Generalization of Martinelli-Nelson method of pressure drop calculation in two-phase flows

Abstract

A simple method of pressure drop calculation for two-phase flows of different fluids during convective boiling in channels is presented. It is based on experimental data of pressure drop multiplier R and void fraction φ obtained by Martinelli and Nelson for boiling of water in vertical tubes. The data cover the whole two-phase domain from ambient to critical pressure. Unfortunately, they have been presented in graphical forms. The first step in the procedure proposed in the paper was a transformation of the graphical data into analytical formulas which contain such dimensionless quantities as steam quality x, Martinelli parameter X, multiplier Φl2 and dimensionless coefficients D, m, E and k. In the second step, simple analytical formulas were determined to express the dimensionless coefficients as a function of physical property parameter K. In this way two simple analytical expressions for the multiplier R and void fraction φ were obtained. They are in analytical dimensionless form so they may be used directly for different fluids, not only for water. This is the main advantage of the proposed method.