Development of drift-flux model at microgravity conditions

Abstract

In view of the practical importance of the drift-flux model for two-phase flow analyses at microgravity conditions, the constitutive equations for distribution parameter and drift velocity have been developed for various two-phase flow regimes at microgravity conditions. A comparison of the model with various experimental data over various flow regimes and a wide range of flow parameters taken at microgravity conditions shows a satisfactory agreement. The newly developed drift-flux model has been applied to reduced gravity conditions such as 1.62 and 3.71 cm/s2, which correspond to the Lunar and Martian surface gravities, respectively, and the effect of the gravity on the void fraction in two-phase flow systems has been discussed.