An experimental study was conducted to investigate two-phase air-water flow characteristics, in horizontal rectangular minichannel with Y-junction. The width (W), the height(H) and the hydraulic diameter (DH) of the rectangular cross section for the upstream side of the junction are 4.60 mm, 2.50 mm and 3.24 mm, while those for the downstream side are 2.36 mm, 2.50 mm and 2.43 mm. The entire test section was machined from transparent acrylic block, so that the flow structure could be visualized. Liquid single-phase and air-liquid twophase flow experiments were conducted at room temperature. The flow pattern, the bubble velocity, the bubble length, and the void fraction were measured with a high-speed video camera. Pressure profile upstream and downstream from the junction was also measured for the respective flows, and the pressure loss due to the contraction at the junction was determined from the pressure profiles. Two flow patterns, i.e., slug and annular flows, were observed in the fully-developed region apart from the junction. In the analysis, the frictional pressure drop data, the two-phase frictional multiplier data, bubble velocity data, bubble length data and void fraction data were compared with calculations by some correlations in literatures. In addition, new pressure loss coefficient correlations for the pressure drop at the junction has been proposed. Results of such experiment and analysis are described in the present paper.
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