Abstract The poorly understood mechanisms of slug flow remain an obstacle for widespread application of this dense phase flow. The parameters that characterise the flow have repeatedly been observed to have a bounded range of operating conditions; however, the ability to reliably predict these boundaries has not achieved the same level of repeatability. This paper presents a model to predict the absolute maximum transport boundaries for slug velocity and the absolute minimum transport boundaries for the layer fraction as a function of the gas mass flow rate. The predicted transport boundaries are supported by measurements, following which, the model is further developed as a prediction tool, where very good agreement with measurements is achieved. As the model provides relationships between all of the key parameters of slug flow, analysis is provided demonstrating the ability of the model to be applied as a convenient design tool for slug flow pneumatic conveying systems.

中文翻译：

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水平段塞流气力输送段塞速度和层分率的输运边界及预测

摘要 对段塞流机制知之甚少，仍然是这种密相流广泛应用的障碍。已经反复观察到表征流动的参数具有有限的操作条件范围；然而，可靠地预测这些边界的能力并没有达到相同水平的可重复性。本文提出了一个模型来预测段塞速度的绝对最大输运边界和层分数的绝对最小输运边界作为气体质量流量的函数。预测的运输边界得到测量的支持，随后，该模型被进一步开发为预测工具，与测量结果非常吻合。由于该模型提供了段塞流所有关键参数之间的关系，