Application of a non-equilibrium drift flux model to two-phase blowdown experiments

A vapor drift-flux model has been applied to the discharge of two-phase mixtures under choked flow conditions, including equilibrium as well as non-equilibrium vapor generation models. The system of four conservation equations is being solved, using the method of characteristics. Closed form expressions have been obtained for the propagation velocities from approximate solutions of the system's characteristic determinant. Treatment of the phase change front as a discontinuity, similar to the treatment of shocks in single phase gas dynamics, permitted very accurate solutions. Good agreement with experimental data is shown