Zero‐g two‐phase flow data set qualification and flight experiment design have not been standardized and as a result, agreement among researchers has not been reached regarding what experimental conditions adequately approximate those of microgravity. The effects of buoyancy forces and mixing apparatus on the flow regime transitions are presented in this study. The gravity conditions onboard zero‐g aircraft are at best 10–3 g which is used to approximate the 10–5 g conditions of microgravity, thus the buoyancy forces present on zero‐g aircraft can become significantly large and unrepresentative of microgravity. When buoyancy forces approach those of surface tension forces, buoyancy induced coalescence occurs. When discussing flow regime transitions, these large buoyancy forces lead to flow regime transitions which otherwise would not occur. The buoyancy attributes of the two‐phase flow data sets available in the literature are evaluated to determine which data sets exhibit buoyancy induced transitions. Upon comparison of the representative data sets, the affects of different mixing apparatus can be seen in the superficial velocity flow regime maps.
Microgravity Flow Regime Data: Buoyancy and Mixing Apparatus Effects
SPACE, PROPULSION & ENERGY SCIENCES INTERNATIONAL FORMUM SPESIF‐2010: 14th Conference on Thermophysics Applications in Microgravity 7th Symposium on New Frontiers in Space Propulsion Sciences 2nd Symposium on Astrosociology 1st Symposium on High Frequency Gravitational Waves ; 2010 ; Huntsville (Alabama)
AIP Conference Proceedings ; 1208 , 1 ; 12-20
28.01.2010
9 pages
Aufsatz (Konferenz)
Elektronische Ressource
Englisch
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