Fluid-Structure Interaction of Two-Phase Flow Passing Through 90° Pipe Bend Under Slug Pattern Conditions

Numerical simulations of evolution characteristics of slug flow across a 90 degrees pipe bend have been carried out to study the fluid-structure interaction response induced by internal slug flow. The two-phase flow patterns and turbulence were modelled by using the volume of fluid (VOF) model and the Realizable k-epsilon turbulence model respectively. Firstly, validation of the CFD model was carried out and the desirable results were obtained. The different flow patterns and the time-average mean void fraction was coincident with the reported experimental data. Simulations of different cases of slug flow have been carried out to show the effects of superficial gas and liquid velocity on the evolution characteristics of slug flow. Then, a one-way coupled fluid-structure interaction framework was established to investigate the slug flow interaction with a 90 degrees pipe bend under various superficial liquid and gas velocities. It was found that the maximum total deformation and equivalent stress increased with the increasing superficial gas velocity, while decreased with the increasing superficial liquid velocity. In addition, the total deformation and equivalent stress has obvious periodic fluctuation. Furthermore, the distribution position of maximum deformation and stress was related to the evolution of slug flow. With the increasing superficial gas velocity, the maximum total deformation was mainly located at the 90 degrees pipe bend. But as the superficial liquid velocity increases, the maximum total deformation was mainly located in the horizontal pipe section. Consequently, the slug flow with higher superficial gas velocity will induce more serious cyclical impact on the 90 degrees pipe bend.