Simulation of flooding waves in vertical churn flow

• Flooding waves in air–water churn flow in a vertical pipe were studied.
• Simulations using two-fluid model with interface sharpening were performed.
• Calculated wave amplitudes agree with existing experimental data.
• Contributions of force terms in the liquid momentum balance equation are presented.

A transient simulation of flooding waves in the churn flow of air and water in a vertical pipe is performed by the means of two-fluid modelling approach with interface sharpening. The gas and liquid phases are considered immiscible and incompressible with no mass transfer between them. Inter-phase coupling of momentum is realized via interface drag force which is based on the interface area density and the relative velocity between the phases. Surface tension effects are modelled with the Continuum Surface Model. The flow is assumed isothermal. Turbulence is modelled for each phase separately using the two-equation eddy viscosity approach. Results are compared with the reported experimental data for churn flow regime in a vertical pipe (Wang et al., 2011a). Reynolds numbers of the gas flow are in the range from 6000 to 10,000, while the liquid mass flow rate upwards ranges from 25 to 32 g/s. Prediction of critical and maximum amplitudes of the flooding waves show good agreement with experimental values. Results for wave frequencies indicate significant deviations, which can be attributed to the choice of the liquid inlet model.