Two-Phase Flow in a Gas Flow Channel of Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sung Chan Cho ◽  
Yun Wang
Keyword(s):  
Pressure Drop ◽  
Flow Pattern ◽  
Water Droplet ◽  
Two Phase Flow ◽  
Rectangular Channel ◽  
Aluminum Surface ◽  
Carbon Paper ◽  
Phase Flow ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Phase Pressure

Two-phase flow behavior in a mini channel is studied by both experimental and numerical methods. Various surface conditions are considered to capture the fundamental characteristics of water droplet behavior in a PEMFC gas channel. In the considered rectangular channel with 1 mm height, critical velocity for annular flow type is measured as 1∼2 m/s of superficial air velocity. Two-phase flow pattern shows some uncertainty near transition zone with aluminum surface. With carbon paper GDL, two-phase flow pattern is stabilized. Measured two-phase pressure drop data explains the relation between two-phase flow pattern and two-phase pressure drop. Numerical simulation using VOF technique successfully mimicked the development of water droplet and corner flow as well as formation of a slug. It also explains the possibility of random slug formation with aluminum surface and stabilized two-phase flow pattern with carbon paper GDLs.

Adiabatic Air-Water Two-Phase Flow in Circular Microchannels

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aritra Sur ◽  
Dong Liu
Keyword(s):  
Pressure Drop ◽  
Flow Pattern ◽  
Slug Flow ◽  
Two Phase Flow ◽  
Flow Patterns ◽  
Phase Flow ◽  
Water Mixture ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Phase Pressure ◽  
Circular Microchannels

Gas-liquid two-phase flow in microchannels with hydraulic diameters of 100–500 μm exhibits drastically different flow behaviors from its counterpart in conventional macroscopic channels. Two particular issues are how to determine the two-phase flow patterns and how to predict the two-phase pressure drop at given flow conditions in these microchannels. This paper presents an experimental study of adiabatic two-phase flow of air-water mixture in circular microchannels with inner diameters of 100, 180 and 324 μm, respectively, to investigate the effects of channel size and phase velocity on the two-phase flow pattern and pressure drop. The air and water superficial velocities were in the range of 0.01–120 m/s and 0.005–5 m/s. Two-phase flow patterns were visualized using highspeed photographic technique. Four basic flow patterns, namely, bubbly flow, slug flow, ring flow and annular flow, were observed. The two-phase flow maps were then constructed and the transition boundaries between different flow regimes were identified. It was found that the slug flow is the dominant two-phase flow pattern in microchannels, and the transition boundaries generally shift to regions of higher gas superficial velocities as the channel dimension decreases. The experimental measurements of two-phase pressure drop were compared to the predictions from the available two-phase models in the literature. Results show that the flow pattern-based models provide the best prediction of two-phase pressure drop in microchannels.

Determination and Characteristics of the Transition to Two-Phase Slug Flow in Small Horizontal Channels

1994 ◽  
Vol 116 (1) ◽  
pp. 140-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. W. Wambsganss ◽  
J. A. Jendrzejczyk ◽  
D. M. France
Keyword(s):  
Pressure Drop ◽  
Flow Pattern ◽  
Slug Flow ◽  
Static Pressure ◽  
Two Phase Flow ◽  
High Mass ◽  
Phase Flow ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Flow Pattern Transition ◽  
Phase Pressure

Two-phase pressure drop and fluctuating static pressures were measured in a small horizontal rectangular channel (hydraulic diameter = 5.44 mm). The two-phase fluid was an air/water mixture at atmospheric pressure tested over a mass flux range of 50 to 2000 kg/m2˙s. Two-phase flow patterns were identified and an objective method was found for determining the flow pattern transition from bubble or plug flow to slug flow. The method is based on an RMS static pressure measurement. In particular, it is shown that the transition is accompanied by a clear and abrupt increase in the RMS pressure when plotted as a function of mass quality. Use of the RMS pressure as a two-phase flow pattern transition indicator is shown to have advantages over pressure-versus-time trace evaluations reported in the literature. The transition is substantiated by a clear local change in slope in the curve of two-phase pressure drop plotted as a function of either Martinelli parameter or mass quality. For high mass fluxes, the change in slope is distinguished by a local peak. Some degree of substantiation was found in previous work for both of the results (the RMS static pressure change and the local pressure drop change) at the transition to slug flow.

Two-Phase Flow and Heat Transfer in Rectangular Micro-Channels

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weilin Qu ◽  
Seok-Mann Yoon ◽  
Issam Mudawar
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Pressure Drop ◽  
Flow Pattern ◽  
Two Phase Flow ◽  
Flow Patterns ◽  
Heat Sinks ◽  
Phase Flow ◽  
Micro Channel ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Micro Channels

Knowledge of flow pattern and flow pattern transitions is essential to the development of reliable predictive tools for pressure drop and heat transfer in two-phase micro-channel heat sinks. In the present study, experiments were conducted with adiabatic nitrogen-water two-phase flow in a rectangular micro-channel having a 0.406 × 2.032 mm cross-section. Superficial velocities of nitrogen and water ranged from 0.08 to 81.92 m/s and 0.04 to 10.24 m/s, respectively. Flow patterns were first identified using high-speed video imaging, and still photos were then taken for representative patterns. Results reveal that the dominant flow patterns are slug and annular, with bubbly flow occurring only occasionally; stratified and churn flow were never observed. A flow pattern map was constructed and compared with previous maps and predictions of flow pattern transition models. Annual flow is identified as the dominant flow pattern for conditions relevant to two-phase micro-channel heat sinks, and forms the basis for development of a theoretical model for both pressure drop and heat transfer in micro-channels. Features unique to two-phase micro-channel flow, such as laminar liquid and gas flows, smooth liquid-gas interface, and strong entrainment and deposition effects are incorporated into the model. The model shows good agreement with experimental data for water-cooled heat sinks.

scholarly journals Flow Pattern and Pressure Drop Characteristics on Gas/Liquid Two-phase Flow in a Serpentine Capillary Tube

2007 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 25-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toru SUKAWA ◽  
Tomoya HASEGAWA ◽  
Kenji YOSHIDA ◽  
Isao KATAOKA
Keyword(s):  
Pressure Drop ◽  
Flow Pattern ◽  
Two Phase Flow ◽  
Capillary Tube ◽  
Phase Flow ◽  
Two Phase

Experimental Investigation on Flow Patterns and Frictional Pressure Drop of Downward Air-Water Two-Phase Flow in Vertical Pipes

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuqing Xue ◽  
Huixiong Li ◽  
Tianyou Sheng ◽  
Changjiang Liao
Keyword(s):  
Pressure Drop ◽  
Flow Pattern ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Two Phase Flow ◽  
Flow Patterns ◽  
Phase Flow ◽  
Vertical Pipe ◽  
Two Phase Flows ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Frictional Pressure Drop

A large amount of air need be transported into the reservoir in the deep stratum to supply oxygen to some microbes in Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery (MEOR). Air-water two-phase flows downward along vertical pipeline during the air transportation. Base on the experiment data described in this paper, the characteristics of air-water two phase flow patterns were investigated. The flow pattern map of air-water two phase flows in the pipe with inner diameter of 65 mm was drawn, criterions of flow pattern transition were discussed, and the dynamic signals of the pressure and the differential pressure of the two phase flow were recorded to characterize the three basic flow regimes indirectly. The frictional pressure drop of downward flow in vertical pipe must not be disregarded contrast with upward two phase flow in the vertical pipe because the buoyancy must be overcame when the gas flows downward along pipe, and there would be a maximum value of frictional when the flow pattern translated from slug flow to churn flow.

Two-Phase Flow and Heat Transfer in Rectangular Micro-Channels

2004 ◽  
Vol 126 (3) ◽  
pp. 288-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weilin Qu ◽  
Seok-Mann Yoon ◽  
Issam Mudawar
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Pressure Drop ◽  
Flow Pattern ◽  
Two Phase Flow ◽  
Flow Boiling ◽  
Flow Patterns ◽  
Heat Sinks ◽  
Phase Flow ◽  
Micro Channel ◽  
Two Phase

Knowledge of flow pattern and flow pattern transitions is essential to the development of reliable predictive tools for pressure drop and heat transfer in two-phase micro-channel heat sinks. In the present study, experiments were conducted with adiabatic nitrogen-water two-phase flow in a rectangular micro-channel having a 0.406×2.032mm2 cross-section. Superficial velocities of nitrogen and water ranged from 0.08 to 81.92 m/s and 0.04 to 10.24 m/s, respectively. Flow patterns were first identified using high-speed video imaging, and still photos were then taken for representative patterns. Results reveal the dominant flow patterns are slug and annular, with bubbly flow occurring only occasionally; stratified and churn flow were never observed. A flow pattern map was constructed and compared with previous maps and predictions of flow pattern transition models. Features unique to two-phase micro-channel flow were identified and employed to validate key assumptions of an annular flow boiling model that was previously developed to predict pressure drop and heat transfer in two-phase micro-channel heat sinks. This earlier model was modified based on new findings from the adiabatic two-phase flow study. The modified model shows good agreement with experimental data for water-cooled heat sinks.

Correlations of the Holdup and the Frictional Pressure Drop in Air-Water Two-Phase Flow in a Flat Capillary Rectangular Channel

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hideo Ide ◽  
Tohru Fukano
Keyword(s):  
Pressure Drop ◽  
Aspect Ratio ◽  
Two Phase Flow ◽  
Rectangular Channel ◽  
Flow Characteristics ◽  
Phase Flow ◽  
Two Phase Flows ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Frictional Pressure Drop ◽  
Flow Phenomena

Both vertical upward and horizontal gas-liquid two-phase flows in a flat capillary rectangular channel were studied to clarify the flow phenomena, the holdup and the frictional pressure drop. The dimension of the channel used was 9.9 mm × 1.1 mm. The orientations of the channel were with the wide side vertical and the wide side horizontal. The differences between the flow characteristics in such orientations were investigated. New correlations of holdup and frictional pressure drop for flat capillary channels are proposed, in which the effect of aspect ratio has been taken into consideration.

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