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Multiphase Science and Technology pp 95–180Cite as

A Critical Review of the Flooding Literature

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Abstract

Countercurrent flow of a gas and a liquid in direct contact with each other is, of necessity, gravity dominated. That is, in the absence of electromagnetic force fields, thermocapillary effects, or concentration-capillary effects, countercurrent flow can be sustained only as a result of the difference in the gravitational force per unit volume on the gas and on the liquid. If the gas and liquid are simultaneously introduced into a porous medium or into a vertical or inclined pipe, the gas tends to rise relative to the liquid. If conditions allow complete separation, it is possible to maintain steady countercurrent flow in which the liquid discharges at the bottom while the gas flows out from the top. The countercurrent flow is opposed by interfacial friction between the phases, which always seems to increase monotonically as the relative countercurrent mean velocity of the phases increases. Hence, for a given geometry and liquid-gas pair, there is a maximum relative velocity that can be sustained in countercurrent flow. This point is known as the onset of flooding. Further increases in gas or liquid input ratas result in only partial delivery of the liquid out of the bottom. Eventually, if the gas velocity becomes sufficiently high, none of the liquid is delivered at the bottom, and fully cocurrent upward flow is established. If the liquid is being introduced from an upper plenum, none will penetrate into the pipe or porous medium when this second critical gas velocity is reached.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, 60201, USA

    S. George Bankoff & Sang Chun Lee

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  1. S. George Bankoff
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Thermal Hydraulics Division, U.K. Atomic Energy Authority, Harwell Laboratory, England

    G. F. Hewitt

  2. Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemical Technology, Imperial College of Sciences and Technology, London, England

    G. F. Hewitt

  3. Centre d’Etudes Nucléaires de Grenoble, Service des Transferts Thermiques, Grenoble, France

    J. M. Delhaye

  4. Division of Reactor Safety Research, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C., USA

    N. Zuber

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© 1986 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Bankoff, S.G., Lee, S.C. (1986). A Critical Review of the Flooding Literature. In: Hewitt, G.F., Delhaye, J.M., Zuber, N. (eds) Multiphase Science and Technology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-01657-2_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-01657-2_2

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