On the gas-liquid two-phase flow inside two adjacent subchannels with different cross-sectional areas

Experiments in an upward gas-liquid two-phase flow inside two adjacent subchannels with different cross-sectional areas were performed to determine the flow rate of each phase in each subchannel. An analysis was also made of the influence of void fraction, frictional pressure drop and turbulent mixing rate of liquid on the distribution of flow rates. It was experimentally clarified that the superficial gas velocity measured at the larger subchannel exceeds that of the smaller subchannel for all the regimes tested such as slug, froth and annular flows, whereas such a simple tendency for gas phase does not exist for liquid phase velocity. The analysis suggests a strong interrelationship between the distributions of liquid flow rates and turbulent mixing rates. (author)