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13.5.1.3: Vertical Flow Under Micro Gravity

  • Page ID
    872
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    Fig. 13.7 A dimensional vertical flow map under very low gravity against the gravity.

    The above discussion mostly explained the flow in a vertical configuration when the surface tension can be neglected. In cases where the surface tension is very important. For example, out in space between gas and liquid (large density difference) the situation is different. The flow starts as dispersed bubble (some call it as "gas continuous'') because the gas phase occupies most of column. The liquid flows through a trickle or channeled flow that only partially wets part of the tube. The interaction between the phases is minimal and can be considered as the "open channel flow'' of the vertical configuration. As the gas flow increases, the liquid becomes more turbulent and some parts enter into the gas phase as drops. When the flow rate of the gas increases further, all the gas phase change into tiny drops of liquid and this kind of regime referred to as mist flow. At a higher rate of liquid flow and a low flow rate of gas, the regime liquid fills the entire void and the gas is in small bubble and this flow referred to as bubbly flow. In the medium range of the flow rate of gas and liquid, there is pulse flow in which liquid is moving in frequent pulses. The common map is based on dimensionless parameters. Here, it is presented in a dimension form to explain the trends (see Figure 13.7). In the literature, Figure 13.7 presented in dimensionless coordinates. The abscissa is a function of combination of Froude, Reynolds, and Weber numbers. The ordinate is a combination of flow rate ratio and density ratio.

    Flow With The Gravity

    As opposed to the flow against gravity, this flow can starts with stratified flow. A good example for this flow regime is a water fall. The initial part for this flow is more significant. Since the heavy liquid can be supplied from the "wrong'' point/side, the initial part has a larger section compared to the flow against the gravity flow. After the flow has settled, the flow continues in a stratified configuration. The transitions between the flow regimes is similar to stratified flow. However, the points where these transitions occur are different from the horizontal flow. While this author is not aware of an actual model, it must be possible to construct a model that connects this configuration with the stratified flow where the transitions will be dependent on the angle of inclinations.

    Contributors and Attributions

    • Dr. Genick Bar-Meir. Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or later or Potto license.


    This page titled 13.5.1.3: Vertical Flow Under Micro Gravity is shared under a GNU Free Documentation License 1.3 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.


    This page titled 13.5.1.3: Vertical Flow Under Micro Gravity is shared under a GNU Free Documentation License 1.3 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Genick Bar-Meir via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.

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