Dispersed bubble flow in horizontal pipes

A set of experiments has been performed to analyse gas-phase distribution in horizontal bubble flow. The experimental data have been obtained by means of conductance probes and include measurements of the local void fraction and the bubble diameter and velocity. Present observations show large variations of the local void fraction and the bubble size moving from the top to the bottom of the pipe, with local maxima located close to the upper pipe wall. Measurements also show that, at the boundary of the dispersed bubble flow regime, the bubble size, and therefore the surface available for heat and mass transfer, changes abruptly for small variations of the liquid or gas flowrate. This change allows the transition between the dispersed and the elongated bubble regimes to be identified with good precision. Present data make it possible to develop a new correlation for the maximum bubble size in dispersed bubble flow.