Turbulence and Phase Distribution in Bubbly Pipe Flow Under Microgravity Condition

Abstract

The role of the turbulence in the void fraction distribution in bubbly pipe flow under microgravity condition is evaluated on the basis of numerical simulations using a Eulerian-Eulerian two-fluid model. In microgravity, the average relative velocity is weak and the void fraction distribution is mainly governed by the turbulence. The simulations show that the turbulent contributions of the added mass force play an important role in the phase distribution phenomenon. It is clearly proved that the turbulence acts on the bubbles distribution not only by the pressure term but also by the turbulent correlations obtained by averaging the added mass force.