An Experimental Investigation on the Effect of Vertical Distance and Inclination Angle of S-Shaped Channel on Two-Phase Flow Patterns

An experimental investigation is conducted to study the effect of vertical distance and inclination angle of a S-shaped channel on two-phase flow patterns. Five flow patterns of vortex plug¡ vortex slug¡ vortex wavy-annular¡ churn and mist packet annular were observed. Flow pattern maps were obtained for each case and then compared based on the different vertical distance and inclination angle to perform a parametric study. Increasing mid-section length and inclination angle cause the transition to vortex plug flow pattern to occur at higher liquid velocities as well as a greater area of churn flow pattern at the expense of smaller vortex slug flow pattern area. However¡ increasing mid-section length and decreasing inclination angle¡ ends in smaller area of mist packet annular area. It is revealed that for higher mid-section lengths¡ effect of increasing inclination on shifting transition lines between flow patterns is more determining.