Generation and Size Distribution of Droplet in Annular Two-Phase Flow

Abstract

The mean droplet size and size distribution are important for detailed mechanistic modeling of annular two-phase flow. A large number of experimental data indicate that the standard Weber number criterion based on the relative velocity between droplets and gas flow predicts far too large droplet sizes. Therefore, it was postulated that the majority of the droplets were generated at the time of entrainment and the size distribution was the direct reflection of the droplet entrainment mechanism based on roll-wave shearing off. A detailed model of the droplet size in annular flow was then developed based on the above assumption. The correlations for the volume mean diameter as well as the size distribution were obtained in collaboration with a large number of experimental data. A comparison with experimental data indicated that indeed the postulated mechanism has been the dominant factor in determining the drop size. Furthermore, a large number of data can be successfully correlated by the present model. These correlations can supply accurate information on droplet size in annular flow which has not been available previously.