Mechanism of Slug Formation in Horizontal Two-Phase Flow

Abstract

It is proposed in this work that the transition to slug flow occurs due to Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, which, in this case, is enhanced by the proximity of the upper wall and becomes wave-amplitude dependent. Since the surface waves possess a limiting amplitude, the transition can be predicted by examining whether the highest possible waves are unstable. The theoretical prediction is in good agreement with the authors’ experimental results. It also agrees reasonably well with Baker’s and Schicht’s flow pattern charts for strictly horizontal channels, but it exhibits large differences when the channels deviate somewhat from the horizontal.