A study of CO2 two-phase flow in a near horizontal pipe

Abstract

In this article, the observations from two different experimental studies on CO₂ two-phase flow regimes in a near horizontal pipe are analysed. These experiments show significant bubble entrainment in a stratified flow, and the bubble entrainment in liquid is found to be a dominant mechanism for the flow regime transition between the stratified and bubbly flow. The hydrodynamic slug flow is not observed in these experimental studies. The X-ray measurement of the experimental study in a near horizontal pipe of 44 mm internal diameter is processed to obtain the bubble volume fraction in the liquid layer, which is found to be a function of two-phase Froude number. This Froude number definition takes into account gas density and pipe inclination effects. A parametric study shows that the bubble entrainment into the liquid layer decreases significantly with an increase of pipe internal diameter.