás do fenômeno ainda não é bem compreendida. Neste trabalho, foi estudado o padrão de escoamento disperso óleo-água em tubulação horizontal, visando a obtenção de novos dados experimentais e um melhor entendimento do fenômeno de redução de atrito. Uma série de parâmetros considerados importantes para a caracterização do escoamento foi investigada: queda de pressão, fração volumétrica e sub-padrões de escoamento disperso. Apresentam-se dados de distribuição das fases e fração volumétrica in situ, obtidos através de um moderno sensor intrusivo, do tipo wire-mesh, baseado em medidas de capacitância (permissividade). Câmera de alta velocidade e técnica das válvulas de fechamento rápido foram utilizadas para validar os sinais do sensor. Um modelo prospectivo simplificado foi desenvolvido como uma tentativa de explicar a ocorrência do fenômeno de redução de atrito no padrão disperso óleo-água estudado. O modelo sugere que a presença de uma fina película de água rente a parede hidrofílica/oleofóbica do tubo poderia explicar a diminuição no gradiente de pressão bifásico observada. / The interest in two-phase liquid-liquid flow has increased recently mainly due to the petroleum industry where oil and water are often produced and transported together for long distances and the significant frictional pressure gradient involved. Liquid-liquid flows are present in a wide range of industrial processes; however, they have not been studied as intensively as gas-liquid flows. Drag reduction phenomenon in oil-water flows without the addition of any drag reduction agent has been detected in previous works, but the physics behind the phenomenon is yet not well understood. The aim of the research was to study the dispersed oil-water flow pattern in a horizontal pipe in order to better understand the phenomenon and the obtaining of new experimental data of oil-water dispersed flows. Important issues related to oil-water pipe flow were investigated: pressure drop, volume fraction and flow patterns. Phase distribution and holdup data were obtained by a new wire-mesh sensor based on capacitance (permittivity) measurements. A high-speed video camera and the Quick-Closing-Valves technique were used to compare and validate the signals of the wire-mesh sensor. A simplified mathematical model was proposed to explain the drag reduction phenomenon in the oil-water dispersed flow studied. The model suggests that the presence of a thin water film between the homogenously dispersed flow and the pipe wall could explain the observed decreases of the two-phase pressure gradient.