Two-phase flow distributors for fuel cell flow channels

All existing proton exchange membrane （PEM） fuel cell gas flow fields have been designed on the basis of single-phase gas flow distribution. The presence of liquid water in the flow causes non-uniform gas distribution, leading to poor cell performance. This paper demonstrates that a gas flow restrictor/distributor, as is commonly used in two-phase flow to stabilize multiphase transport lines and multiphase reactors, can improve the gas flow distribution by significantly reducing gas real-distribution caused by either non-uniform water formation in parallel flow channels or flow instability associated with negative-slope pressure drop characteristic of two-phase horizontal flow systems.     

Secondary flow coefficient of overbank flow

This paper presents a 2D analytical solution for the transverse velocity distribution in compound open channels based on the Shiono and Knight method （SKM）, in which the secondary flow coefficient （K-value） is introduced to take into account the effect of the secondary flow. The modeling results agree well with the experimental results from the Science and Engineering Research Council-Flood Channel Facility （SERC-FCF）. Based on the SERC-FCF, the effects of geography on the secondary flow coefficient and the reason for such effects are analyzed. The modeling results show that the intensity of the secondary flow is related to the geometry of the section of the compound channel, and the sign of the K-value is related to the rotating direction of the secondary flow cell. This study provides a scientific reference to the selection of theK-value.     

Two-phase flow patterns and void fractions in downward flow Part I: Steady-state flow patterns

Observations of void fractions and flow patterns have been made during steady-state, co-current, downward flow of liquid refrigerant 113 and its vapor. The new data on flow pattern transitions, plus the available downward flow data in the literature, have been compared with available predictions. It was found that the flow pattern map previously developed for horizontal and upward flow can be extended to downward flow with only minor modifications. Part II of this paper will report on the void fraction measurements and the observations of flow pattern transitions during flow transients.     

Two-phase flow distribution of air–water annular flow in a parallel flow heat exchanger

The air and water flow distribution are experimentally studied for a round header – flat tube geometry simulating a parallel flow heat exchanger. The number of branch flat tube is 30. The effects of tube outlet direction, tube protrusion depth as well as mass flux, and quality are investigated. The flow at the header inlet is identified as annular. For the downward flow configuration, the water flow distribution is significantly affected by the tube protrusion depth. For flush-mounted configuration, most of the water flows through frontal part of the header. As the protrusion depth increases, more water is forced to the rear part of the header. The effect of mass flux or quality is qualitatively the same as that of the protrusion depth. Increase of the mass flux or quality forces the water to rear part of the header. For the upward flow configuration, however, most of the water flows through rear part of the header. The protrusion depth, mass flux, or quality does not significantly alter the flow pattern. Possible explanations are provided based on the flow visualization results. Negligible difference on the water flow distribution was observed between the parallel and the reverse flow configuration.     

In situ flow visualization of capillary flow of concentrated alumina suspensions

A new approach was taken to understand the flow behavior of concentrated particle suspensions in pressure-driven capillary flow. The flow of concentrated alumina suspensions in a slit channel was visualized and quantitatively analyzed with modified capillary rheometer. The suspensions showed complex flow behaviors; unique solid–liquid transition and shear banding. At low flow rates, 55 vol% alumina suspension showed a unique transient flow behavior; there was no flow at first and continuous change of flow profile was observed with time. At low shear rates in particular, the suspensions exhibited shear-banded flow profile which could be divided into three regions: the region with low flow rate near the wall, the region with rapid increase of flow velocity to maximum, and the region of velocity plateau. Based on both flow visualization and measurement of shear stress, it was found that the shear-banded flow profile in pressure-driven slit channel flow was strongly correlated with shear stress. The banding in pressure-driven flow was different from that in Couette flow. The banding of concentrated alumina suspensions was unique in that sluggish velocity profile was pronounced and two inflection points in velocity profile was exhibited. In this study, shear banding of concentrated alumina suspensions in slit channel flow was visualized and quantitatively analyzed. We expect that this approach can be an effective method to understand the flow behavior of particulate suspensions in the pressure-driven flow which is typical in industrial processing.     

Transition mechanism from bubble flow to slug flow in a riser

An experiment was performed to examine the mechanism of flow pattern transition from bubble flow to slug flow in a riser. The flow was measured by a double resistivity probe system, and photographs of the flow were taken using strobe lights. The negative diffusion distance of bubbles was estimated using a voidage wave equation and compared with the interbubble distance. The flow pattern transition from bubble flow to slug flow occurred when the diffusion distance was larger than the interbubble distance. Conversely, when the diffusion distance was smaller than the interbubble distance, the bubble flow was sustained. Therefore, it is found that the negative diffusion caused by the instability of the voidage wave brings about the flow pattern transition.     

Uncertainty analysis of flow rate measurement for multiphase flow using CFD

The venturi meter has an advantage in its use,because it can measure flow without being much affected by the type of the measured fluid or flow conditions.Hence,it has excellent versatility and is being widely applied in many industries.The flow of a liquid containing air is a representative example of a multiphase flow and exhibits complex flow characteristics.In particular,the greater the gas volume fraction(GVF),the more inhomogeneous the flow becomes.As a result,using a venturi meter to measure the rate of a flow that has a high GVF generates an error.In this study,the cause of the error occurred in measuring the flow rate for the multiphase flow when using the venturi meter for analysis by CFD.To ensure the reliability of this study,the accuracy of the multiphase flow models for numerical analysis was verified through comparison between the calculated results of numerical analysis and the experimental data.As a result,the Grace model,which is a multiphase flow model established by an experiment with water and air,was confirmed to have the highest reliability.Finally,the characteristics of the internal flow Held about the multiphase flow analysis result generated by applying the Grace model were analyzed to find the cause of the uncertainty occurring when measuring the flow rate of the multiphase flow using the venturi meter.A phase separation phenomenon occurred due to a density difference of water and air inside the venturi,and flow inhomogeneity happened according to the flow velocity difference of each phase.It was confirmed that this flow inhomogeneity increased as the GVF increased due to the uncertainty of the flow measurement.     

Time-dependent stagnation-point flow over rotating disk impinging oncoming flow

The unsteady stagnation point flow of an incompressible viscous fluid over a rotating disk is investigated numerically in the present study.The disk impinges the oncoming flow with a time-dependent axial velocity.The three-dimensional axisymmetric boundary-layer flow is described by the Navier-Stokes equations.The governing equations are solved numerically,and two distinct similarity solution branches are obtained.Both solution branches exhibit different flow patterns.The upper branch solution exists for all values of the impinging parameter β and the rotating parameter.However,the lower branch solution breaks down at some moderate values of β.The involvement of the rotation at disk allows the similarity solution to be transpired for all the decreasing values of β.The results of the velocity profile,the skin friction,and the stream lines are demonstrated through graphs and tables for both solution branches.The results show that the impinging velocity depreciates the forward flow and accelerates the flow in the tangential direction.     

Transient flow redistribution in annular two-phase flow

A model is described for the prediction of transient flow redistribution in vertical annular two-phase flow. The model is based on an analysis of the local parameters controlling the flow and takes account of the diffusive motion of entrained droplets and the delay time for change in the wave structure on the film. Comparisons are made with experimental results on inlet effects and it is shown that the wall injection experimental results can be described by the model. The jet injection results are not fitted by the model and it is shown that some additional deposition mechanism must be present.     

Airfoil flow instabilities induced by background flow oscillations

 The effect of background flow oscillations on transonic airfoil (NACA 0012) flow was investigated experimentally. The oscillations were generated by means of a rotating plate placed downstream of the airfoil. Owing to oscillating chocking of the flow caused by the plate, the airfoil flow periodically accelerated and decelerated. This led to strong variations in the surface pressure and the airfoil loading. The results are presented for two angles of attack, α=4° and α=8.5°, which correspond to the attached and separated steady airfoil flows, respectively. Received: 6 June 2000 / Accepted: 18 October 2001     

Effects of flow dispersers upstream of two-phase flow monitoring instruments

The effects of flow dispersing screens on the accuracy of two-phase flow monitoring instruments was studied with an air-water two-phase flow loop in which air and water flow rates were monitored separately. Flow dispersers were installed at the inlet of an instrumented spool piece containing a drag disk and a turbine meter. For the present tests, the spool piece was mounted vertically and flow was always down.When the turbine was upstream of the drag disk, two-phase mass flow rates indicated by the instruments were approximately one-third actual mass flows both in the presence and absence of flow dispersers. However, when the drag disk was upstream of the turbine, the use of flow dispersing screens upstream of the drag disk resulted in flow measurements within $\text{± 10\%}$ of actual flow rates over the range 0–160 kg/m²· s.     

Empirical equations to predict flow patterns in two-phase inclined flow

Based on experimental data, flow regime maps were drawn for different inclination angles, including horizontal and vertical flow. Different empirical equations for the flow regime transitions are proposed that are functions of inclination angle for both upflow and downflow. In general, the flow regimes and their transitions for upflow were similar to those proposed by Duns and Ros for vertical upflow. For downflow, the flow regimes and their transitions conformed more to the Mandhane et al. type of flow regime map. The stratified flow region in downflow was found to be affected appreciably by the angle of inclination. A detailed comparison of the proposed transition equations with a number of flow regime maps is also presented.     

Effect of gap and flow orientation on two-phase flow in an oil-wet gap: Relative permeability curves and flow structures

Naturally fractured reservoirs contain about 25–30% of the world supply of oil. In these reservoirs, fractures are the dominant flow path. Therefore, a good understanding of transfer parameters such as relative permeability as well as flow regimes occurring in a fracture plays an important role in developing and improving oil production from such complex systems. However, in contrast with gas–liquid flow in a single fracture, the flow of heavy oil and water has received less attention. In this research, a Hele-Shaw apparatus was built to study the flow of water in presence of heavy oil and display different flow patterns under different flow rates and analyze the effect of fracture orientations on relative permeability curves as well as flow regimes. The phase flow rates versus phase saturation results were converted to experimental relative permeability curves. The results of the experiments demonstrate that, depending on fracture and flow orientation, there could be a significant interference between the phases flowing through the fracture. The results also reveal that both phases can flow in both continuous and discontinuous forms. The relative permeability curves show that the oil–water relative permeability not only depends on fluid saturations and flow patterns but also fracture orientation.     

Transition from droplet flow to stream flow in a liquid

The transition from droplet flow to stream flow is examined theoretically for flow of liquid from a vertical capillary and runoff from the edge of an inclined plane under the influence of the force of gravity, and also for spraying of a liquid from a rotating perforated drum and a smooth disk. The formulas proposed agree satisfactorily with experiment.     

Pressure drop caused by flow area changes in capillaries under low flow conditions

Single-phase and two-phase flow pressure drops caused by flow area expansion and contraction were measured using air and water. The test section consisted of two capillaries with 0.84 mm and 1.6 mm diameters. For single-phase flow, the Reynolds numbers defined based on the smaller diameter capillary covered the range 160–11,000. For two-phase flow, the all-liquid Reynolds number based on the smaller capillary varied in the 410–1020 range, and the flow quality varied in the 0.018–0.2 range. The single-phase flow loss coefficients for both flow area expansion and contraction were empirically correlated. For two-phase flow, the data indicated the occurrence of significant velocity slip, and the one-dimensional homogeneous flow model utterly disagreed with the data. For flow area expansion the one-dimensional slip flow model along with an Armand-type slip ratio correlation could predict the data well. For flow area contraction, the one-dimensional slip flow model along with the slip ratio expression of Zivi agreed with the data very well, provided that no vena-contracta was considered.     

Simultaneously developing laminar flow in an isothermal micro-tube with slip flow models

In this study, a two-dimensional steady state simultaneously developing laminar flow inside a micro-tube is investigated numerically under slip flow conditions. The first and second-order slip flow models have been implemented for the case where the viscous dissipation and axial conduction are included and a constant wall temperature boundary condition is specified. The results are obtained for several combinations of the Knudsen number Kn, the coefficient β and the Brinkman number Br. The study reveals a significant impact of slip flow and temperature jump on the hydrodynamic and thermal fields. A comparison of the first and second-order slip flow shows a considerable variation of the hydrodynamic flow and a weak impact on the thermal field particularly when the flow is fully developed.     

Bifurcation of the stationary Ekman flow into a stable periodic flow

The two cases of stationary Ekman boundary layer flow of an incompressible fluid near i) a plane boundary and ii) a free surface with constant shear are considered. It is proven that a stable secondary flow in the form of traveling waves bifurcates from the stationary flow at a certain Reynolds number, and that the stationary flow is unstable above this number. The values of the critical Reynolds number and of the numbers that characterize the traveling wave are computed and compared with experimental values.     

The effects of flow split ratio and flow rate in manifolds

This paper reports a combined experimental and numerical investigation of three-dimensional steady turbulent flows in inlet manifolds of square cross-section. Predictions and measurements of the flows were carried out using computational fluid dynamics and laser Doppler anemometry techniques respectively. The flow structure was characterized in detail and the effects of flow split ratio and inlet flow rate were studied. These were found to cause significant variations in the size and shape of recirculation regions in the branches, and in the turbulence levels. It was then found that there is a significant difference between the flow rates through different branches. The performance of the code was assessed through a comparison between predictions and measurements. The comparison demonstrates that all important features of the flow are well represented by the predictions.     

Circular Couette flow with pressure-driven axial flow and a porous inner cylinder

In a rotating filter separator a suspension is introduced at one end of the annulus between a rotating porous inner cylinder and a fixed impermeable outer cylinder. The filtrate is removed through the inner cylinder and the concentrate is removed from the opposite end of the annulus from which the suspension entered. The flow in a rotating filter separator is circular Couette flow with a pressure-driven axial flow and a suction boundary condition at the inner cylinder. Flow visualization was used to determine the effect of the Taylor number, axial Reynolds number, and radial Reynolds number on the types of flows present in the annulus. A rich variety of secondary vortical flows appear, depending upon the flow parameters. The radial inflow at the inner cylinder delays the appearance of supercritical circular Couette flow and prevents the appearance of certain flow regimes that have a helical vortex structure. Nevertheless, the average azimuthal velocity measured using laser Doppler velocimetry indicates that the velocity profile is nearly the same for all supercritical flow regimes.This work was supported by a grant from The Whitaker Foundation     

Gun tunnel flow calibration: defining input conditions for hypersonic flow computations

The procedures used to calibrate a hypersonic gun tunnel nozzle flow are described. The values obtained using these methods are then used as input conditions for computations of hypersonic flow over a long slender test body. Only by completely specifying the flow field, including the effects of nozzle flow angularity, can the best agreement between experiment and computations be achieved. Received 18 February 2000 / Accepted 7 July 2000