Hydrodynamic stability of inverted annular flow in an adiabatic simulation

In experiments, inverted annular flow was simulated adiabatically with turbulent water jets, issuing downward from long aspect nozzles, enclosed in gas annuli. Velocities, diameters, and gas species were varied, and core jet length, shape, break-up mode, and dispersed-core droplet sizes were recorded at approximately 750 data points. Inverted annular flow was observed to develop into inverted slug flow at low relative velocities, and into dispersed droplet flow at high relative velocities. For both of the above transitions from inverted annular flow, a correlation for core jet length was developed by extending work done on free liquid jets to include this new, coaxial, jet disintegration phenomenon. The result, showing length dependence upon diameter, jet Reynolds number, jet Weber number, void fraction, and gas Weber number, correlates the data well, especially at moderate-to-large relative velocities