Observation of Low Bond Number Two-Phase Flow Regime Transition From Slug to Annular Wavy Flow in a Microchannel

An understanding the physics behind the flow transition when capillary forces are important is critical to the development of many technologies; both for terrestrial- and space-based applications. The flow transition of greatest concern is that between slug, or plug, flow and core-annular flow. The transition of plug flow to core-annular flow in a low-Bond number configuration is experimentally observed in a novel capillary configuration. The effect of variations in mass flow rate of each phase (gas and liquid) on the overall system dynamics is discussed for both flow regimes.