Chapter 2 - A Discussion on Flow Patterns:

During the simultaneous flow of two phases through any conduit, the two fluids can
distribute themselves in a wide variety of ways, which is not under the control of the
experimenter or the designer. There could be a large number of possible distributions,
depending on the geometry and orientation of the tube as well as physical properties and
velocity of the two phases. Nevertheless, a few factors restrict the variety of interfacial
distribution. These include (a) the surface tension effects which tend to create curved
interfaces and keeps the channel wall always wet with liquid during gas-liquid flows
(unless the wall temperature is above the saturation temperature) and (b) gravity which
tends to pull the heavier phase at the bottom in a non-vertical channel. A close
observation of the different interfacial distributions reveals that they can be broadly
delineated into different flow regimes or flow patterns which are characterised by typical
topographical distribution of the two phases.

An accurate estimation of the different patterns is essential for the understanding and
analysis of two-phase flow since all the transport processes like momentum, heat as well
as mass transfer are strongly influenced by the phase distribution. Therefore, a large
number of studies, both experimental and theoretical, have been reported on the
characterization of flow patterns for different combinations of the two phases.

From a survey of the past studies, it is observed that many of the two-phase systems have
a common geometrical structure. Accordingly, two phase flow can be classified into
several major groups such as separated flow, transitional or mixed flow and dispersed
flow. The different flow patterns which confirm to the aforementioned descriptions for
different fluid types are listed in Table2.1.
 Table 2.1: Generalised flow patterns for different fluid types

Flow pattern Classification of flow Schematic Description Application

pattern

Separated flow  Film flow Liquid film in  Film

 Gas-liquid gas/Gas film in condensation
stratified liquid  Film boiling
flow
Lighter fluid
 Liquid-liquid flowing over the
stratified heavier one
flow

 Gas-liquid-
liquid three
layer flow

 Annular flow Gas core Annular Flow,

 Core annular Rewetting, Film
flow (for Liquid film boiling,
liquid-liquid
Viscous liquid core Transportation of
cases)
and water film crude oil

 Jet flow Liquid jet in gas/

Gas jet in liquid Jet condenser

Dispersed flow  Bubbly Gas bubbles in Chemical reactors
liquid

 Droplet flow Liquid droplets in Spray cooling

namely an immiscible
Oil droplet in water liquid/ gas
Water droplet in oil

 Particulate Solid particles in Transportation of

flow gas/liquid powder

Mixed/transitional  Cap, slug, Sodium boiling in

flow churn forced convection

 Bubbly Gas bubbles in Evaporators with wall

annular flow liquid film nucleation

Gas core

 Droplet Gas core with Steam generator

annular flow/ droplets and
Wispy annular liquid film
annular flow
Irregular liquid
chunks in
continuous gas
core which is
separated from
pipe wall by an
 annular liquid film

 Bubbly Gas core with Boiling nuclear

droplet droplets reactor channel
Annular
Liquid film with
flow gas bubbles

 Three layer Oil at top Oil transportation

flow
Water at bottom

Oil-water droplets
at middle.

Depending on the type of interface, the class of separated flow can be divided into plane

flow which includes film and stratified flow and quasi-axisymmetric flow consisting of

the annular and jet flow regimes. The class of dispersed flow is usually subdivided by

considering the phase of dispersion. Accordingly, three regimes are distinguished:

bubbly, droplet or mist and particulate flow. In each regime, the geometry of dispersion

can be spherical, spheroidal, distorted, etc. Since the change of interfacial structures

occur gradually, we have a third class which is characterised by the presence of both

separated and dispersed flow. In this case too, it is more convenient to subdivide the class

of mixed flow according to the phase of dispersion. The flow patterns thus obtained are

depicted in Table 2.1.

In the following section, the typical flow patterns for different fluid combinations (gas-

liquid, liquid-liquid, gas-solid and gas-liquid-liquid), pipe orientations

(vertical/horizontal) and flow conditions (heated or unheated) have been discussed in

order to understand the influence of operating variables on phase distribution. A short

discussion on the influence of pipe fittings has been provided to compliment the chapter.

In conclusion, a discussion on the different ways of representing the range of existence of

various flow patterns viz the flow pattern maps have been presented.

1. Vertical co-current gas-liquid upflow: A schematic of the different air-water flow

regimes observed in a vertical tube are shown in Fig.2.1 and described below:

a) Bubbly flow- Liquid flows as a continuous phase in which gas bubbles of

approximately uniform size are observed. The bubble diameter is not
comparable to the diameter of the tube.
b) Slug flow- As the gas flow rate is increased, number of bubbles increase and
they coalesce to form elongated bubbles having spherical nose and cylindrical
tail. These bullet shaped axisymmetric bubbles are termed as Taylor bubbles
in two phase terminology. Such bubbles are also observed during the draining
of water from bottles with a narrow neck and when a volume of air rises
through a stationary column of liquid. In slug flow, the Taylor bubbles are
separated by liquid slugs which may or may not be aerated. The periodic
passage of Taylor bubbles and liquid slugs across any cross-section (Fig.2.1)
characterises slug flow. In the Taylor bubble regions, the liquid flows
downward as a thin annular film from the preceding to the succeeding liquid
slug. This forms a wake region when it meets the liquid slug. The vorticity
induced in the wake shears bubbles from the tail of the Taylor bubble and
aerates the liquid slugs.
c) Churn flow-With a further increase in airflow, the Taylor bubbles become
longer till they break and cause a random and chaotic mixture propagating
through the tube. This pattern is known as churn flow. It is highly unstable
and oscillatory in nature and can be differentiated from slug flow by the
absence of the periodic character.
d) Annular Flow- With further increase in gas flow, the gas bubbles coalesce to
form a continuous gas core and the liquid is forced to flow as an annular film
between the gas core and the pipe wall. Some liquid gets sheared from the
 film and forms a bridge in the gas phase. Several researchers have identified
this as a different flow pattern and named it as wispy annular flow.

Fig.2.1. Gas-liquid Flow patterns in vertical upflow

2. Horizontal co-current gas-liquid flow- In a horizontal pipe, the effect of gravity

causes stratification of the two phases and accounts for the differences in flow
regimes. The different patterns are presented in Fig.2.2 and described as follows:
a) Bubbly flow- In case of horizontal flow, the bubbles accumulate on the top

for moderate liquid velocity.

b) Plug/Slug flow- As the air flow rate increases, the bubbles coalesce and form
long plugs which are also confined to the upper region of the tube. The
intermittent liquid slugs may or may not be aerated.
c) Stratified flow- With further increase of air flowrate, plugs coalesce to form
stratified flow. At relatively lower flowrates the interface is smooth while at
higher flowrates, the interface becomes wavy and the wave amplitude
increases with phase velocities.
d) Annular flow-This has the same appearance as mentioned in vertical flow and
is characterised by a continuous gas core and an annular liquid film between
 the gas core and the pipe wall. However, the film thickness is not uniform and
the liquid film is substantially thicker at the bottom of the pipe.

Fig.2.2 Flow pattern in horizontal flow

3. Flow Patterns in vertical heated tubes: The flow patterns observed in a vertical
heated tube are different from those observed in an unheated tube under the same
flow conditions due to the presence of heat flux at the channel wall. As a result of
heat transfer through the wall, thermodynamic non- equilibrium exists at a particular
cross section. This is evident from the simultaneous presence of sub-cooled liquid and
superheated vapour. Further, as the quality changes along the direction of flow,
different flow regimes appear along the flow direction. For a long tube there could be
transition from sub-cooled liquid regime to super heated vapour regime through a
number of flow patterns. A schematic representation of vertical tubular channel
heated by a uniform low heat flux and fed at its base with liquid below its saturation
temperature is shown in Fig.2.3. It shows the absence of the chaotic churn flow
pattern and the appearance of mist/ droplet flow at high vapour velocities. Such a
distribution is not formed in an unheated tube.
Fig. 2.3 Flow regimes in vertical evaporator tubes

4. The corresponding situation in horizontal heated tubes – The influence of

gravity makes the situation more complex in a horizontal heated channel. There is
departure from hydrodynamic and thermal equilibrium as in vertical flows through
heated channels as well as asymmetric phase distribution and stratification due to
horizontal orientation. Therefore several important features can be observed namely:
1) Possibility of intermittent drying and rewetting of upper surface of tube in
wavy flow.
2) Progressive drying out over long tube length of upper circumference of tube
wall in annular flow.
3) Less obvious effect of gravity at higher inlet liquid velocities give more
symmetrical flow patterns and closer similarities to vertical flows.
Unique flow patterns can also be observed during condensation as shown in Fig.
2.4.
 Fig. 2.4

5. Flow patterns for liquid-liquid systems: Certain interesting features are noted when
the gas phase is replaced by a second immiscible liquid (say oil). For horizontal pipes, the
stratified flow pattern gives way to three-layer flow with increase in phase flow rate. This
pattern is characterised by an oil layer at the top and a water layer at the bottom with a
dense dispersion of droplets separating the two as shown in Fig. 2.5 (a). Such a
distribution has not been observed for gas-liquid cases under any flow conditions.
Moreover, liquid-liquid dispersed flow can comprise of either oil in water dispersion or
water in oil dispersion depending on the flow conditions unlike the presence of only gas-
in liquid dispersions for the previous case. This is evident from Fig. 2.5 (c) which
presents flow patterns for a vertical pipe of the same dimension. The transition between
the two types of dispersed flow is termed as phase inversion and is unique to liquid-liquid
flows. It has received much academic interest and industrial concern due to its uniqueness
and complexity. For vertical tubes, the flow is either dispersed or core-annular with the
tendency of formation of the core-annular pattern increasing with the viscosity of the oil.
This is an extremely fortunate situation since it results in a drastic reduction of the power
required to pump the liquid. A comparison of Figs 2.5 (a) and (b) highlights the tendency
of slugging at reduced tube dimensions.

(a) (b) (c)

Fig. 2.5 Typical flow patterns during oil-water flow through (a) horizontal pipe of
25.4 mm (b) horizontal pipe of 12.7 mm (c) vertical pipe of 25.4mm

6. Flow patterns for gas-liquid-liquid three phase flows: Simultaneous flow of two
immiscible liquids and a gas is not uncommon in industry. A large variety of flow
patterns can be observed during such three phase flow. A brief description of the typical
flow pattern in three phase flow is provided here. In horizontal pipes, a three layer flow
pattern is observed at low flow rates (Fig.2.6). At higher phase velocities, the air usually
exists as plugs which alternate with liquid slugs. The distribution of the two liquids in the
slug can be either stratified or dispersed depending on the flow rates. The slug flow
pattern is also the most predominant flow pattern for vertical pipes where they are
characterised by axisymmetric bullet shaped air Taylor bubbles intercepted by liquid
slugs. The distribution in the liquid slug can be either oil in water dispersed flow, water in
oil dispersed flow or an emulsified flow at high phase velocities as shown in Fig. 2.7.
 Three layer flow Slug – smooth stratified flow

Slug – wavy stratified flow Slug – dispersed flow.

Fig.2.6 Flow patterns in (a) horizontal (b) co-current upward air-water-kerosene

flow
 Fig.2.7 Flow patterns in vertical co-current upward air-water-kerosene flow

7. The commonly encountered patterns in gas-solid flows (pneumatic conveying and

fluidisation): Traditionally, flow regimes have been divided into two main groups: dilute
and dense. The transition between these two regimes for vertical conveying systems is
defined by the choking velocity. The dense flow regime is usually divided into specific
flow regimes such as slugging, bubbling, fluidizing and plugging (Fig.2.8). The
accumulated and classical choking presents two possible transitions from dilute flow
regime. When the gas velocity is reduced at a fixed solid flow rate, the dilute flow turns
into slugging flow or a non-slugging dense phase flow. The condition when the dilute
flow becomes non-slugging is called accumulated choking and is related to the
accumulation of solid at the bottom of the pipe line. The condition when the dilute flow
becomes a slugging flow is called classical choking and is related to the formation of
slugs. Although pneumatic conveying and fluidized bed systems are designated for
different tasks, they nonetheless have many similarities. For example, for both systems
dilute flow, fast fluidization, turbulent fluidization, slugging fluidization, bubbling flow
and fluidized flow regimes occur. The dilute flow regime is characterized by suspension
flow at high gas velocity and low solid mass flow rate. For pneumatic systems, the dilute
flow regime is most commonly used, while for fluidized bed systems this regime might
occur as a bypass process for emptying the column or when the inserted sample has a
wide size distribution. For a wide particle size distribution, the large particles are
fluidized at the lower part of the column while the fine powders might be carried over by
a dilute flow regime. By reducing the gas velocity, suspension flow is halted and particle
clusters might appear. The flow regime occurring after the appearances of particle
clusters is termed as fluidization. The turbulent fluidization regime is characterized by
extreme particle turbulence without large discrete bubbles or voids. The slugging flow
regime is characterized by a particle dense phase transport that is facilitated by bubbles
whose size is comparable to the pipe diameter. The bubbling flow regime, on the other
hand, is characterized by smaller bubbles.

Two more possible flow regimes occur in a pneumatic conveying system, but are not
common in fluidized system. The first is the plug flow regime which is characterized by
particles that are transported as plugs separated by air gaps. Sometimes these particles fall
from the bottom of one plug and collect at the front of consequent plug. This
phenomenon is known as “particle rain” and occurs when the cohesion force between the
particles is smaller than the particle weight. The worst case scenario for designers of
pneumatic conveying systems is blockage. The flow conditions which causes blockage
can be defined as a kind of flow regime.

Fig. 2.8 Typical flow patterns during gas-solid flow

8. Gas-liquid flow patterns in other applications:

a) Vertical downward flow: Downward flow of a gas-liquid mixture is unstable

as the gas phase tends to move up. However, in certain range of the operating
condition such flow can be established. Annular flow regime occurs at low
liquid flow rates while a falling liquid film occurs with no gas flow. Slug and
bubbly flow occur only at liquid velocities greater than bubble rise velocity.

b) Inclined Channels: Usually stratification occurs only for very low superficial
velocities and inclinations close to the horizontal. Smooth stratified flow
disappears on slight deviation from the horizontal orientation and stratification
disappears completely for inclinations beyond 300. In addition, the shape of
the Taylor bubbles changes as the inclination is increased from horizontal to
vertical. The nose becomes more pointed and the bubble more asymmetric as
the inclination increases from 0 to 45 0 (approximately) from the horizontal as
shown in the fig.2.9. Subsequently, the nose of the bubble assumes the nice
rounded shape observed for Taylor bubbles in vertical tubes. This results in
higher rise velocity of the bubble with increase in inclination from 0 to 45 0
and a subsequent decrease with a further increase in inclination.
 8/ 10/ 2011

Fig.2.9 Taylor bubble in (a) Vertical tube (b) Inclined tube

c) Rectangular Channels: In these channels flow is similar to circular channels

when the aspect ratio is not very different from unity. Nevertheless, unique
flow regimes may be observed for extreme values of the aspect ratio. Presence
of corners in the flow geometry influences the flow regime as the corner
regions tend to retain the liquid film. However, such effects are pronounced in
flow channels of smaller cross-sections.

d) Annular channels: A very interesting phenomena occurs when a rod is

inserted in the flow passage of circular tubes. The rod induces gross
asymmetry in the slug flow pattern. This asymmetry arises due to the
asymmetric shape of the Taylor bubbles. They partially enclose the inner tube
and form open annular rings as shown in Fig 2.10.
 Fig 2.10 Taylor bubble in (a) circular tube (b) concentric annulus

e) Bends and Coils: A bend or a coil act to separate the phases due to the
presence of centrifugal force. For example, a bend will induce coalescence of
bubbles to form slug flow and will separate entrained droplets in annular flow.
At low superficial velocity, the action of gravitational forces and the fact that
vapour phase tends to flow faster than the liquid phase greatly complicates the
picture. In a vertical pipe joined to a horizontal pipe via a 90 degree bend the
momentum of the upflowing liquid tries to carry it to the outside of the bend
and gravitational forces tend to make it fall to the inside of the bend. Fig 2.11
presents a few photographs to highlight the effect of pipe fittings on oil-water
flow. The phenomena of film inversion as oil-water stratified flow turns round
a return bend is evident from Fig. 2.11 (a). The change of interfacial
distribution as liquid-liquid flow encounters an abrupt contraction or
expansion is evident from the following two figures. They emphasis upon the
 onset of dispersion as the flow encounters an expansion and the reverse
phenomena as the cross-section reduces abruptly.

Effect of Pipe fittings

Film inversion at bend

Formation of three layer

from stratified wavy at
sudden expansion

Formation of kerosene plug

from three layer at sudden
contraction

Fig.2.11 Effect of pipe fittings on oil-water two phase flow (a) Film Inversion at a
hairpin bend (b) Onset of dispersion at an expansion ((c) Coalescing effect at a
contraction

9. Flow Pattern Maps: It is very important to predict the pattern which is likely to occur
for a given set of flow parameters. One method of representing the various transitions is
in the form of a flow pattern map which is a two-dimensional graph segregated into areas
representing the range of existence of the different patterns. Different dimensional as well
as dimensionless parameters have been frequently used as the co-ordinate axes of the
maps. Some of the frequently used non-dimensional parameters include two phase
Froude number, Eotvos number and Weber number, Reynolds number of the individual
phases/mixture for gas-liquid and liquid-liquid systems and Reynolds number and
Archimedes number for fluid-particle systems. However, the most commonly used axes
for gas-liquid and liquid-liquid flow maps are the actual or superficial phase velocities of
the two phases defined as the volumetric flow rate per unit cross-sectional area of the
pipe. The flow pattern maps commonly used for horizontal and vertical gas-liquid flow
are shown in Figs 2.12 (a) and (b). It may be noted that although the use of superficial
velocity restricts the application of the maps to fluids with a limited variation of
properties, it is preferred due to its simplicity. In addition, one dimensionless parameter
which may be adequate to represent one particular transition may not be suitable for a
different transition governed by a different balance of forces.

8/ 10/ 2011

Fig 2.12 (a) Flow Regime map for horizontal gas-liquid flow
Fig 2.12 (b) Flow Regime map for vertical gas-liquid flow

An alternative and more flexible method to overcome this difficulty is to examine each
transition individually and derive a criterion for that particular transition based on the
principle underlying the mechanism. For example, bubble to slug flow transition is
generally modelled on the basis of bubble coalescence which depends on a critical void
fraction whereas flooding and flow reversal are responsible for slug-churn and churn-
annular transition.

Recently, soft computing that includes Artificial Neural Network, Fuzzy logic or Genetic
Algorithm is being increasingly used to produce generalised flow pattern maps from
known input parameters.