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Proc. Camb. PhU. Soc.

(1971), 69, 443 443


POPS 69-47

Printed in Great Britain

Stratified laminar flow of two immiscible fluids


BY B. A. PACKHAM AND R. SHALL
Department of Mathematics, University of Surrey
(Received 8 April 1970)

Abstract. We consider the steady co-current flow of two immiscible viscous liquids
in a horizontal pipe, the fluid interface being ripple-free and plane. It is shown that if
the cross-section of the duct is symmetric with respect to the interface, the velocity
distribution may be expressed in terms of two separate pipe-flow solutions. One
corresponds to the flow of a single fluid occupying the whole of the pipe, and the
second to a similar flow in a pipe whose cross-section coincides with that of the region
occupied by one fluid in the two-phase motion. Flow rates and other quantities of
engineering interest are evaluated, and several particular flows are discussed.

1. Introduction. The problem of the steady laminar flow of a single viscous liquid
in a straight pipe of constant cross-section is classical and solutions have been found
for a large number of cross-sections. There appears, however, to have been little
interest in the study of the stratified laminar flow of two immiscible liquids in hori-
zontal pipes until quite recently. This recent interest stems from the possibility of
reducing the power required to pump oil in a pipeline by the suitable addition of water.
Laminar flows with smooth horizontal ripple free interfaces have been obtained
experimentally by Charles and Lilleleht(3), who also give the analytic solution for a
rectangular pipe with horizontal and vertical sides when the ratio of the depths of the
two fluids is arbitrary. Using an integral equation method Dumitrescu and Staniscu(5)
had earlier obtained the solution for the special case of equal depths and also for a
circular pipe when the interface is a diametral plane. The latter problem has been
generalized by Bentwich(2), who treats the case of a circular fluid interface.
Numerical solutions for the circular pipe problem with a general position of the
horizontal interface have been given by Charles and Redberger(4), Gemmell and
Epstein (6) and Yu and Sparrow (11), and in the case when the cross-section is a segment
of a circle by Achutaramayya and Sleicher(l).
The problem for a general cross-section and general position of a plane interface is
of considerable difficulty. However, we will show that, when the cross-section is
symmetrical with respect to the interface, the solution may be easily expressed in
terms of the two separate solutions corresponding to the flow of a single liquid in the
whole pipe and in a half-pipe bounded by the interface. When each of these has a
known solution the required flow may be written down immediately.
2. The basic solution and flow parameters. Consider a steady pressure-driven two-
phase flow in a straight horizontal pipe whose bounding cross-section C is symmetric
444 B. A. PACKHAM AND R. SHAIL
with respect to the fluid interface. A system of Cartesian coordinates is used in which
the z-axis is parallel to the pipe wall and the fluid interface lies in the horizontal
(x, z) plane. The region of the duct for which y > 0 is occupied by a fluid of viscosity /tlt
whereas a fluid of viscosity fi2 occupies the lower portion y < 0.
We denote by ux[x, y) and u2(x, y) the axial fluid velocities in the regions y > 0 and
y < 0 respectively. Further, w^x, y) (i = 1,2) is defined to be the axial velocity
distribution of a fluid of viscosity /i{ which completely fills the pipe, the driving
pressure gradient P being the same as that in the two-phase flow. Thus ut and wi both
satisfy the equation

and, in addition, iOj = 0 on C. (2)


The boundary conditions on % and uz are
(i) ut = 0 on Ct (i = 1,2), where Cx and C2 denote the upper and lower portions of
the curve G,
(ii) ux = ii2 at the fluid interface L say, and
on

Conditions (ii) and (iii) express the continuity of velocity and shear stress at the
interface L.
We next introduce functions r{r{x, y) and W(x, y) which satisfy the equation
A I A g /n\
&e 2 &/ 2
and the boundary conditions
f{x,y) = Q on C, )
K>
Y(x,y) = 0 on C^UJLJ
It follows from symmetry that
i/r(x, -y) = f(x,y)
and Y(x, —y) = 0 on <72 U L.
p
Further wi = -— ^(x, y),
and the function (P/2^) Y(a;, ?/) gives the velocity distribution for a fluid of viscosity
ft1} flowing in a pipe whose boundary is Cx U L.
To construct a solution of the two-phase flow problem we represent ut as

Ui(x, y) = A^ix, eg) - f{x, y)) + ^ i]r(x, y), (5)

where At is a constant and e = (— l) i + 1 . Clearly ut satisfies (1) with ut = 0 on Ct and,


since i/r is an even function of y and Y vanishes on L, conditions (ii) and (iii) require that
P P

and
Stratified laminar flow 445

and the fluid speed %i is found as

Ui(x,y) = {-i)i^^\Y(x,ey) + -^—f{x,y). (8)

It follows from (8) that the interfacial velocity distribution is

Ul(x, 0) = u2(x, 0) = — — f{x, 0), (9)

i.e. the same as that of a fluid of viscosity i(/ti + ^ 2 ) which fills the pipe.
The flow rates Qi (i = 1,2) of the twofluidsare

* -l
where S1 denotes the portion y > 0 of S, the duct cross-section. Thus, the total flow
rate Q = Qx + Q2 is given by
- - IL \ Ii Jr I I
Cj/ ^— *; rII IT \ X * If) CbOCCuU ~j~ II llfiSCy If I CbOC Gulf • 1 1 1 )

The first term in (11) represents theflowrate of a fluid of viscosity

along a pipe bounded by Cx U L, and the second term is the flow rate of afluidof
viscosity ^(ji1+/i2) which fills the whole pipe.
In discussing the effect of stratification on the volumetric flow rates of the separate
components several related physical parameters are commonly employed. One such
parameter is the volumetricflowrate factor Vi = Qi/Qi tun, where Qt tun is the flow rate
when the liquid * fills the whole pipe and the pressure gradient is the same as in the
two-phase system. The practical interest hi the stratification problem lies in the fact
that under suitable circumstances Yi may exceed unity.
Since p /• /•
Qttui\= «j—JJ f(x,y)dxdy, (12)
it follows that in the symmetric case considered above

, (13)

where R = 11 W{x,y)dxdyj\\f(x,y)dxdy. (14)


A second parameter is the pressure gradient reduction factor B. This is defined to be
the ratio of the pressure gradient for the flow of the more viscous phase alone to the
pressure gradient of the two-phase flow, theflowrates being the same. If the fluid i is
the more viscous phase it is easily shown that
B = V,. (15)
446 B. A. PACKHAM AND R. SHAIL
, A parameter related to the cost of pumping the more viscous phase is the power
reduction factor C. This is denned as the ratio of the power required to pump the more
viscous fluid alone in the full pipe to the power required to pump the two-phase system
when the volumetric flow rate of the more viscous phase is the same in both cases.
Hence, if the fluid i is the more viscous phase,
C = VtQtIQ = BQt/Q. (16)
In the symmetric case Vi is given by equation (14) and

Q I to )l\ /HP*
We note that for the present problem all three parameters depend solely on R and
the ratio of the viscosities, and that R depends only on the geometry of the cross-section.
3. Some particular solutions. As remarked earlier, solutions for the symmetric two-
phase system may be written down immediately when the single liquid pipe flows are
known for both the half-pipe bounded by Cx U L and the full pipe bounded by C1U C2-
Many of these solutions are perhaps better known in the context of the St Venant
torsion problem of elastostatics (Timoshenko and Goodier(lO), Chapter 11). In this
context \F and i/r are the stress functions for the cylindrical rods whose cross-sections
are those of the half and full pipes respectively, and the integrals in equation (14)
are simply related to the torsional rigidities of the rods.
Consider first two-phaseflowin a circular or sectoral pipe. A general solution for \jr for
a sector of a circle was obtained by Greenhill(7) in the form of an infinite series. When
the angle 2a of the sector is mn/n (m and n integers) the series may be summed to give
a closed form solution. With the aid of these solutions, and an appropriate rotation of
axes, the solution of the corresponding two-phase problem follows immediately.
For example, for a circular pipe of unit radius we need GreenhiU's solution for
a = \TT, namely

and the solution


jr{x,y) = \{\-x*-y% (19)
for the whole pipe. Substitution of Y and ijr in equation (5) yields the velocity distribu-
tion obtained by Yu and Sparrow (after correcting typographical errors), using a
complicated Green's function method.
In the calculation of R, use may often be made of the torsional rigidity tables in
standard texts. For the semi-circle

[[ W(x, y) dxdy = 0-148 (Timoshenko and Goodier (10), p. 279)

and ifr(x, y) dxdy = \n,


whence R = 0-188.
Stratified laminar flow 447
The following table of values of R for various sectoral angles ft may easily be con-
structed from the table of torsional rigidities given by Timoshenko and Goodier,
p. 279.
P \n \n it 2n
R 0-220 0-236 0-279 0-337
We note that ft = 2n corresponds to a circular pipe with a horizontal radial fin;
further results for two-phaseflowin an annular sectoral pipe may be obtained using the
^•-functions given by Love (9).
Another simple problem is that of a rectangular pipe with sides of length- 2a and 26,
where the side of length 2a is horizontal. For such a pipe the solution

o ^ ^ f , (20)
where kn = (2n +1) 77-/2a, is well known.
The solution W(x, y) for the half-pipe is, of course, obtained by replacing b by \b and
y by y — \b in equation (20).
From equation (9) the interfacial velocity in the symmetric case is thus given by

^ ^ (21)
n=o akl cosh&n&j
which agrees with that obtained by Dumitrescu and Staniscu(5) and Charles and
Lilleleht(3).
From p. 278 of Timoshenko and Goodier
» 1 {2n+\)-nb\
(22)
^ ^
Convergence is rapid for b > a (for b < a we interchange a and b), and with A = bja,
approximate formulae are
„ 1/A-

, „ l/l-0-
l/l-0-315A\
and **
*88 (( ll -006-3 0 * )
The following table of values of R for various A is easily calculated by using
equation (22):
A 00 10 5 4 3 2 ] 0-5 0-2 01 0
R 0-500 0-466 0-428 0-407 0-373 0-307 0-204 0 1 5 3 0-134 0-129 0125

An interesting variant of the above is afforded by a square pipe having one diagonal
horizontal. For a square pipe of side 2a with a side horizontal, \jr may be derived from
(20) by putting b = a. The function Y for the right-angled isosceles triangle bounded
by x = a, y = a and x + y = 0 was obtained by Kolossof (8), and is given by

x {sink kny cos knx + siahhnx cos k^}. (23)


448 B. A. PACKHAM AND R. SHAIL
The corresponding expressions for r/r and W when a diagonal is horizontal are obtained
by rotating the axes through %n.
Referring once again to Timoshenko and Goodier, p. 280, we find that in this case
B= 0-186.
We note that, since theflowparameters for the more viscous phase are increased by
decreasing R, the present configuration for a square pipe with a diagonal horizontal is
more efficient as regards the pumping of the more viscous phase than when a side is
horizontal.
From the practical point of view we observe that the flow rate parameters are
always less than unity for the more viscous phase in the general symmetric problem
considered above. It follows that in order that theflowrate in the two-phase system
shall exceed that in the single phase system the interface must be below the centre
line. The solutions are, nevertheless, of interest in that they provide a class of simple
solutions of the Navier-Stokes equation which does not appear to have been recorded
elsewhere. The same basic mathematics also applies to the St Venant torsion problem
of a compound bar with appropriate symmetry.

REFERENCES
(1) ACHUTABAMAYYA, G. and SLEICHEB, C. A. Canad. J. Chem. Eng. 47 (1969), 347.
(2) BENTWICH, M. J. Basic Eng. D 86, (1964), 669.
(3) CHABLES, M. E. and LILLELEHT, L. U. Canad. J. Chem. Eng. 43 (1965), 110.
(4) CHABLES, M. E. and REDBTIRGEB, P. J. Canad. J. Chem. Eng. 40 (1962), 70.
(5) DTJMITRESCU, L. and STANISCTJ, C. Acad. B. P. Bomine. Stud. Cere. Mec. Apl. 2 (1957), 2.
(6) GBMMELL, A. R. and EPSTEIN, N. Canad. J. Chem. Eng. 40 (1962), 215.
(7) GBEENHTLL, A. G. Mess. Math. 9 (1879), 89.
(8) KOLOSSOF, G. C.B. Acad. Sci. Paris Sir. A-B 178 (1924), 2057.
(9) LOVE, A. E. H. The mathematical theory of elasticity (Cambridge University Press, 1952).
(10) TIMOSHENKO, S. and GOODIEB, J. N. Theory of elasticity (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1951).
(11) Yu, H. S. and SPABBOW, E. M. A.I.Ch.E. Journal 13 (1967), 10.

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