A New Two-Phase Flow Map and Transition Boundary Accounting for Surface Tension Effects in Horizontal Miniature and Micro Tubes

摘要

A new flow map is proposed to emphasize the importance of surface tension in two-phase flow in horizontal miniature and micro tubes. A transition boundary based on a force balance including shear, buoyancy and surface tension forces is also proposed. The flow map is compared against a number of existing experimental data sets totaling 1589 data points. Comparison of the proposed map and model with previous models shows substantial improvement and accuracy in determining surface tension dominated regimes. Furthermore, the proposed flow map shows how each regime transition boundary is affected by surface tension.