Incipience of Liquid Entrainment From a Stratified Gas-Liquid Region in Multiple Discharging Branches

Abstract

The onset of liquid entrainment in discharging branches, from a stratified gas-liquid region, has implications in industrial applications where safety is of concern. The onset criterion was characterized by the critical height, the vertical distance from the discharge inlet to the gas-liquid interface, and was shown to be a function of the Froude number. The critical height signified a transition in the discharging flow quality from a single phase gas to a two-phase gas-liquid mixture. The onset of liquid entrainment with multiple discharging branches, and a stratified gas-liquid region, was experimentally investigated using air and water. A test section with a semicircular cross section and three discharging branches at 0deg, 45deg, and 90deg was used. The critical height was recorded using both increasing and decreasing liquid level methods, thereby demonstrating surface tension and wetness effects. A total of eight cases were investigated for single, dual, and triple discharges, with onset occurring in the branch closest to and above the gas-liquid interface. Wall curvature effects were discussed through comparison with previous flat wall studies. Agreement between previously developed analytical models and the decreasing liquid level results was found.