The investigation of gas–liquid two-phase transient flow based on Steger–Warming flux vector splitting method in pipelines

Abstract

In this article, two fluid conservation equations of gas–liquid two-phase transient flows are deduced with an improved mass transfer model between two phases and applied to liquid-column separation transients in pipelines. A new description of gas–liquid two-phase bubbly flow numerical calculation is structured with difference method of the Steger–Warming flux vector splitting method which is combined with NND scheme. Two experiments are chosen to validate the applicability and accuracy of the two-phase flow model: (1) Simpson’s valve closure water hammer experiment and (2) our select water hammer experiment: the power failure in the horizontal pipeline pump system experiment. Results show that a reasonable agreement is achieved by comparing to the experimental results. This method is stated to be capable of capturing shock waves and the interface mass exchange during transient process in bubble flow while suppressing calculation oscillation problem.