Non-equilibrium effects on the two-phase flow critical phenomenon

In the present study, the choking criterion for nonhomogeneous nonequilibrium two phase flow is obtained by solving the two-fluid model conservation equations. The method of characteristics is employed to predict the critical flow conditions. Critical flow is established after the magnitude of the characteristic slopes (velocities). Critical flow conditions are reached when the smallest characteristic slope becomes equal to zero. Several expression are developed to determine the nonequilibrium mass and heat exchanges in terms of the system dependent parameters derivatives. In addition, comprehensive transition flow regime maps are employed in the calculation of interfacial heat and momentum transfer rates. Numerical results reveal that the proposed model reliably predicts the critical two-phase flow phenomenon under different inlet conditions and compares well with other existing models