Two-Phase pipeflow simulations with OpenFoam

Abstract

The main purpose of this thesis is to develop two-phase simulations using OpenFOAM. Two different situations are studied: open and closed channel flow. Different parameters are changed in each case to obtain different results, such as the inclination of the channel and the values of the velocity inlets for each phase. When dealing with the open-channel flow different inclinations are simulated and the influence of the Froude number is analyzed. The results obtained are compared with the analytical solution obtained from the Navier-Stokes equation and also with experimental results from studies done for open-channel flows. For the closed channel flow, which is studied in horizontal, vertical and inclined position, different inlet velocities are given for each phase in order to create the different flow patterns characteristic of the multiphase flow and the results obtained are compared with experiments displayed in Tailter Dukler map that gives the transition between different flow regimes. Finally, some possible future work is presented so that the person that wants to take a deeper study of the cases has some ideas to improve the simulations, ideas that could not be carried out in this study due to the lack of time and computational power. All the files used in the software can be seen in the Appendix part of the thesis so that if the reader wants to test the simulations or just apply the conditions used in this study for a similar case, can use them as a base. Moreover, a CD is enclosed with the cases run in the thesis so that they can be directly run on a computer for testing or changing for further study.