Experimental Visualization and Numerical Simulation of Liquid-Gas Two-Phase Flows in a Horizontal Pipe

Author(s):  
Milad Darzi ◽  
Chanwoo Park

This paper presents the results of both visualization experiment and numerical simulation for two-phase (water-air mixture) flows in a horizontal tube. A visualization experimental setup was used to observe various two-phase flow patterns for different flow rates of water/air mixture flow in a glass tube of 12 mm in diameter. Total of 303 experimental data points were compared with Mandhane’s flow map. Most of the data for stratified, plug and slug flows were found to be in good agreement. However, annular flow was observed for relatively lower gas flow rates and also wavy flow occurred at relatively higher liquid flow rates in this experiment. A three-dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation was performed using OpenFOAM employing “interFoam” as the solver to simulate the two-phase flows in horizontal pipe based on Volume-Of-Fluid (VOF) method. The simulated and experimentally observed flow patterns for the same set of superficial velocities shows acceptable similarities for stratified, wavy, plug, slug and annular flows. Also, the computed values of the void fraction and pressure drop for the numerical simulations shows reasonable agreement with well-known correlations in literature.

2021 ◽  
Vol 71 (12) ◽  
pp. 18-33
Author(s):  
Lokman A. Abdulkareem ◽  
Veyan A. Musa ◽  
Raid A. Mahmood ◽  
Ezideen A. Hasso

The air-water two-phase flow plays an important role in many applications of industry fields. Usually, a 90-degree bend is used to connect pipes for changing the direction of flow which influences the two-phase flow pattern. In this paper, the effect of 90-degree bend under different ranges of gas and liquid superficial velocities on the two-phase flow patterns in the horizontal pipe located after the bend was experimentally investigated, and then results were presented and compared in a two-phase flow pattern map. Also, tomographic images and probability density functions were used to capture the cross-section void fraction and its distribution for the two-phase flow patterns. The results revealed that at low liquid and gas flow rates, a stratified-wavy flow pattern was observed as a dominant flow pattern. While the wavy-annular and semiannular flow patterns were observed at a high range of gas flow rates in the horizontal pipe. The results also showed that at the high range of liquid flow rate, bubbly, plug, slug, stratified-wavy, and wavy-annular flow patterns were observed in the horizontal pipe when the gas flow increased. The tomographic images and probability density functions gave good agreement with the experimental observations and results.


Author(s):  
Thomas D. Sta¨bler ◽  
Leonhard Meyer ◽  
Thomas Schulenberg ◽  
Eckart Laurien

In order to improve the multi-dimensional numerical simulation of horizontal two-phase flows, the knowledge of local turbulent quantities is of great importance. In horizontal stratified flows, the denser (first) phase flows as a film beneath the other (second) phase. Under counter-current conditions, the second phase flows into the opposite direction of the first phase. In the present investigations a liquid film flows counter-currently to a gas flow. According to the flow rates of both phases, different flow regimes set in. In supercritical flows (Fr>1), the height of the liquid film increases in flow direction, while it decreases in subcritical flows (Fr<1). For sufficiently high gas flow rates the upper part of the liquid film flows into direction of the gas flow, while the lower part still flows into its initial direction opposite to the gas flow. Only a reduced amount of water reaches the end of the test section. This flow regime is referred to as partially reversed flow. The presented local measurements provide not only the mean and rms-velocities of the liquid film, but also the corresponding Reynolds stresses. Local measurements are carried out at two different positions along the test section for various boundary conditions. Furthermore, the liquid injection height has been varied. The kinematic and turbulent structures of the different flow patterns are presented and compared.


Author(s):  
Carlos E. F. do Amaral ◽  
O´liver B. S. Scorsim ◽  
Eduardo N. Santos ◽  
Marco Jose´ da Silva ◽  
Marco Germano Conte ◽  
...  

Two phase flow occurs in many industrial applications, mainly in the transport of mixtures. Many patterns can be produced according to the liquid and gas flow rates. The identification of these patterns is very important in the design of piping systems and equipments. This work proposes an experimental study to identify multiphase flow patterns of water and air in horizontal pipes. The study was developed using an experimental circuit of 26 mm diameter and 9.2 m length pipe, at Thermal Sciences Lab (LACIT) at the Federal University of Technology - Parana´. To characterize the flow patterns, an intrusive mesh electrodes sensor was used, which allows the detailed visualization of the phases distribution. Tests were made using several experimental settings of water and gas flow rates. Measurements were compared to images obtained by high speed camera and the temporal void fraction series which were analyzed with the use of PDF and PSD functions, showing the singularities for each two-phase flow pattern.


2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tak For Yu ◽  
Sylvanus Yuk Kwan Lee ◽  
Yitshak Zohar ◽  
Man Wong

Abstract Extensive development of biomedical and chemical analytic microdevices involves microscale fluid flows. Merging of fluid streams is expected to be a key feature in such devices. An integrated microsystem consisting of merging microchannels and distributed pressure microsensors has been designed and characterized to study this phenomenon on a microscale. The two narrow, uniform and identical channels merged smoothly into a wide, straight and uniform channel downstream of a splitter plate. All of the devices were fabricated using standard micromachining techniques. Mass flow rates and pressure distributions were measured for single-phase gas flow in order to characterize the device. The experimental results indicated that the flow developed when both inlets were connected together to the gas source could be modeled as gas flow through a straight and uniform microchannel. The flow through a single branch while the other was blocked, however, could be modeled as gas flow through a pair of microchannels in series. Flow visualizations of two-phase flows have been conducted when driving liquid and gas through the inlet channels. Several instability modes of the gas/liquid interface have been observed as a function of the pressure difference between the two streams at the merging location.


2008 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 41
Author(s):  
H. O. S. Castro ◽  
J. L. Gasche ◽  
W. P. Conti ◽  
E. D. R. Vieira

This work presents an experimental investigation of the ester oil ISO VG10-refrigerant R134a mixture flashing flow with foam formation through a straight horizontal 3.22 mm-diameter-6.0 m- long tube. An experimental apparatus was designed to allow the measurement of both pressure and temperature profiles along the tube as well as the visualization of the flow patterns. Tests were performed at different mass flow rates, several refrigerant mass fractions at the inlet of the flow, and inlet mixture temperatures around 28 and 39 °C. A liquid mixture flow with constant temperature and pressure gradient could be noticed at the inlet of the tube. As the flow proceeded towards the exit of the tube the pressure drop produced a reduction of the refrigerant solubility in the oil yielding to formation of the first bubbles. Initially, small and few bubbles could be noticed and the flow behaved as a conventional two-phase flow. Eventually, the bubble population increased and foam flow was observed at the exit of the tube. Due to the great formation of bubbles, both the temperature and pressure gradient of the mixture were greatly reduced in this region of the flow.


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