Mathematical Model for Predicting the Development of Two-Phase Flow in a Horizontal Pipe

Abstract

Prediction of the flow pattern is a central problms in multi-phase flow analysis. It is a vital point for researchers to accurately predict which flow pattern category types will occur at different flow rates. For this purpose, a mathematical model using the MATLAB (R2017b) computer program is developed for the prediction of gas-liquid two-phase flow patterns in a horizontal pipe with an inner diameter of 30mm under standard conditions. The properties of the air-water two-phase, the pipe geometry, and the flow rates of phases are defined to initiate the operating conditions. The mass flow rates of air and water changed from 0.002 to 0.004 kg/s and 0.672 to 1.334 kg/s, respectively. The impact of properties of the fluid and pipe diameters on two-phase flow configuration is considered to predict the impact of fluid properties on the flow pattern. The findings indicate that as the mass flux increases, the pipe diameters decrease, affecting the configuration of the flow pattern types. The mathematical model�s predicted results are validated by comparing with previous studies. In addition, good agreement is obtained when the predicted results are compared to the ongoing experiment of this research.