EFFECT OF BUBBLE SHAPE ON PRESSURE-DROP CALCULATIONS IN VERTICAL SLUG FLOW

Hydrodynamic models for vertical slug flow usually consider a cylindrical Taylor bubble with a flat nose. Based on these models, two different methods have been used in the past for the calculation of the pressure drop. The first one incorporates an acceleration term, whereas this term is missing in the second one. In this work it is shown that the difference between the two methods results from the neglect of the nose shape. When the curved shape of the nose is considered the two methods yield identical results. Some approximate methods that do not consider the nose shape are tested and compared to the case where the nose shape is accounted for. © 1990.