Influence of Wall Inclination Angles on the Onset of Gas Entrainment During Single and Dual Discharges From a Reservoir

Abstract

A theoretical analysis was carried out to predict the influences of wall inclination angles of large reservoirs on the onset of gas entrainment during single and dual discharges from a stratified two-phase region. The findings reveal that when the wall inclination angle differs from zero, along with low values of Froude number, two distinct flow regimes occur: the gas-entrainment and no gas-entrainment regimes. A new criterion has been developed to predict the critical Froude number at the transition from the gas-entrainment to the no-gas-entrainment regime. The critical Froude number is defined as a function of the wall inclination angle for a single discharge. For dual discharge, the critical Froude number is found to be dependent on the wall inclination angle, the separating distance between the centerlines of the two branches, as well as the Froude number of the second branch. Furthermore, four different flow regions are mapped, representing the flow regime, as well as the two-phase flow for each branch. These maps serve to predict the flow regions, mass flow rates, and quality during single and dual two-phase discharges. For the gas-entrainment regime, the predicted values of the critical height at the onset of gas entrainment are compared with the experimental data reported in literatures. Comparisons showed good concurrence between the measured and predicted results. Furthermore, the influence of the wall inclination angle on the flow regions, the predicted critical height, and the location of the gas entrainment are presented and discussed at different values of independent variables.