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2025 Vol.12, Issue 4 Preview Page

Original Article

3D CFD Analysis of Slug Flow Frequency in Liquid-Gas Two-Phase Flow

슬러그 흐름 및 빈도 특성 분석을 위한 액체-기체 2상 흐름 3차원 수치모의

YongJun Kwon1
,
Hyung-Suk Kim2*
권 용준1
,
김 형석2*
1Ph.D. Student, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Kunsan National University
2Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Kunsan National University
1국립군산대학교 토목환경공학부 박사과정
2국립군산대학교 토목공학과 부교수
*Corresponding Author
31 December 2025. pp. 266-278
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Abstract

There is a need for numerical model to evaluate and reflect the unsteady characteristics of two-phase flow in the design of underground stormwater tunnels. In this study, the interFoam solver in OpenFOAM, capable of three-dimensional two-phase flow analysis, was employed to simulate slug flow and perform a quantitative evaluation of its characteristics. Numerical simulations were conducted under various flow conditions defined by different superficial Reynolds numbers. The results demonstrated that the process of slug formation and development could be reproduced through detailed analysis of slug generation frequency, spatial occurrence, and propagation behavior. For both ReSG=1,377 and ReSG=4,320, the total number of slugs generally increased with higher ReSL values. At ReSG=4,320, slug generation was concentrated during the initial inflow stage. The slug frequency tended to increase with ReSL at ReSG=1,377, whereas at ReSG=4,320, it showed a temporary increase near the inlet but decreased along the downstream direction. The dimensionless slug frequency increased as ReSG rose from 1,377 to 4,320 under ReSL=7,070 and 12,730, whereas no distinct trend was observed with respect to ReSG when ReSL=16,500. The Strouhal number showed some deviations from the experimental results when ReSG≥4,000, but exhibited good agreement with previous experiments when ReSG≤1,377. The three-dimensional numerical model used in this study is expected to be capable of predicting the behavior of complex slug flow.

Keywords
Slug frequency
3D Numerical analysis
Slug flow
Turbulence model
OpenFOAM

지하방수로에서 발생하는 2상(two-phase) 유동의 비정상적 거동을 예측하고 이를 설계에 반영하기 위한 기술이 필요하다. 본 연구는 3차원 2상 유동해석이 가능한 OpenFOAM의 interFoam 솔버를 활용하여 슬러그 흐름을 모의하고 그 특성에 대한 정량적 분석을 수행하였다. 다양한 겉보기 레이놀즈수(Superficial Reynolds number)에 따라 총 12가지 유동 조건에서 수치모의를 수행하였으며, 그 결과 슬러그 형성과 이동 과정 및 발생 횟수와 위치 분석을 통해 슬러그 발달 과정을 재현할 수 있음을 확인하였다. 슬러그 발생 횟수는 ReSG=1,377 및 4,320의 경우 ReSL이 증가함에 따라 전반적으로 많아지는 경향이 나타났으며, ReSG=4,320일 때 유입 초기에 슬러그 발생 횟수가 집중되는 것으로 모의되었다. 슬러그 빈도는 ReSG=1,377인 경우 ReSL이 커지면서 증가하는 경향을 보였으나, ReSG=4,320인 경우 ReSL이 커지면서 유입부에서 일시적으로 증가하였지만 하류로 갈수록 감소하였다. 무차원 슬러그 빈도는 ReSL=7,070과 12,730인 경우 ReSG=1,377에서 4,320으로 커질 때 증가하는 것으로 나타났으나, ReSL=16,500인 경우에는 ReSG 조건에 따라 특정 경향성이 확인되지 않았다. Strouhal number는 ReSG≥4,000인 조건에서 수리실험과 다소 차이가 발생하였으나, ReSG≤1,377인 조건에서 기존 수리실험 결과와 잘 일치하는 것으로 나타났다. 본 연구의 3차원 수치모의를 활용하여 복잡한 슬러그 흐름에 대한 거동을 예측할 수 있는 것으로 판단된다.

키워드
슬러그 빈도
3차원 수치해석
슬러그 흐름
난류모델
OpenFOAM
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Information
  • Publisher :Korean Society of Ecology and Infrastructure Engineering
  • Publisher(Ko) :응용생태공학회
  • Journal Title :Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
  • Journal Title(Ko) :응용생태공학회 논문집
  • Volume : 12
  • No :4
  • Pages :266-278
  • Received Date : 2025-11-12
  • Revised Date : 2025-11-19
  • Accepted Date : 2025-11-19
  • DOI :https://doi.org/10.17820/eri.2025.12.4.266
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