Investigation of liquid film behavior at the onset of flooding during adiabatic counter-current air–water two-phase flow in an inclined pipe

The liquid film characteristics at the onset of flooding in an inclined pipe (16 mm i.d. and 2.2 m in length) have been investigated experimentally. A constant electric current method and visual observation were utilized to elucidate the flow mechanisms at the onset of flooding. Two mechanisms are clarified to control the flooding in lower flooding and upper flooding, respectively. The lower flooding occurred at lower liquid flow rate and high pipe inclination angle. In this mechanism, the liquid film does not block the pipe cross-section. On the other hand, the upper flooding occurred at higher liquid flow rate and low pipe inclination angle. In this case, blocking of the pipe cross-section by large wave and entrainment plays an important role. The experimental data indicated that there was no reversal motion of liquid film at the onset of flooding during the operation of both lower flooding and upper flooding. The effects of pipe inclination angle on the onset of flooding are also discussed.