4. Results and discussion
These single-phase flow experiments were the first to be conducted
to check the validity of the experimental system. The energy
balance of the test section is illustrated in Fig. 4, indicating
the test section, which was well insulated. The single-phase Nusselt
numbers were also compared with the prediction methods of
Gnielinski [24] and Lee and Garimella [25], which were applied
for laminar developing flow. The comparisons presented in Fig. 5
indicate that the experimental results tended to agree fairly with
the predictions, corresponding to a uniform heat flux boundary
condition.
The following sections present the two-phase flow results,
including flow pattern and heat transfer.
4.1. Flow pattern results
A Stereozoom microscope and camera system were employed
to conduct flow visualization, carried out at a distance of 20 mm
from the channel inlet. Based on this distance, the images were recorded
at three different zones: left zone, middle zone, and right
zone. Fig. 6 illustrates the locations at which the images were
captured.
For two-phase flow, Reynolds numbers for gas and liquid
phases can be defined respectively by gas superficial Reynolds
number, ReGS, and liquid superficial Reynolds number, ReLS, which
are expressed by the following equations.
ReLS ¼
qLjLSDh
lL
ð5Þ
ReGS ¼
qGjGSDh
lG