An experimental investigation of stability and interfacial waves in co-current flow of two liquids

Abstract

The stability of the co-current stratified flow of oil and water was investigated experimentally in a horizontal rectangular conduit. Laminar-turbulent transitions were determined for both phases. With the two-phase system the transition to turbulence in the water phase occurred at a higher Reynolds number in the presence of a laminar oil layer provided the input water-to-oil ratio was relatively high, while the transition in the oil phase took place at a lower Reynolds number in the presence of a turbulent water layer. The appearance of first interfacial waves coincided with the transition to turbulence of the less viscous or water phase. This suggests that in the system investigated the resonance mechanism as proposed by Phillips (1957) was responsible for the generation of these first waves. However, at relatively high water flow rates and water-to-oil ratios more pronounced waves were observed which appeared to be generated by an instability in the mean flow.