Characteristics of the Liquid Slug and the Taylor Bubble in a Vertical Slug Flow

Abstract Measurements in vertical upward concurrent slug flows are presented. The experiments, carried with mixtures of air and water and a viscous aqueous solution, were aimed to the characterization of the structures that form the slug flow. Double-wire conductive probes were carefully designed and calibrated to identify and to measure the slug flow and the structures that constitute the so-called slug-cell model. The variables measured were: the frequency of the slug-cell, the length of the liquid slug, the velocity and the length of the elongated bubble, the thickness of the liquid film surrounding the elongated bubble and the void fraction in the liquid slug. Comparisons between these measured quantities and results of correlation frequently adopted in the literature are presented and discussed.