On the turbulent structure in the wake of Taylor bubbles rising in vertical pipes

The development of gas-liquid slug flow along pipes is governed by the interaction between consecutive elongated bubbles. It is commonly accepted that the trailing bubble’s shape and velocity are affected by the flow field in the liquid phase ahead of it. Particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements of the velocity field in the wake of an elongated Taylor bubble are performed for different pipe diameters and various Reynolds numbers. Experiments are carried out in both laminar and turbulent background flows. Ensemble-averaged quantities in the frame of reference moving with the Taylor bubble are calculated. Peculiarities regarding the variation of the mean velocity distributions, as well as of the normal and shear Reynolds stresses, with the distance from the Taylor bubble bottom are discussed.

[1]  L. Shemer,et al.  EXPERIMENTS ON THE TURBULENT STRUCTURE AND THE VOID FRACTION DISTRIBUTION IN THE TAYLOR BUBBLE WAKE , 2005 .

[2]  Yehuda Taitel,et al.  Two-Phase Slug Flow , 1990 .

[3]  P. Bradshaw,et al.  A turbulent mixing layer constrained by a solid surface. Part 2. Measurements in the wall-bounded flow , 1984, Journal of Fluid Mechanics.

[4]  Peter Griffith,et al.  Entrance Effects in a Two-Phase Slug Flow , 1962 .

[5]  Roddam Narasimha,et al.  Relaminarization of fluid flows , 1979 .

[6]  G. Taylor,et al.  The mechanics of large bubbles rising through extended liquids and through liquids in tubes , 1950, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A. Mathematical and Physical Sciences.

[7]  L. Shemer,et al.  Averaged and time-dependent characteristics of the motion of an elongated bubble in a vertical pipe , 1999 .

[8]  Katepalli R. Sreenivasan,et al.  Laminarescent, relaminarizing and retransitional flows , 1982 .

[9]  Yiannis Ventikos,et al.  Numerical and Experimental Investigation of an Annular Jet Flow With Large Blockage , 2004 .

[10]  D. Dumitrescu.  Strömung an einer Luftblase im senkrechten Rohr , 1943 .

[11]  Daniel D. Joseph,et al.  Rise velocity of a spherical cap bubble , 2002, Journal of Fluid Mechanics.

[12]  J. Whitelaw,et al.  Velocity characteristics in the turbulent near wakes of confined axisymmetric bluff bodies , 1984, Journal of Fluid Mechanics.

[13]  John R. Grace,et al.  Dependence of slug rise velocity on tube Reynolds number in vertical gas-liquid flow , 1979 .

[14]  Lev Shemer,et al.  Upward-propagating capillary waves on the surface of short Taylor bubbles , 2006 .

[15]  L. Shemer,et al.  The relation between the Taylor bubble motion and the velocity field ahead of it , 1999 .

[16]  D. Joseph,et al.  Universal correlation for the rise velocity of long gas bubbles in round pipes , 2003, Journal of Fluid Mechanics.

[17]  D. Barnea.  Effect of bubble shape on pressure drop calculations in vertical slug flow , 1990 .

[18]  P. Bradshaw.  Review—Complex Turbulent Flows , 1975 .

[19]  D. Joseph,et al.  Ellipsoidal model of the rise of a Taylor bubble in a round tube , 2005 .

[20]  Lev Shemer,et al.  On the interaction between two consecutive elongated bubbles in a vertical pipe , 2000 .

[21]  C. Clanet,et al.  On the motion of bubbles in vertical tubes of arbitrary cross-sections: some complements to the Dumitrescu–Taylor problem , 2004, Journal of Fluid Mechanics.

[22]  R. van Hout,et al.  Evolution of statistical parameters of gas–liquid slug flow along vertical pipes , 2001 .

[23]  L. Shemer,et al.  Experimental investigation of the velocity field induced by a Taylor bubble rising in stagnant water , 2002 .

[24]  H. Schlichting.  Boundary Layer Theory , 1955 .