Abstract
An experimental study of liquid entrainment by rapid surface swelling of a two-phase mixture in a vessel has been performed. To investigate the effects of air flow rate and initial water level on the liquid entrainment, a series of experiments have been performed using air and water as working fluid.
A total of 64 experimental liquid entrainment rate data have been obtained for various combinations of the test parameters (i.e., for six different initial water levels and various air flow rates) using two test vessels that have the same height but different inner diameters (0.15 and 0.3m, respectively) for vertical bubbly and churn-turbulent flow conditions.
An empirical correlation for the liquid entrainment rate, E has been developed in terms of the superficial velocity of air, the initial water level, the density of gas, the surface tension, and the gravity. This correlation shows a good agreement with the present experimental data within ±30% over a wide range of flow parameters.
