Sound velocity and its relationship with interfacial area density in a steam/water, two-phase bubbly flow

[[abstract]]A model is developed for predicting the sound velocity in low void fraction, homogeneous steam/water two-phase bubbly flow. It is based on an analysis of the compressibility of a typical bubble. The sound velocity predicted is found to be strongly dependent on void fraction, bubble size and frequency. The `equilibrium' sound velocity is derived in the limiting case as frequency approaches zero and the adiabatic sound velocity is derived by neglecting bubble dynamics as frequency approaches infinity. The interfacial area density is shown to be inversely proportional to the square of the sound velocity when dimensionless frequency is in the range 10-10000. the model is verified by comparisons with previous theories and some existing data[[fileno]]2060102010019[[department]]工程與系統科學