CHE324 Fluid and Particle Processes Chapter 2 Gas-Liquid flow

Chapter 2 Two-Phase Flow: Gas-Liquid Flow

Two-phase flows are commonly found in industrial

processes. The phase may be solid, liquid or gas.

(1) Gas-liquid flow occurs in many systems, such as in

boilers and evaporators and in many situations in the
transmission of oil and gas mixtures.
(2) Solid-liquid flow occurs during the flow of
suspensions such as a river bed sediments and coal-
water slurry.
(3) Gas-solid flow occurs in a fluidised bed and in the
pneumatic conveying of solid particles.

For two-phase flow, the difference in density between

the phases is important in determining flow pattern.

Gas-liquid flow
Flow direction: horizontal or vertical

2.1 Flow patterns

In the case of horizontal flow in pipes, there are several

flow patterns shown as below

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CHE324 Fluid and Particle Processes Chapter 2 Gas-Liquid flow

1) Bubble or Froth flow

In this pattern, bubbles of gas are distributed

throughout the liquid.

2) Plug Flow

In this pattern, alternate plugs of liquid and gas move

along the upper part of the pipe. The lower part of the
pipe tends to be totally liquid.

Gas Gas

Liquid

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CHE324 Fluid and Particle Processes Chapter 2 Gas-Liquid flow

3) Stratified Flow

In this pattern, liquid flows along the bottom of the

pipe and gas flows along the top of the pipe, with a
smooth gas/liquid interface.

Gas Gas

Liquid Liquid

4) Wave Flow

This pattern is similar to stratified flow except that

the gas/liquid interface has waves travelling in the
flow direction

Gas Gas

Liquid Liquid

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CHE324 Fluid and Particle Processes Chapter 2 Gas-Liquid flow

5) Slug Flow

In this pattern, froth slugs pass along the pipe at

velocities greater than the average liquid velocity.

Gas

Liquid

6) Annular Flow

In this pattern, the liquid flows as a film around the

inside pipe wall while the gas flows as a central core.

Liquid

Gas

Liquid

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CHE324 Fluid and Particle Processes Chapter 2 Gas-Liquid flow

7) Dispersed Flow

In this pattern, the liquid is entrained as fine droplets

in the gas.

Gas

Table 1. Typical flow regimes in horizontal two-phase

flow
Flow pattern Typical velocities (m/s)
Liquid Vapour
Bubble flow 1.5 – 5.0 0.3 - 3
Plug flow 0.6 < 1.0
Stratified flow < 0.15 0.6 - 3
Wave flow < 0.3 >5
Slug flow Occurs over a wide range of velocities
Annular flow - >6
Dispersed flow - > 60
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CHE324 Fluid and Particle Processes Chapter 2 Gas-Liquid flow

Determination of flow pattern

There are general “rules-of-thumb” for estimating

which flow regime will occur in any given situation but
a better approach was devised by Baker (1954). Baker
defined two dimensionless variables:

0. 5
  g  l 
    
  a   w 

0.33 0.5
 w  l   w  
    
 l   w  l  

where  = density (kg/m3)
 = viscosity (Pa s)
 = surface tension (dyne/cm)
and the subscripts , g, l, a, w refer to gas, liquid, air and
water, respectively.

These two variables are calculated and then plotted on a

Baker diagram, shown below

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CHE324 Fluid and Particle Processes Chapter 2 Gas-Liquid flow

Note that the axes on this diagram are :

Y-axis = G/

X-axis = L/G

where, G is the mass flux of gas phase and L is the mass

flux of the liquid phase.

Note: Slug flow should be avoided because of the

unsteady conditions in the pipe. Slug flow could cause
damage to the piping system. The minimum two-phase
velocity to prevent slug flow has been estimated as

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CHE324 Fluid and Particle Processes Chapter 2 Gas-Liquid flow

v = 3 + 0.024 D

where D is the pipe diameter in mm.

2.2 Energy loss calculation

In a single-phase flow, energy loss is observed as

pressure drops due to the effects of friction, acceleration
and potential (elevation). In two-phase flow, pressure
drops are higher than in single-phase flow, partly
because of the acceleration. In two-phase flow, the gas
will usually flow at a higher velocity than the liquid and
there will be some transfer of energy from the gas to the
liquid. In addition, other factors causing pressure drop
are dependent on which flow regime is occurring.

(1) Annular flow

The rough interface between the gas and liquid causes
the gas to experience the equivalent of a rough pipe with
a larger friction factor and hence a higher pressure
drop.

(2) Dispersed flow

The extra energy is required to transport the droplets of
liquid.

(3) Slug flow

The slugs of liquid are transported at the same velocity
as the slugs of gas. This velocity is much greater than

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CHE324 Fluid and Particle Processes Chapter 2 Gas-Liquid flow

that estimated from the liquid volumetric flow over pipe

cross-sectional area.

(4) Stratified flow and wave flow

The liquid surface is not smooth but has waves (even in
stratified flow). Consequently, the gas path is not
uniform, with low velocity between the waves and
higher velocities through the smaller areas above the
waves. Constantly changing gas velocities use up energy
and hence create pressure losses.

General method for calculation of Pgl

(1) Homogeneous flow

Homogeneous flow assumes that the two phases are well
mixed and therefore travel with the same actual
velocities. Homogeneous flow is a particular model of
two-phase flow.

Volume (void) fraction (  ) is the volume percentage of

one phase either in dense or dilute phase. For each fluid,
the individual mean velocity will be

v g  vg /  g
v l  vl /(1   g )

For gas-liquid two phases, the homogeneous density and

viscosity are
   g  (1   )  l
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CHE324 Fluid and Particle Processes Chapter 2 Gas-Liquid flow

   g  (1   )  l

Therefore, pressure drop will be

fG 2 X
 P 
2 D

(2) Separated flow

Because these pressure loss mechanisms are not easy to

quantify, the usual procedure for determining pressure
drops is to use a semi-empirical approach.
The most widely used correlation is that of Lockhart
and Martinelli. This is based on the pressure drops of
each phase as if the other phase were not present. The
two-phase pressure drop is then calculated as the single-
phase pressure drop multiplied by some factors.

Pgl = l 2 Pl

Pgl = g 2 Pg

Hold-up: Fraction of the pipe volume which is occupied

by a particular phase.

Pl
= Pg

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CHE324 Fluid and Particle Processes Chapter 2 Gas-Liquid flow

Then, use the Lockhart-Martinelli diagram given below

to find a value of l or g.

Regime Rel Reg

T-T > 2000 > 2000
V–T < 1000 > 2000
T–V > 2000 < 1000
V -V < 1000 < 1000

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CHE324 Fluid and Particle Processes Chapter 2 Gas-Liquid flow

Alternatively, Chisholm determined for T-T flow as

20 1
l 2  1  
 2

For other cases, the equation will be

12 1
l 2  1  
V–T  2
10 1
l  1 
2

T-V  2
5 1
l 2  1  
V–V  2

Correlation between  and 

There is a empirically correlation with error no larger

than 0.02
1
g 
(1  0.0904  0.548 ) 2.82

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CHE324 Fluid and Particle Processes Chapter 2 Gas-Liquid flow

Example 2.1

A two-phase mixture at atmospheric pressure and 25

C containing 2 kg/s air and 20 kg/s water is
transported through a 250 mm diameter horizontal
pipe. Find the flow type, the pressure drop per meter
length of pipe and the liquid phase hold-up.
a = 18 x 10-6 Pa s w = 0.9 x 10-3 Pa s
a = 1.131 kg/m3 w = 998 kg/m3

Solution

(a) Flow pattern

For air and water system

0.5
  g   l 
     1
  a   w 

0.33 0.5
 w  l   w  
     1
 l   w  l  


Also gas phase mass flux

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CHE324 Fluid and Particle Processes Chapter 2 Gas-Liquid flow

Ma M 2 2 1  2
G  2
 2
  40 . 7 kgs m
A D 0.25 0.049
 
4 4

Liquid phase mass flux

Mw Mw 20 20 1  2
L  2
 2
  407 . 4 kgs m
A D 0.25 0.049
 
4 4

Then

Y-axis = G/ = 40.7 kg/s m2

X-axis = L/G = 10

From the Baker diagram: the flow pattern is

dispersed flow.

(b) Pressure drop

Firstly, it is necessary to determine the Reynolds

numbers.

vD GD 40.7 x0.25

Re a      1.8 x10 5  565278

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CHE324 Fluid and Particle Processes Chapter 2 Gas-Liquid flow

vD GD 407.4  0.25

Re w  



9  10 4
 113167

For commercial steel pipe, the friction factor

fg = 0.0155 and fl= 0.0180

Therefore,

Pg fv 2 fG 2 0.0155  40.72

    45.4 Pa / m
X 2 D 2 D 2  0.25  1.131

Pl fv 2 fG 2 0.0180  407.42

    5.99Pa / m
X 2 D 2 D 2  0.25  998

Pl
Pl X  5.99  0.36
 
Pg Pg 45.4
X

As Rel > 2000 and Reg > 2000 then use the t-t line in
the Lockhart-Martinelli diagram. It is found that

l = 8.0 and g = 2.8

Then Pgl = l 2 Pl = 64 x 5.99 = 383 Pa/m

Or Pgl = g 2 Pg = 7.84 x 45.4 = 356 Pa/m

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CHE324 Fluid and Particle Processes Chapter 2 Gas-Liquid flow

(c ) Liquid hold-up

The expected liquid phase hold-up can be determined

from the relative ratio of volumetric flow rates of gas
and liquid. This approach gives:

ma mw
Total flow rate = Qg + Ql =  + 
a w

=1.768 + 0.0200 = 1.788 m3/s

Fraction of this flow that is liquid

= 0.0200/1.788 = 1.12%

While from Lockhart-Martinelli diagram, we get

Rl = 0.13 =13%

This means that the liquid is “held-back” relative to

the gas flow so that there is about 11 times more
liquid in the pipe than would be expected from the
flowrates.

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CHE324 Fluid and Particle Processes Chapter 2 Gas-Liquid flow

Example 2-2
As in the Example 2-1, with the original flow rate of gas, what
liquid flow rate is required to achieve wave flow? And if the
pipe diameter is changed to 300 mm, what is the pressure
drop?

Solution

From Baker diagram, it is seen that a fixed gas flow rate will
not change the value of Y-axis. So drawing a horizontal line
from the original gas flow rate will get the value of X-axis at
which the wave flow commences.
L/G =0.42
L= 0.42 x 20 = 8.4 kg/s

For the case of D= 300 mm, the gas phase and liquid phase
mass flux are

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CHE324 Fluid and Particle Processes Chapter 2 Gas-Liquid flow

Ma M 2 2 1  2
G  2
 2
  28 . 3kgs m
A D 0 .3 0.071
 
4 4

Mw Mw 8 .4 8 .4 1  2
L     118 . 3kgs m
A D2 0.32 0.071
 
4 4
and thus
vD GD 28.3  0.3
Re a      1.8 x10 5  471667
vD GD 118.3  0.3
Re w      9  10  4  39437

For commercial steel pipe, the friction factor

fg = 0.0145 and fl= 0.0220

Therefore,
Pg fv 2 fG 2 0.0145  28.32
    17.1Pa / m
X 2 D 2 D 2  0.3  1.131
Pl fv 2 fG 2 0.0220  118.32
    0.51Pa / m
X 2 D 2 D 2  0.3  998
Pl
Pl X  0.51  0.173
 
Pg Pg 17.1
X

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CHE324 Fluid and Particle Processes Chapter 2 Gas-Liquid flow

We use Chisholm equation to determine  for T-T flow

as

20 1
l 2  1    149.9
  2

Pgl/X = l 2 (Pl/X) = 149.9 0.51=76.4 Pa/m

Using L-M diagram,  = 12.0

Pgl/X = l 2 (Pl/X) = 144 0.51=73.4 Pa/m

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CHE324 Fluid and Particle Processes Chapter 2 Gas-Liquid flow

Example 2.3

Gas and oil are flowing at volumetric flow rates G=

10.0, L= 0.5 ft3/s in a horizontal pipeline of internal
diameter D=0.5 ft. Estimate the fraction of gas, the
pressure gradient, and the mean velocities of each
phase. The physical properties are g = 0.15, l
=50.0lb/ft3, g = 0.025, l = 20.0 lb/ft hr; the friction
factor is f = 0.018.

Solution

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CHE324 Fluid and Particle Processes Chapter 2 Gas-Liquid flow

Long Pipes

(1) For a short distance pipe, the pressure drop can

be calculated using the conditions at a single point
in the pipe.
(2) For intermediate pipe lengths, where the pressure
drop is of the order of 10 % of the system
pressure, variations in gas phase density and gas
velocity require additional corrections to be
made. The easiest correction to apply is to use the
average pressure conditions to determine gas
density and velocity. The resulting gas-phase
pressure (or pressure gradient) may be assumed
to be representative of the whole length of pipe.
(3) For even longer length of pipe, a slightly more
complex method requires the pressure gradient to
be evaluated at each end of the pipe and the
average pressure gradient evaluated.
(4) For extremely long pipes, in which the pressure
drop is a large fraction of the system pressure, it
may be necessary to perform pressure drop
calculations on shorter sub-sections. The total
pressure drop is the sum of the individual
pressure drops.

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CHE324 Fluid and Particle Processes Chapter 2 Gas-Liquid flow

Example 2.4

For the following three cases, estimate the length of

pipeline:
(a) using upstream pressure only
(b) using average pressure
(c) using average pressure gradient

A two-phase mixture at atmospgeric pressure and 25

C containing 2 kg/s air and 20 kg/s water is
transported through a 250 mm diameter pipe. The
upstream pressure is 1 atm (101.325 kPa) and the
downstream pressure is 81.325 kPa. (air = 18x10-6 Pa
s, water = 0.9x 10-3 Pa s)

Solution

a) using upstream pressure only

Follow the procedure the Example 2.1 (b)

PM 101.325  29
 
For gas a RT   1 . 186 kg / m 3

8.31  298
For water, assume w = 1000 kg/m3

vD GD 40.7  0.25

Re a     565278
  1.8  10 5

vD GD 407.4  0.25

Re w     113167
  9  10 4

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CHE324 Fluid and Particle Processes Chapter 2 Gas-Liquid flow

For commercial steel pipe, the friction factor

fg = 0.0155 and fl= 0.0180

Therefore,

Pg fv 2 fG 2 0.0155  40.7 2

    42.8Pa / m
X 2 D 2 D 2  0.25  1.186
Pl fv 2 fG 2 0.0180  407.4 2
    5.98Pa / m
X 2 D 2 D 2  0.25  1000

Pl
Pl 5.98
  X   0.374
and  Pg
 P g 42 .8
X
From Chisholm equation

l2 =61.6

Then Pgl = l 2 Pl = 61.6 x 5.98 = 368 Pa/m

For the pressure drop of 20 kPa, the pipe length will
be 20000/368 = 54.4 m.

(b) using average pressure

The average system pressure is 91.325 kPa.

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CHE324 Fluid and Particle Processes Chapter 2 Gas-Liquid flow

PM 91.325  29
a    1.069 kg / m3
RT 8.31  298

Pg fv 2 fG 2 0.0155  40.7 2

    48.0 Pa / m
X 2 D 2 D 2  0.25  1.069
Pl fv 2 fG 2 0.0180  407.4 2
    5.98Pa / m
X 2 D 2 D 2  0.25  1000
Pl
Pl X  5.98  0.353
 
and Pg Pg 48.0
X
l2 = 65.68
Therefore, the pressure gradient is 393 Pa/m and the
pipe length is 50.9 m.

(c) using average pressure gradient

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CHE324 Fluid and Particle Processes Chapter 2 Gas-Liquid flow

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CHE324 Fluid and Particle Processes Chapter 2 Gas-Liquid flow

2.3 Vertical flow

For vertical flows, gravitational forces will need to be

taken into account, so that the total pressure drop will
include friction, acceleration and gravitational terms.

Flow pattern
There are several flow patterns as shown below.

1) Bubble flow

In this pattern, bubbles of gas are

distributed throughout the liquid. The
dispersed phase is the gas.

Liquid
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CHE324 Fluid and Particle Processes Chapter 2 Gas-Liquid flow

2) Slug flow

In this pattern, slug flow up the pipe at

velocities greater than the average liquid
velocity.

Gas

Gas

Gas

Liquid

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CHE324 Fluid and Particle Processes Chapter 2 Gas-Liquid flow

3) Churn Flow

Gas

Gas

Churn flow is highly unstable flow. In

this pattern, the liquid near the tube wall
continually pulse up and down.

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CHE324 Fluid and Particle Processes Chapter 2 Gas-Liquid flow

4)Semi-annular flow (Wispy-annular)

In this pattern, the liquid flows as a thin

film around the inside pipe wall while the
gas flows as a central core.

Liquid Liquid

Gas

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CHE324 Fluid and Particle Processes Chapter 2 Gas-Liquid flow

5) Annular flow

In this pattern, the liquid flows as a thick

layer around the inside pipe wall while
the gas flows as a central core.

Gas
Liquid Liquid

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CHE324 Fluid and Particle Processes Chapter 2 Gas-Liquid flow

6) Dispersed flow

In this pattern, the liquid is entrained as

fine droplets in the gas. The dispersed
phase is the liquid.

Gas

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CHE324 Fluid and Particle Processes Chapter 2 Gas-Liquid flow

Flow regime

In 1969 Hewitt and Roberts proposed a map for

vertical upflow in a tube shown as below.
Two similar parameters for each phase are used

Gl2 G g2
X-  Y- 
l g

G and  are mass flux and density

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CHE324 Fluid and Particle Processes Chapter 2 Gas-Liquid flow

Example 2.5

For example 2.1, if the two-phase flow is occurring at

vertical flow condition, what is the possible flow
pattern.

Solution

From the example, we know the mass flux for gas and
liquid are

Ma M 2 2 1  2
G  2
 2
  40 . 7 kgs m
A D 0.25 0.049
 
4 4

Mw Mw 20 20
L  2
 2
  407.4kgs 1m 2
A D 0.25 0.049
 
4 4

Gg2
40.7 2
and Y-axis =   1.131  1465 kg/s m2
g

Gl2
407.4 2
  166
X-axis =  998
l

The diagram shows that the flow is annular flow.

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CHE324 Fluid and Particle Processes Chapter 2 Gas-Liquid flow

Pressure drop

The pressure drop due to friction and acceleration

forces can be estimated from the Lockhart and
Martinelli correlations, even though these strictly only
apply to horizontal flow.
The gravitational term may be positive or negative,
depending on the direction of flow.

For the upward flow, when the gas velocity (vg) is

much higher than that of the liquid, the pressure
gradient may be approximated as if the gas were
flowing with velocity vg

dp dp dp
) gl  ( ) g   2 ( ) g   g g
(
dx dx dx
dp dp dp
( ) gl  ( )l   2 ( )l  [ g  (1   ) l ]g
dx dx dx

Example 2.6

Gas and oil are flowing upward at volumetric flow

rates G= 10.0, L= 0.1 ft3/s in a vertical pipeline of
internal diameter D=0.25 ft. Estimate the fraction of
gas, the pressure gradient, and the mean velocities of
each phase. The physical properties are g = 0.15, l
=50.0 lb/ft3, g = 0.025, l = 20.0 lb/ft hr; the friction
factor is f = 0.018.

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CHE324 Fluid and Particle Processes Chapter 2 Gas-Liquid flow

Solution

Firstly, it is necessary to determine the superficial

velocities and Reynolds numbers.
Velocities:
G 10.0 10.0
vg     204
A  ( D ) 2 0.0491 ft/s
4

L 0 .1 0 .1
vl     2.04
A  ( D ) 2 0.0491 ft/s
4

Reynolds numbers
vD 0.15  204  0.25  3600
Re g    1.10  10 6
 0.025
vD 50.0  2.04  0.25  3600
Re l    4590
 20.0
Therefore, the flow is turbulent flow for gas and
liquid.

Pl fl vl
2

Pl  [ g  (1   ) l ]g
  X  2D
Pg Pg f g v g
2

 g g
X 2D

1

(1  0.0904  0.548 ) 2.82

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CHE324 Fluid and Particle Processes Chapter 2 Gas-Liquid flow

From above two equations, we can get  = 0.183 and  =

0.92.
And then, from the Lockhart-Martinelli diagram, we
get g = 2.115, and g2 = 4.47.

Two-phase pressure gradient

dp dp
( ) gl   2 ( ) g   g g  4.47  0.0485  0.00104
dx dx
 0.218 psi / ft

The mean velocities

204
v g  vg /  g   221 ft/s
0.92

2.04
vl  vl /(1   g )   25.5 ft/s
(1  0.92)

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CHE324 Fluid and Particle Processes Chapter 2 Gas-Liquid flow

2.4 Condensing and evaporating flows

There will be a varying pressure gradient along the

pipe due to the changing proportions of gas and liquid
phases. It is necessary to estimate the average
pressure gradient. One way of solving such problems
is to partition the pipe into a number of sections, of
ether constant or varying length, depending on how
rapidly the vapour fraction changes. Over each
section, the vapour fraction is assumed constant, and
the pressure drop calculated. From the new pressure
or other considerations, such as heat transfer rate, the
vapour fraction is determined for the next section.
Follow the procedures similar to the long pipe.

37