Accepted Manuscript

Experimental study on the characteristics of air-water two-phase flow in vertical

helical rectangular channel

X.F. Liu, G.D. Xia, G. Yang

PII: S0301-9322(15)00068-3
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmultiphaseflow.2015.03.012
Reference: IJMF 2187

To appear in: International Journal of Multiphase Flow

Received Date: 6 September 2014

Revised Date: 10 December 2014
Accepted Date: 8 March 2015

Please cite this article as: Liu, X.F., Xia, G.D., Yang, G., Experimental study on the characteristics of air-water two-
phase flow in vertical helical rectangular channel, International Journal of Multiphase Flow (2015), doi: http://
dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmultiphaseflow.2015.03.012

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 Experimental study on the characteristics of air-water two-phase flow in

vertical helical rectangular channel

X.F Liu, G.D Xia∗ , G Yang

（Key Laboratory of Enhanced Heat Transfer and Energy Conservation, Ministry of Education, College of
Environmental and Energy Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, China, 100124. E-mail:
xgd@bjut.edu.cn）

Abstract

Experimental investigations on the characteristics of air-water two-phase flow in the vertical helical

rectangular channel are performed using the high speed flow visualization. The flow pattern map and the

transition in the helical rectangular channel are presented. The flow pattern evolution in different positions of the

helical rectangular channel is illustrated. The discussion on the coalescence of the bubble and slug is presented.

The slug velocity, slug length distribution, liquid slug frequency, falling liquid film velocity and falling film

thickness along the slug are investigated. The dimensionless liquid film thickness of the annular flow on the outer

side of the channel is measured using the digital image processing algorithm.

Key word: two-phase flow, helical rectangular channel, flow pattern evolution, slug flow, liquid film thickness

1. Introduction
Helical channels are of great importance in many industrial applications, such as power engineering, heat

recovery processes, air conditioning and refrigeration systems, chemical reactors, nuclear reactors, steam

generators and other heat transfer equipment (Bolinder and Sunden 1995; Awwad et al. 1997; Sasmito et al. 2012).

Two-phase flow in the helical channel is much more complex in nature than that in the straight pipes. When the

air-water flows through the helical channel, the heavier fluid is shifted to the outer side of the channel due to the

dominant effect of centrifugal force, while the gas flows towards the inner side of the channel (Biswas and Das

2008).

Two-phase flow characteristics in helically coiled tubes are more complex and important for engineering

∗
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: xgd@bjut.edu.cn
applications. Some numerical works have been reported on the flow characteristics. Vashisth and Nigam (2009)

presented the local variables and interfacial phenomena as the two-phase flow through the helical pipe. Jayakumar

et al. (2010) presented the hydraulic characteristics of the air-water two-phase flow in the helical pipes. CFD

analysis was carried out with varying configuration parameters and the influence on thermal hydraulic

characteristics of the two-phase flow was brought out. Xia et al. (2014) investigated the flow characteristics and

pressure drop in helical rectangular channel, the development of the liquid distribution and pressure gradient along

the helical rectangular channels was presented.

Compared with the limited numerical investigations of two-phase flow characteristics through helical tubes,

experimental works regarding the two-phase flow characteristics are also insufficient in the open literatures.

Kumar et al. (2009) investigated the effect of various dynamic and geometric parameters on mass transfer

coefficients in helically coiled flow systems. Murai et al. (2005 and 2006) performed the two-phase flow in the

helical pipe and the effects of centrifugal acceleration on the flow structure distribution were elucidated. Vashisth

and Nigam (2008) carried out experimental investigation on the void fraction and flow patterns in coiled flow

inverter, the flow pattern chart showing smooth-stratified, stratified-wavy, slug flow, plug flow, wavy flow and

churn flow regimes were presented. Chen and Guo (1999) investigated the oil-air-water three-phase flow in

helically coiled tubes, whereby the flow patterns and pressure drop in the test channel were obtained.

The two-phase flow structure in the screw channel of single screw expander prototype is one of the most

important factors that affect the efficiency of the expander (Wang et al. 2011). The previous researches mainly

focused on the processing and the performance of the prototype, and the two-phase flow structure in the screw

channel remains an issue for further studies (Liu et al. 2014). To our knowledge, no attempt has been made to

investigate the flow characteristics in helical rectangular channel. This paper aims to explore the fine features of

two-phase flow in helical rectangular channel. The findings in the present paper can give much insight into the

physics of the problem in single screw expander prototype.

2. Experimental apparatus

2.1 Characteristics of helical rectangular channel

The schematic of the vertical helical rectangular channel with its main geometrical parameters is presented in

Fig. 1. The cross-sectional geometry of the channel (a×b) is considered as 30mm×16mm. The pitch circle

diameter (D) is taken as 155mm. The pitch (H) of the helical rectangular channel in this paper is given as

329.7mm. The side of the channel wall which is nearest to the coil axis is termed inner side and the outmost side

is termed as outer side. The dimensionless parameters curvature and torsion are defined as δ=d/D, λ=H/πD (d is

the hydraulic diameter of rectangle cross-section). The centrifugal acceleration is defined as U2/R. The Reynolds

number Re=ρdU/µ. The Dean number is used to characterize the flow in helical pipe. That is defined as De=Reδ0.5

(Xia and Liu 2014)

2.2 Experimental apparatus

Figure 2 shows the outline of the experimental loop used in the present study. It consists of air supply system,

water supply system, test section, data acquisition system, flow measuring apparatus, flow controlling system and

high speed camera system. Air and water are taken as the working fluids. Water is circulated in the loop from a

storage tank. Air is supplied by an air-compressor and then flows through the air measuring station. Their flow

rates are adjusted by controlling valves. The air flow rate is measured by a vortex flow meter with an accuracy of

±1.0%. The water flow rate is measured by an electromagnetic flow meter with an accuracy of ±0.5%. These two

fluids can be mixed in the mixing chamber. The distance from the mixing chamber to the test channel is about 1.2

m. The entrance and exit of the test channel are connected with the variable-section transition channel, which is

made for the connection of the test channel with the flow loop. The length of the variable-section transition

channel is approximately 100mm. The flow patterns are distinguished and recorded by high speed camera using

the backlight imaging tomography. The frame rate of Motionpro X4 high-speed camera can be selected in the

range of 30-5000 fps. The pressure measurement probes are fixed at the 30-degree turn and 300-degree turn of test
channel and it is statistical to measure the pressure drop and pressure fluctuation in helical rectangular channel.

2.3. Backlight imaging

Figure 1 shows a longitudinal view of the visualization unit employed in the study. The curvature of the

helical rectangular channel makes it difficult to measure the flow feature of the air-water flow. In order to show

the effect of the centrifugal acceleration on the two-phase flow pattern evolution characteristics, the visualized

flow patterns in the test channel is presented at the four positions. The position of each lamp is adjusted carefully

so that the brightness distributions of all projected images become almost uniform. The backlight image at an

arbitrary angle is obtained in the same relative angle between the camera and the direction of the light source.

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Flow patterns and their transition mechanisms

With the aid of flow visualization, appearance of main flow patterns at the 180-degree of the vertical helical

rectangular channel is presented in Fig. 3. Six flow patterns are identified according to previous literature (Zeguai

et al. 2013).

(1) Bubbly flow: This flow pattern takes place at low gas superficial velocities and high liquid superficial

velocities. In bubbly flow air is distributed as discrete bubbles in continuous water. The bubble has a spherical

shape or may be deformed with a bubble length less than the tube diameter. The effect of the centrifugal

acceleration on the bubbles distribution is clearly presented in Fig. 3. The liquid is subjected to a larger centrifugal

force which causes the water to move along the outer side of the channel, while the bubbles flow along the inner

side of the channel.

(2) Intermittent flow: This flow pattern appears in the flow region between the bubbly flow and the annular

flow.

(3) Annular flow: This flow pattern is defined when the air occupies the core of the pipe and liquid film is

formed on the pipe wall which is dragged upward by air due to the interface friction. The liquid film is broken and
turns into small droplets due to interaction of phases in high air flow rate. These small droplets are shifted to the

outer side of the channel by the effect of larger centrifugal acceleration. The liquid thickness on the outer is much

higher than the inner side.

A map of two-phase flow patterns at the 180-degree of the vertical helical rectangular channel is depicted in

Fig. 4. A detailed description is needed because for flow characteristics there is a change in the different position.

Generally, the flow pattern map is similar to that of a vertical straight tube; however, some differences are

identified. The transition between intermittent and annular flow occurs at a lower superficial gas velocity. This

means that the annular flow pattern is maintained larger than in the case of a straight pipe flow. This is because

that the liquid is shifted to the outer side of the helical rectangular channel, while the air mainly moves along the

inner side in case of annular flow.

According to all the experimental data, the theoretical analysis on the transition mechanisms of the different

patterns and some dimensionless correlations of the transition in helical coiled pipe are proposed by using the

non-dimensional analysis.

For the transition from intermittent flow to annular flow, previous investigators (Hu et al. 2006) proposed

many transition models from intermittent flow to annular flow in vertical tube. The mechanism characteristics of

the transition from intermittent flow to annular flow can be expressed as the combined effect of air phase inertia

' ρl U sg
force, the liquid gravity and the surface tension. The modified Froude number of the gas Frg =
ρl -ρg gd

presents the ratio of the gas inertia force and the liquid gravity. The experimental results show that the effect of the

centrifugal force has an important effect on the flow characteristics in helical rectangular channel. Considered the

effect of centrifugal force can give much insight into the flow characteristics in helical rectangular channel. The

U sg ρg 0.5
effect of the centrifugal force can be evaluated as (d/D). The non-dimensional parameter K = 0.25
 g ( ρl -ρg ) σ 
 
shows the effect of the surface tension. The functional relationship for predicting the transition from slug flow to
annular flow can be proposed as follows:

0.224
 U sg  0.18
'
Fr = 0.189 K
g
0.7
 
 U sl 
(d D) （1）

For the transition from bubble flow to slug flow, the transition from the situation of bubbles observed at low

gas velocity to slug flow requires a process of agglomeration or coalescence. The bubbles become so closely

packed that many collisions occur and the rate of agglomeration to larger bubbles will increase sharply when the

gas velocity increases. The bubble size increases and a critical point can be reached. This results in a transition

from bubbly flow to slug flow. This functional relationship can be expressed as
0.52

 U sg

1.5

 (d D)
0.35
 dp

= 1.81 
( )
dx 

 （2）
 U 
sl
 ρl − ρg 
 
3.2 Flow pattern evolution and interpretation

The experimental results indicate that the centrifugal force is the predominant factor that affects the

distribution of the bubble for the bubbly flow. At high liquid velocity, the liquid is shifted to the outer side of the

channel due to the predominant effect of centrifugal force, while the bubbles mainly flow along the inner side. The

flow pattern evolution for bubbly flow in the vertical helical rectangular channel is illustrated in Fig. 5

(Usg=0.826m/s, Usl=0.628m/s). It can be seen from the experimental results that the bubbles are tending to

agglomeration as the bubbles flow upward. Due to the effect of gravity on the liquid, the buoyancy force acting as

the lifting force induces the bubbles to flow in the center of channel in the region close to the exit.

Visual observation of the slug formation illustrates that the slug is formed from larger bubble. The

coalescence of the bubble as the bubble moves up induces the formation of the small slug. Figure 6 (Usg=2.548m/s,

Usl =0.628m/s) presents the coalescence of the bubble as the two-phase flows move through the region close to the

entry. There are some dimensional parameters governing the bubble coalescence in the vertical helical rectangular

channel in which buoyancy force, inertia force and pressure gradient are significant. The buoyancy force and the

inertia force act as the lifting forces while the pressure gradient is in the opposite direction. The unbalance of the
forces acting on the advancing and receding of the bubble induces the coalescence. The quickly increase of the

existence of large bubble enhances the fluctuation and this aggravates the coalescing process of small bubbles. As

the coalescent bubble grows up to a certain extent, the flow pattern changes from the bubbly flow to the slug flow.

From the all observation of experimental data, the coalescence of the bubble mainly takes place in the region close

to the entrance.

The evolution from the bubbly to the slug in the vertical helical rectangular channel is shown in Fig. 7

(Usg=1.764m/s, Usl =0.628m/s). Due to the effects of buoyancy force, inertia force and the pressure gradient on the

bubble, the coalescence of bubble turns up and the coalescent bubble grows up to a certain extent, which enhances

the coalescing process from the bubbly to the small slug flow. The merging process in this region has been

presented in the previous section.

Figure 8 (Usg=3.296m/s, Usl=0.628m/s) presents a sample of instantaneous pictures of the slug flow in the

different regions of the helical rectangular channel. The projection images from different positions are obtained at

the same flow rate. It is found that the behavior of the slug is changing in the different positions, due to varying

magnitude of the dominant force acting on the slug along the channel. It has been clearly noted that the effect of

the centrifugal force induces the slug to move along the inner side. The observation shows that the magnitude of

inertia force and buoyancy force of the slug also has some influence on the distribution of the slug at the different

flow rates.

The evolution of the annular flow in the helical rectangular channel and the liquid distribution in the given

region are shown in Fig. 9 (Usg=11.48m/s, Usl=0.628m/s). The small droplets are shifted to the outer side of the

channel by the larger centrifugal acceleration and that the liquid thickness on the outer side is much higher than

the inner side.

3.3 Local parameter of slug flow

Measurement of the slug velocity, slug length distribution and the falling liquid film velocity for the
two-phase flow with the digital high-speed video system has been presented extensively (Hout et al. 2002, Zheng

and Che 2006). Series of images of the flow taken by the high-speed camera at a frame rate (f=2000fps) are

digitized. The axial position of the slug interface is determined upon entering the field of view of the camera and

leaving it. In processing the photographs, a scale factor is defined to obtain the real information from the

photograph processing. The velocity is given by

f ∆α R 1 + λ 2
U tb = (3)
∆n

where ∆n is the number of frames elapsed between slug front entering and leaving the field of view of the camera,

∆α is the central angle between the slug front entering and leaving the field.

The measured velocities of slug in developed continuous slug flow as a function of the mixture velocity are

presented in Fig. 10. The points indicate the measured velocity of the slug for all conditions and the line shows the

comparison of the correlated empirical relations with the experimental data. The correlated empirical relations in

the different regions yielded the following: (a) Eq.(4) 60o; (b) Eq.(5) 120o ; (c) Eq.(6) 180o; (d) Eq.(7) 270o;

U tb =1.285U m + 0.446 gd (4)

U tb =1.281U m + 0.446 gd (5)

U tb =1.276U m + 0.446 gd (6)

U tb =1.271U m + 0.446 gd (7)

It can be seen that the slug velocity is slightly decreasing as the slug move upward in the helical rectangular

channel. The distribution parameter in the helical rectangular channel is higher than that in the circular tube. A

similar result is found by Mishima and Ishii (1984) in their investigation of the distribution parameter for circular

and non-circular channel. The distribution parameter in the different positions is changing due to the flow

condition in this region.

The slug length distribution is an important parameter for the investigation on the detail characteristics of the

slug flow. This paper is devoted to explore the slug length distribution in the different positions of the channel.
Figure 11 illustrates the overall distribution in the different positions at the same flow rates. From the observation

of the experimental data, the main feature is a significant peak in the distribution of slug lengths. It is also found

that the slug lengths are changing in the different positions, due to the combined effects of the different forces. As

the slug moves away from the inlet, the lengths of slug follow the log-normal distribution model. Increasing the

flow rate of the fluid, the variation of slug length in the whole helical rectangular channel can be neglected.

The mean slug length is identified as the characteristic length scale (Ls) and the characteristic time scale is

obtained from the mean time of liquid slug unit cell passing and referred to as the liquid slug frequency (f). Figure

12 illustrates the liquid slug frequency distribution at different superficial gas and liquid velocities. It is indicated

that the liquid slug frequency increases with increasing superficial liquid velocity, whereas the liquid slug

frequency decreases with increasing superficial gas velocity.

Due to the pulsating flow characteristics of the air-water two-phase flow in the channel, the quickly

developed inertia force is not enough to push the water to the top of the channel and this cause the phenomenon

that the move of the liquid film is intermittent and periodic in the vertical helical rectangular channel. The

parameters associated with the falling liquid film become crucial for the modeling of slug flow. The distribution of

liquid film on the wall of helical rectangular channel is determined by the effects of centrifugal force and gravity,

which are determined by the flow rate and the curvature. Dispersed bubble entrainment by a liquid film falling

around the slug can be used for predicting the velocity of falling liquid film. The comparison of the falling liquid

film velocity on the two sides of the helical rectangular channel is illustrated in Fig. 13. Even if the liquid film

thickness on the two sides of helical rectangular channel is asymmetrical due to centrifugal force effect acting on

the liquid distribution, the move of the entrainment bubble in the liquid film dose not express any significant

difference.

Dispersed bubble entrainment by a liquid film falling around the slug is studied experimentally with the

purpose of predicting the velocity of falling liquid film along slug in an earlier research (Kockx el al. 2005). The
velocities of the dispersed bubble (Ub) are measured with the digital high-speed video system, which is based on

the series of images of the flow taken by a video camera at a frame rate. The drift velocity (Uo) of dispersed

bubble rising in stagnant water is given considering the inclination angle investigated. The velocity of the falling

liquid film (Uf) is provided by Harmathy (1960), which yielded the following correlation:

1/ 4
U 0 = 1.53 σ g ( ρ l − ρg ) ρl2  (8)

Uf ( x ) = U b ( x) − U0 (9)

where σ is the gas-liquid interfacial tension, x is the distance from the slug nose.

Figure 14 illustrates the velocity of falling liquid film along the slug. The velocity of falling liquid film is

increased with increasing superficial gas velocity. The experimental result for the velocity of falling liquid film is

in good agreement with the results of Zheng and Che (2006). The reason for this fact is that the falling liquid film

is formed at the slug nose and runs down all the way to the slug bottom. As the velocity of the slug is increased,

the rapid developed force at the slug nose induces the falling liquid film to flow downward with an increasing

magnitude.

Measurement of the mean liquid film as a function of distance below the slug nose is carried out using the

backlit digital imaging technique. The digital image processing algorithm that isolated liquid film contours from

other flow features is implemented (Rodriguez and Shedd 2004). As the air-water flow through the helical channel,

the liquid is shifted to the outer side of the channel due to the dominant effect of centrifugal force. The liquid film

contours become more visible from the air flow features and this makes it more statistical accuracy for measuring

the film thickness in helical rectangular channel. Mean film thickness measurement is done with the same liquid

flow rate but different gas flow rates. The development of film thickness on the outer side of the channel as a

function of distance below the slug nose in the different positions is presented in Fig. 15. It can be seen that the

mean falling liquid film thickness decreases along the slug. Increasing the liquid flow rate can increase the film

thickness on the outer side of the channel. This is because the effect of centrifugal force is enhanced with
increasing liquid flow rate and that more liquid is shifted to the outer side due to the larger centrifugal force. As

the liquid flow upward, the gravity decrease the effect of centrifugal force and buoyancy force acts as the lifting

force, this induces the slug moves toward the outer side of the channel. The mean film thickness on the outer side

of the channel is decreasing.

3.4 Liquid film in annular flow

The liquid film thickness in annular two-phase flow plays an important role in many applications. Liquid

film thickness variation with respect to the flow rate along the helical rectangular channel is investigated in the

present study. Measurement of the mean liquid film is carried out using the backlit digital imaging technique.

Figure 16 shows a sample of measurement of the liquid film thickness on the outer side of the helical rectangular

channel. Figure 17 shows the superficial liquid velocity on the dimensionless liquid film thickness on the outer

side in the different positions. It is indicated that the liquid film thickness increases with increasing superficial

liquid velocity. Compared to the average liquid film thicknesses in the different positions, the liquid film thickness

on the outer side becomes slightly thinner as the annular flow upward. This is because the effect of centrifugal

force is decreasing due to the effect of the gravity on the liquid flow. These works in the present study give much

guiding significance for the structural design and optimization of the screw in single screw expander prototype.

4. Conclusions

Experimental data have been presented for the air-water two-phase flow characteristic in the helical

rectangular channel. The main findings are summarized as:

1. In this paper, an image analysis technique is used to recognize the air-water two-phase flow pattern in

helical rectangular channel. The main patterns, bubbly, intermittent and annular flow are recognized. Base on

experimental observations, the flow pattern map in the vertical helical rectangular channel are depicted. Some

dimensionless correlations for the transition in vertical helical rectangular channel are proposed.

2. The flow pattern evolution in helical rectangular channel differs from the previous investigations for the
two-phase flow due to the effect of the centrifugal force. The discussion on the coalescence as the bubble and slug

flow through the whole helical rectangular channel is presented.

3. The slug velocity, slug length distribution, liquid slug frequent, the falling liquid film velocity and film

thickness along the slug are investigated. The slug velocity is decreasing as the slug move upward in the vertical

helical rectangular channel. The liquid slug frequency increases with increasing superficial liquid velocity. The

velocity of falling liquid film on the two sides of the helical rectangular channel is almost the same and it is

increased with increasing superficial gas velocity.

4. The dimensionless liquid film thickness on the outer side increases with increasing superficial liquid

velocity. As the annular flow moves upward, the mean liquid film thicknesses slightly decreases along the axial

direction of helical rectangular channel.

Acknowledgements

The work is financed by the National Basic Research Program of China (2011CB710704) and the Natural

Science Foundation of Beijing (3142004).

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Fig. 1 Schematic of the helical rectangular channel with its main geometrical parameter and
longitudinal view of the backlight imaging unit
 Fig. 2 Air-water two-phase flow experimental apparatus

Bubbly Bubbly-slug Small-slug

Larger-slug Churn Annular

Fig. 3 Main flow pattern in the vertical helical rectangular channel

 Fig. 4 Flow pattern map in the vertical helical rectangular channel

60o 120 o 180o 270o

Fig. 5 Flow evolution for bubbly flow in the four positions at the same flow rate
4.935s 4.94s 4.97s 4.975s 4.985s
Fig. 6 Coalescence of the slug in the region close to the entry

60 o 120o 180o 270 o

Fig. 7 Flow evolution from the bubble to the small slug

60o 120o 180o 270o

Fig. 8 Slug evolution in the four positions at the same flow rate
 60 o 120o 180o 270o
Fig. 9 Annular flow evolution in the four positions at the same flow rate

(a) 60 o (b) 120o

(c) 180o (d) 270o

Fig. 10 Measured velocities of slug in the different positions
 60o 120 o

180o 270 o
Fig. 11 Slug length distribution in the different positions of helical rectangular channel

Fig. 12 Liquid slug frequency distribution at the different superficial velocities

 3.965s 3.975s 3.985s 3.995s 4.005s
Fig. 13 Comparison of the falling liquid film velocity on the two sides

(a) 60 o (b) 120o

(c) 180o (d) 270o

Fig. 14 Velocity of falling liquid film along slug in the different positions
 (a) 60 o (b) 120o

(c) 180o (d) 270o

Fig. 15 Dimensionless falling liquid film thickness along slug in the different positions
Fig. 16 Sample of measurement of the liquid film thickness on the outer side
 (a) 60 o (b) 120o

(c) 180o (d) 270o

Fig. 17 Average liquid film thickness on the outer side in the different positions
 Highlights
1. Flow pattern and flow patterns evolution in vertical helical rectangular channel.

2. Flow pattern map and flow pattern transition in vertical helical rectangular channel.

3. The local parameters of slug flow in different positions.

4. Measurements of the liquid film thickness under the different superficial liquid velocity.