Two-phase flow patterns for flow condensation in small-diameter tubes

TK; Two-phase flow patterns have been observed visually to investigate the effects of tube diameter, mass flux and tube inclination on flow condensation in small-diameter tubes. For horizontal or inclined small-diameter tubes, gravity-domination is decreased by shear stress and surface tension on phase change interface, which weakens the stratification of condensate and vapor flow due to the action of gravity perpendicular to flow direction. As decreasing the tube diameter from 5.79 mm to 2.18 mm, the annular or sub-annular flows become prevailing in flow regime map. The existing flow regime maps for macro scale cannot predict the experimental data in the present study.