Three-dimensional numerical simulation on bubbly flow and comparison of wall lubrication force

Three-dimensional numerical simulation was carried out on bubbly flow in a vertical pipe by the two-fluid model coupled with the interfacial area transport equation (IATE). According to the experiment of Wang(1987), the predicted cross-sectional void fraction distribution and the performance of different wall lubrication models were studied. Based on the experimental data, the effects of the wall lubrication models were analyzed. The results demonstrated that the characteristics of the Tomiyama model and the Frank model are similar and both of them overestimate the wall lubrication force. Moreover, the active range of the Antal model is too small, resulting in a large discrepancy on the peak value of the void fraction. The Hosokawa model produces better results on the void fraction profile for the cases studied in this paper.