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The aim of the present paper is to propose an image processing technique in order to study the interfacial behavior of air-water slug two-phase flow in horizontal pipes. Here, the experiments were performed in two sets of transparent acrylic pipes with inner pipe diameters of 16 mm and 50 mm. To observe the interfacial behavior of slug flow, the liquid and gas superficial velocities were set to 0.2–0.77 m/s and 0.7–2.83 m/s, respectively. Visualization studies by using high speed video camera combined with image processing techniques were since it offered numerous advantages. Moreover, a sequential procedure was implemented for processing of each image. This technique has succeeded to enhance the image contrast and remove the uneven background. Next, a number of steps applied to binary image were also performed in order to remove the dispersed bubble attached on bubble tail which becomes one of the biggest challenges for the visualization studies of slug flow. As a result, the developed image processing technique was able to minimize the errors in order to produce the accurate measurement. Moreover, the processed image have been utilized to gather the quantitative information. It reveals the comprehensive characteristics of slug flow in horizontal pipes. Finally, a good agreement between the present and previous works proves the reliability of the developed technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study on the interfacial phenomena of flooding during the counter-current flow of gas-liquid in a complex pipe was carried-out experimentally. It consists of a combination of the horizontal pipe, elbow and inclined pipes to simulate the hot leg pipe in a PWR. The inner diameter was 25.4 mm as scale down of real hot leg pipe of German Konvoi type reactor. The visual observations were performed using high-speed video cameras. The measured parameters were the liquid film thickness and the pressure difference between reactor pressure vessel (RPV) simulator and steam generator (SG) simulator. The film thickness inside the test pipe was determined by using the processed image of visual data. As a result, three different mechanisms at the onset of flooding in counter-current were clarified, and are strongly affected by liquid superficial velocity. At low liquid superficial velocity (J L ), the flooding mechanism is triggered by the presence of wavy interface along the horizontal pipes in the form of a liquid blockage on the elbow. At the medium J L , the slug was detected along the horizontal pipe. However, the slug collapses immediately since the water is insufficient to maintain the blockage. At high J L , the slug occurs and travels along the horizontal pipe until the elbow. Moreover, the effect of the length of horizontal pipe on the interfacial behavior of air water counter current flow also can be explained. As the length of the horizontal pipe decreases, the onset of flooding occurs at a higher gas liquid mass flow rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]