Validation of a two-fluid model on unsteady liquid–vapor water flows

Abstract This paper is devoted to the validation of a two-fluid two-phase flow model in some highly unsteady situations involving strong rarefaction waves and shocks in water-vapor flows. The two-fluid model and its associated numerical method that were introduced in a previous work are first recalled, and details on the computational scheme and the verification of interfacial mass transfer terms are provided. Consistency with experimental data is checked in three configurations. First, a comparison with the speed of sound in a two-phase mixture is detailed. Afterwards, numerical approximations obtained with the two-fluid approach are discussed and compared with some experimental data documented in the Simpson water-hammer experiment and the high depressurization with flashing associated with Canon experiment.