Visual Measurements of Droplet Size in Gas Liquid Annular Flow

Drop size distributions have been measured for nitrogen-water annular flow in a 9.67 mm hydraulic diameter duct, at system pressures of 3.4 and 17 atm and a temperature of 38 C. These new data extend the range of conditions represented by existing data in the open literature, primarily through an increase in system pressure. Since most existing correlations were developed from data obtained at lower pressures, it should be expected that the higher-pressure data presented in this paper would not necessarily follow those correlations. The correlation of Tatterson, et al. (1977) does not predict the new data very well, while the correlation of Kataoka, et al. (1983) only predicts those data taken at the lower pressure of 3.4 atm. However, the maximum drop size correlation of Kocamustafaogullari, et al. (1994) does predict the current data to a reasonable approximation. Similarly, their correlation for the Sauter mean diameter can predict the new data, provided the coefficient in the equation is adjusted.