Effect of pipe rotation on downward co-current air-water flow in a vertical pipe

The present research experimentally studied the effect of pipe rotation on the flow patterns of downward gasliquid two-phase flow. Two-phase flow patterns and their transition boundaries were observed and analyzed at different pipe revolutions. The experimental setup was fabricated to show flow patterns in a downward direction. The setup includes a transparent vertical pipe with a diameter of 50 mm and an aspect ratio (L/d) of 80 that can rotate at different speeds. Eight flow maps were obtained at revolutions of 0, 60, 120, 180, 240, 300, 400 and 500 rpm by changing the air and water velocities at any revolution (a total of 2205 points). The gasliquid downward two-phase flow regimes were analyzed using image processing. The experimental results were compared with published flow maps for vertical flow. It was found that pipe rotation has major effect on flow patterns map and their transitions boundaries. Increasing pipe rotation cause slug and annular flow start at lower VSG.