CFD modelling and validation of upward bubbly flow in an adiabatic vertical pipe using the quadrature method of moments

•A population balance equation solved with QMOM approximation is implemented in OpenFOAM.•Available models for interfacial forces and bubble induced turbulence are analyzed.•A vertical pipe flow is simulated for different bubbly flow conditions.•Two-phase flow characteristics in vertical pipes are properly predicted.

An Eulerian–Eulerian approach was investigated to model adiabatic bubbly flow with CFD techniques. In the framework of the OpenFOAM® software, a two-fluid model solver was modified to include a population balance equation, solved with the quadrature method of moments approximation to predict upward bubbly flow in vertical pipes considering the polydisperse nature of two-phase flow. Some progress have been made recently solving population balance equations in OpenFOAM® and this research aims to extend its application to the case of vertical pipes under different conditions of liquid and gas velocities. In order to test the solver for nuclear applications, interfacial forces and bubble induced turbulence models were included to provide to this solver the capability to correctly predict the behavior of the continuous and disperse phases. Two-phase flow experiments with different superficial velocities of gas and liquid are used to validate the model and its implementation. Radial profiles of void fraction, gas and liquid velocities, Sauter mean diameter and turbulence intensity are compared to the computational results. These results are in satisfactory agreement with the experiments, showing the capability of the solver to predict two-phase flow characteristics.