Slug Flow Pattern

Slug flow is one of the basic flow patterns that characterize gas/vapour –liquid flow in closed
conduits. It occurs over a fairly wide range of gas and liquid flow rates in small and medium
size tubes. The most important characteristic of slug flow is its intermittent nature, which is
due to a unique phase distribution. The gas flows as a series of bullet-shaped Taylor bubbles
that are separated by liquid slugs. These slugs span the entire tube cross-section and contain
dispersion of small gas bubbles. The dispersion is denser in the wake region just below the
elongated bubble as compared to the remaining portion of liquid slug. The wake is formed by
the mixing of the liquid film in the Taylor bubble region with the liquid slug behind it. As a
result, both the void fraction, and hence the two-phase mixture density, and the pressure at any
tube cross section vary periodically at an average frequency that is governed by the Taylor
bubble and liquid slug velocities. Since the hydrodynamics of flow are different in a vertical
and a horizontal pipe, they shall be treated separately.

Analysis of slug Flow in a vertical pipe:

Fig. 1: Slug Flow Pattern in a vertical tube

Considering the intermittent character, the analysis is best done by considering the flow
passage to be divided into several “unit” cells where each cell consists of one bubble and part
of the liquid slug on each side of it as shown in the figure.
For a simplified analysis, we begin with the simplest representation of slug flow comprising of
Taylor bubbles and pure liquid slugs stacked one above the other in the flow passage. The
liquid flows downward as a thin annular film in the Taylor bubble region and subsequently
translates upward as liquid slugs.

For a specified total volumetric flux, the mean velocity of liquid in the slug is simply

Q L  QG
jT P  (1)
A

Thus Taylor bubble dynamics is a function of jTP, the corresponding velocity profile, bubble
length, pipe geometry and fluid properties. Apart from the effect of the wake from the
preceding bubble, the velocity profile in the liquid slug is a function of pipe roughness and
Reynolds number expressed as:

jTPD
Re j  (2)


This shows that the bubble dynamics is dependent on jTP but not on the individual fluxes jL and
jG of the liquid and gas. Again if each unit cell is independent, bubble dynamics is not a function
of void fraction because dynamics of nose and tail govern bubble motion entirely and bubble
length is not important. Therefore, the bubble velocity uTB should be independent of  and
a function of jTP only.

Now considering unit cell, the bubble rises with a velocity uTB where the liquid ahead of it
translates upward at a velocity jTP. The drift velocity with respect to the preceding slug, ugj of
the bubble can be expressed as:

ugj = ug –jTP = ub – jTP (3)

Since the entire gas translates as Taylor bubble, ub=ug and ug is the in-situ velocity of the gas.
From drift flux model, it was deduced that for one dimensional flow with negligible wall shear
effects, the drift flux and drift velocity is a function of void fraction  only and does not
depend on jTP for a particular system and tube characteristics.

Both the aforementioned conditions can be satisfied only when ugj varies neither with jTP nor
with α. In other words ugj is constant. This implies that the value of ugj calculated for the special
case of a single bubble rising in stagnant liquid ( u 0 ) can be used for all values of liquid slug
velocity (jTP).
Mathematically, this gives

u gj  u 0 (for no net liquid flow) (4)

Therefore, for all values of  , the definition of drift flux gives

jgl   (ug  jTP )  u0 (5)

With liquid flow ahead of bubble, we obtain:

uTB= jTP + u 0 (6)

From the above discussion, the void fraction for each unit cell can be expressed as:

jg jg jg Qg
    (7)
ug ub jTP  u0 QL  Qg  Au0

This value of  can then is used to predict the pressure drop and other hydrodynamic
parameters of slug flow in a vertical pipe. Equation (7) shows that the only parameter necessary
to estimate  for the slug flow pattern is u0 , the velocity of single Taylor bubble rising
through stationary liquids.

Estimation of u0 :

Bubble rises through a denser liquid due to buoyancy. Therefore, velocity u0 with which a
single bubble rises through stagnant liquid is governed by interaction between buoyancy and
other forces acting on bubble due to its shape and motion. If viscosity of gas/vapour in bubble
is negligible, there are only three forces besides buoyancy. These are liquid inertia, liquid
viscosity and surface tension. A balance between buoyancy and these three forces can be
expressed in terms of three dimensionless groups, namely

l u02 u0 l 
, and
gD( l   g ) gD ( l   g )
2
gD (  l   g )
2

D is the characteristic dimension of the duct cross-section.

A general solution is the function of the three parameters which may be combined to generate
new dimensionless groups as long as bubble length is greater than tube diameter and the length
does not affect rise velocity. Alternatively bubble equivalent diameter must exceed 60% of the
tube diameter. Nevertheless, the simplest solutions are obtained when one of the dimensionless
groups govern the motion

The limiting cases are –

(a) Inertia dominant, when viscosity and surface tension can be neglected. Under this
condition, Froude number the first dimensionless group is important. Mathematically,

l u0 2
 k1 (8)
gD  l  G 

gD   l   G 
or u 0  k1 (9)
l

It may be noted that u0 can be obtained from the above equation for bubbles of different lengths

if the top end of the tube is closed. There is an apparent dependence of u0 on bubble length in
tubes open at the top since gas expands as it rises in hydrostatic pressure gradient. This
expansion leads to a non- zero value of jTP ahead of bubble and rise velocity is augmented by
the velocity of the liquid. For tubes closed at top, there is no liquid motion ahead of bubble and
a more or less constant value of k1 is obtained.

Different researchers have obtained different values of k1. For vertical round tubes, the most
widely accepted value of k1= 0.345. Not much work has been done to estimate k1 for non-
circular channels.

Griffth has shown for rectangular channels k1 is a function of Ds / Db and

u 0  k1 gDb
 l  G  (10)
l

where Db is the larger dimension of the rectangular channel.

For bubble rising in an annulus with D0 as the outer diameter, Griffith has proposed k 1 a

function of Di / D0 . The past researchers have also reported that a bubble rises faster for smaller
annulus spacing.

For tube bundles, the characteristic dimension is the overall housing diameter rather than the
diameter of individual tubes.
(b) Viscosity dominant flow where u0 is obtained from the second dimensionless group.

u0  l
This gives k2  (11)
D g ( l  G )
2

k 2 D 2 g   l  G 
or u0  (12)
l

Where k2 = 0.01 (Wallis, 1969) and 0.0096(White and Beardmore, 1962) for vertical round
tubes.

© Surface tension dominant: A bubble does not move at all when surface tension dominates.
The static interface adopts a particular shape such that the hydrostatic forces are completely
balanced by the surface forces. For round vertical tubes this happens when

gD 2  l   g 
 N EO  3.37 (13)


An alternative group often used is Bond number defined as

gR2 l   g  N EO
N BO   .
 4

The general case is governed by three parameters and can be presented as a two dimensional
plot of any two chosen dimensionless groups with a third independent dimensionless group as
parameter. The actual manner of choosing groups is according to convenience. For example,
the dimensionless bubble velocity k1 may be plotted as a function of inverse viscosity number
Nf, which is obtained by eliminating u0 from the first two groups and can be expressed as:

 D 3 g  l   g )  l  
1/2

Nf    (14)
l

A convenient third group is obtained by eliminating both u0 and D to get only fluid properties
and g. This group termed as Archimedes number and expressed as:

 3/2l
N Ar  (15)
 l2 g 1 / 2  l   g 1 / 2

is a constant for a given fluid at a particular temperature.

1) Inertia dominant: N f  300; N EO  100 and K 1 = 0.345

2) Viscosity dominant: N f <2, NEO>100 and K1 = 0.01 N f

are clearly satisfied in the figure.

Fig. 2: General dimensionless representation of bubble rise velocity in slug flow

Alternative methods of plotting have also been used by combining the dimensionless quantities
 1 
in various ways. For example, a property group used by White and Beardmore (1962) is  2 
 Ar 
When gas density is low compared to liquid density, this gives:

g L
Y= (16)
 3L

A plot of k1 versus Eo as function of Y is shown in figure 3.

A general mathematical equation in the intermediate range of Nf when surface tension effects
are negligible is

0.01 N f
k1= 0.345 [1 - e 0.345
] (17)

Surface tension effect can be incorporated in eqn (8.36) by a further modification as:

0.01 N f ( 3..37  E0 )
k1= 0.345 [1 - e 0.345
][1- e m
] (18)

where m = m (Nf)

and for Nf > 250 m=10

For 18< Nf< 250 m=69 Nf 0.35

For Nf < 18 m = 25 (18b)

Equation (8.37) is a correlation for bubble rise velocity in terms of all relevant variables. In the
inviscid region for large Nf,
 0.01 N f ( 3..37  E0 )
k1= 0.345 [1 - e 0.345
][1- e 10
] (19)

It may be noted that different bubble shapes are reported for the various regimes. In a highly
viscous fluid (Nf < 2), the bubble nose as well as the tail are rounded and the bubble wake is
laminar. For a fluid of low viscosity (Nf > 300), the bubble tail is flat and the wake is turbulent.

Corrections to the expression of u0 :

The bubble drift velocity ugj is not strictly constant as assumed above. It is influenced by

jTP D l
(a) The velocity profile in liquid slug which is a function of jTP or more strictly Re j 
l

(b) Wake of preceding bubble.

To account for these effects, a modified expression of rise velocity is

uTB  C1 jTP  C2u0 (20)

Were C1 is a measure of fact that bubble does not simply move relative to average velocity jTP
but a weighted average velocity. It has the same significance as C0 in drift flux model but the
physical reasoning behind the derivation of these coefficients is not identical. C2 is a measure
of change in relative velocity due to approaching velocity profile

For fully developed flow in circular pipe (Rej > 8000), C1=1.2 C2=1

For laminar flow, accepted correlations for C1 and C2 are not available. A commonly accepted
form is:

Ls
1.06
C 2  1  8e D
(21)

Where Ls= liquid slug length ( bubble separation length)

For high velocity the limiting value of C1  2.27

In channels where boiling occurs C2  1.6

With C1 and C2 , the modified equation of void fraction is

Qg
  
C1 (Qg  QL )  AC2U 0
The pressure gradient for ideal slug flow in vertical pipes:
In view of the assumption of negligible wall shear stress p F  p  g , the pressure gradient

in non accelerating flow in vertical pipes can be expressed as:

dp  dp
( )( ) g  g[ g  (1   )  l ] (22)
dz dz

jg
where   (23)
uTB

In the above equation: uTB  u0  jTP where u0 is the velocity of bubble in stationary liquid.
This is applicable for Nf >300 and when frictional pressure drop estimated from homogeneous
theory is small compared to the gravitational pressure drop.

The correction necessary for significant wall shear is difficult to estimate. The average shear
stress is either positive or negative since some liquid is actually running down the wall around
the bubble. A possible procedure is to calculate shear stress in liquid slug from single phase
friction factor based on jTP and neglecting the wall shear stresses around the Taylor bubble.
This is justified considering the fact that the weight of the liquid in the film is supported by the
wall shear in this region. As a result, the wall shear does not contribute to the total pressure
gradient. In addition, the bubble can be considered to be a region of constant pressure since the
density and viscosity of the gas phase is negligible as compared to the liquid phase and the
bubble can be approximated as a cylinder of constant curvature which gives negligible
interfacial shear between the bubble and the film.

The wall shear in the liquid slug can be expressed as:

l jTP
2
w  fL (24)
2

Where f L  
fn Re jTP  (25)

Assuming that approximately a fraction (1-  ) of the pipe length is occupied by liquid slug ,
eqn (22) with the addition of drag on liquid slugs become,

dp 2 f  j2
( )  g G  1     L   1    L L TP (26)
dz D
If G   L TP  1     L (27)

This gives:

dp 2 f L  L jTP
2
2 f L TP jTP
2
( ) F  1     (28)
dz D D

The above equation is the equation for the homogenous flow frictional pressure drop in which
mean density is calculated from < α > expressed as:

Qg
  
C1 (Qg  QL )  AC2U 0

Note: The acceleration pressure drop can be treated as in bubbly flow but since slug flow is not
as homogenous as bubbly flow, choking conditions obtained for bubbly flow will give
erroneous results for slug flow. Moreover, since some of the liquid is moving with velocity jTP
in the slugs and the rest is moving downward in the falling film, the assumption of uniform
liquid velocity is incorrect. Further studies are required in this area.

Horizontal Slug Flow:

There is no drift flux during slug flow through horizontal pipes (Fig. 6) due to buoyancy effects.
Therefore u  loses its significance although bubbles do not move with the same average

velocity as liquid or bubble velocity u b  j . Since there is no pressure drop along bubble

length, liquid film on the wall is substantially stationary with mean thickness  .

Fig. 6: Horizontal slug flow

This gives the cross-sectional area occupied by the Taylor bubbles as:


ATB  D  2 2 (38)
4

For continuity of volumetric flux at any cross-section,


D2
A 4 jTP
Or u b  jTP  jTP 2
 2
(40)
ATB  2  2   2 
D 1   1  
4  D  D

 4 
For   D ub  jTP 1   (41)
 D

From eqn (41)

ATB j
ub  jTP and 1     1   1  TP (42)
A ub

In the absence of effects due to gas viscosity and inertia and for bubbles which move
independently, factors influencing bubble velocity can be combined into the following
dimensionless groups and estimated graphically from Fig.7.

jTP
 liquid velocity in slug/Bubble velocity (a)
ub

jTP D l
 Re LS = Reynolds number of liquid slug (b)
l

jTP  L
 Viscous Force/Surface Tension Force ©


 l   g gD 2
 Buoyancy Force /Surface Tension. (d)


These are analogous to groups which describe balance between inertia, viscosity, surface
tension and buoyancy in vertical flow. Combining groups (b) and (c) we obtain a
L 2
dimensionless group λ  which is independent of velocity and is constant for a
D  l
particular fluid pair in a particular pipe.
At very low velocities,


ub  jTP and  1 (43)
D

At high velocities and high Re L (ReL > 8000)

jTP
 0.84 (44)
ub

Or ub  1.19 jTP

QL  Q g
 u b  1.2 (45)
A

jg Qg
or    0.84 (46)
ub QL  Q g

The pressure drop in liquid slug can be calculated by single component flow techniques.
Pressure drop along cylindrical part of bubble is zero. Therefore, the only additional pressure
drop per bubble is due to effects at nose and tail. Since different number of bubbles can make
up the overall flow rates in the same pipe, the pressure cannot be determined unless bubble
length is specified separately.
Assuming pressure drop per bubble equals pressure drop in a length of about four pipe
diameters, the pressure drop for a typical unit cell comprising of one bubble and one slug for
all Reynolds number is

2 fL L j2
p  ( Ls  4 D ) (47)
D

Ls is the liquid slug length.

This gives the mean pressure gradient as –

dp 2 f L  L j 2 Ls  4 D
  (48)
dz D Ls  Lb

The evaluation of the last term depends on the condition of the problem. If volume of each
bubble VTB is known, length of unit cell can be obtained from knowledge of void fraction as –

VTB
 ( Ls  Lb ) A (49)


VTB
or ( ( Ls  Lb )  (50)
A

For long bubble ATBub = jTPA

A u
Or  b  C1 (51)
ATB j

Thus 1/C1 represents the fraction of cross-section occupied by bubble and

VTB V
VTB = ATBLb or Lb   C1 TB (52)
ATB A

Substituting eqns (50) and (52) in eqn (48) gives –

dp 2 f L  L j 2  1 4 DA 
    C1   (53)
dz D  VTB 

jg
Since   , Eqn. (53) can be expressed entirely in terms of volumetric fluxes and C1 as
C1 j
follows:
 dp 2 f L  L j  4 DA 
   jl  jG  (54)
dz D  VTB C1 

The aforementioned analysis is also applicable in vertical pipes for low values of N f  300 or

Re j  8000 when viscous effects are important or buoyancy effects are small compared to

viscous surface tension effects.