Experiments on Turbulent Air-Water Swirling Flow in a Pipe With a Circular Disk

Abstract This paper presents an experimental study conducted on turbulent single and two-phase swirling flow in a circular pipe with a bluff body. Laser Doppler Velocimetry (LDV) was used to measure liquid velocity radial profiles. The measurements were performed in a closed water-air loop system with a horizontal test section of length 610 mm and 41 mm internal diameter. The measurement campaign was performed at different axial locations to document the flow field without and with the presence of an air core respectively. The measurements were conducted with water flow rates which corresponded to Reynolds numbers based on pipe diameter and average liquid velocity of 14,500 and 19,450 for single phase and liquid-gas swirling flow, respectively. Analysis of the results reveals a more noticeable reverse flow along the whole pipe intensifying rather than being dampened as expected due to the swirl decay. High-speed photography shows that at a GLR = 0.3% the gas core does not touch the bluff body but breaks down just ahead of the disk surface.