Introduction to Multiphase Flow

A multiphase flow is the simultaneous flow of two or more immiscible phases of matter like gasses, liquids and/or solids. Such flows are important in many environmental and industrial processes and equipment. Examples are transport of food and production of pharmaceutics, dredging, steel making, refineries and chemical- and nuclear power plants, sediment transport in rivers, cavitation, etc. This course, inspired by these processes, gives a broad introduction to the fundamental fluid mechanics of such flows. Topics include: classification of multiphase flows into dispersed and separated multiphase flows, relevant dimensionless numbers, stability of two-phase flows, modelling approaches, flow pattern maps, physics of droplets, bubbles, and particles; dynamics of particle-laden flow, effects of turbulence, experimental techniques and computational methods for multiphase flows. Examples will be given of the use of multiphase flow theory in industrial applications.