Flow pattern observations and flow pattern map for adiabatic two-phase flow of carbon dioxide in vertical upward and downward direction

A test facility to investigate flow pattern transitions of vertical two-phase flow of CO2 has been built within the scope of the high-luminosity detector upgrades at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). Adiabatic flow pattern observations for both vertical up- and downflow are recorded with high-speed imaging in tubes of 8 mm inner diameter, with saturation temperatures in the range of −25°C to +5°C and mass velocities ranging from 100kgm−2s−1 to 450kgm−2s−1. A database of 431 flow pattern observations in upward and 123 in downward direction has been compiled. The recorded data have been analysed with machine learning techniques and a previously trained Frame- and Flow-Regime-Classifier is used for the flow regime classification. The observed two-phase flow pattern transitions did not match the transition lines of existing flow pattern maps. As a consequence, new transition lines for the bubbly-to-slug, slug-to-churn and churn-to-annular transitions have been developed for both vertical upflow and downflow respectively and condensed into new flow pattern maps. It is concluded, that the flow regime transitions are strongly depended on vapour quality, mass velocity, the flow direction and the fluid properties. Compared to horizontal flow, a dryout region is not observed and the liquid film of the annular flow regime dries out symmetrically at vapour qualities close to x=1.