
614      Va.  Two-Phase Flow and Heat Transfer:  Two-Phase Flow Fundamentals  
conservation equation for the mixture, we use volume-averaged quantities similar 
to Equation Va.2.2, defined for void fraction.  Since the flow area is assumed to be 
constant, the area averaged value for any quantity such as 
ψ
 is simplified to 
³
>=< AdA /)(
ψψ
.
Beginning with the conservation equation of mass, we apply Equation IIIa.3.2 
to the two-phase flow in the elemental control volume of Figure Va.2.1.  We then 
divide each term by A∆z and let ∆z approach zero:
0)1()1( >=+−<
∂
∂
+>−+<
∂
∂
αραραραρ
ggfffg
VV
t
          Va.2.7 
If we now substitute for the mixture density, 
ρ
 = (1 – 
α
)
ρ
f
 + 
αρ
g
 and the mixture 
mass flux, defined as; G = < 
ρ
f
(1 – 
α
)V
f
 + 
ρ
g
a>, the one-dimensional continuity 
equation for the flow of a two-phase mixture becomes: 
0=
∂
∂
+
∂
∂
G
t
ρ
                           Va.2.8 
If Equation Va.2.8 is integrated over a macroscopic control volume V = sA, we 
obtain Equation IIa.5.1. 
Regarding the one-dimensional conservation equation of momentum for two-
phase flow in a constant area channel, we use Equation IIIa.3.6.  Assuming gravity 
to be the only body force and substituting for the shear stresses, such as surface 
force, we find the momentum equation for uniform flow at a cross section z:
γρ
sin
P
v
2
g
A
P
G
t
G
sw
−−
∂
∂
−>=
′
<
∂
∂
+
∂
∂
              Va.2.9 
where
τ
s
 is the shear stress at the wall of the channel, P
w
 is the channel wetted pe-
rimeter, and 
ρ
’ = 1/v’ is the mixing cup density.  Also note that 
γ
 is the angle be-
tween the flow velocity vector and the horizontal plane (see Figure Va.2.2) and 
ranges from –
π
/2
 
≤
γ
≤
π
/2. For horizontal channels 
γ
 = 0.  For vertical channels, if 
flow is upward, 
 γ
 = 
π
/2 and if flow is downward,  
γ
 = –
π
/2. 
The term representing shear stresses in Equation Va.2.9 can be substituted from 
Equation IIIb.2.5 for single-phase flow so that P
w
τ
s
 /A = fv|G|G/2D
h
 where f is the 
friction factor and using the absolute value of G ensures opposing force in the case 
of flow reversal in the channel.  To obtain the momentum equation for a macro-
scopic control volume, we integrate Equation Va.2.9 over a finite length s:
γρ
sinV
2
v
v
22
2
g
D
s
A
mmf
P
A
m
dt
md
A
s
m
h
−−∆−=
¸
¸
¹
·
¨
¨
©
§
′
∆+
        Va.2.10 
The two-phase flow momentum equation is discussed in more detail in Sec-
tion 2.4.