Condition for uniform discharge in the two-phase flows in a manifold pipe

A dividing-type manifold system is one of the conventional flow distributors adopted to allocate the main stream into multiple branches. In operating such a system, the capability of controlling the discharge for each outlet (e.g., uniform distribution) is required to sustain the performance and enhance the efficiency of various thermo-fluid processes in the industry. In this paper, we performed numerical and experimental investigations on the two-phase flow behaviors (e.g., the concentration of dispersed phase) through a manifold pipe system while varying the pressure differences at each branch. As a result, we suggest a pressure outlet condition following a parabolic distribution to achieve a uniform two-phase flow distribution in the dividing manifold, which is supported by both the numerical simulation and experiment. The mechanism for the present condition is explained based on the existing analytical model for header pressure distribution. While we focused on achieving uniform discharge along each branch, we believe that the present approach can be readily extended to determine the operating conditions to allocate (i.e., control) the desired flux to each branch, which will be very useful in many practical applications.