Influence of gravity upon the bubble distribution in a turbulent pipe flow: Comparison between numerical simulations and experimental data

The prediction of the radial distribution of the bubbles in a turbulent pip e flow is crucial for the design of the thermohydraulic loops. Up to now, n o satisfactory model does exist, especially in microgravity conditions, The bubble distribution strongly depends on gravity. Therefore experiments (wi th the two-phase flow loop EDIA) and numerical simulations (with the code J ADIM) are performed under normal gravity conditions and in microgravity, Th ey consist of a lagrangien tracking of single bubbles in a turbulent sheer flow in pipe.