Experimental study on local characteristics of oil–water dispersed flow in a vertical pipe

The local flow characteristics of oil–water dispersed flow in a vertical upward pipe were studied experimentally. The inner diameter and length of the test section are 40 mm and 3800 mm, respectively. A double-sensor conductivity probe was used to measure the local interfacial parameters, including interfacial area concentration, oil phase fraction, interfacial velocity, and oil drops Sauter mean diameter. The water flow rates varied from 0.12 m/s to 0.89 m/s, while the oil flow rates ranged from 0.024 m/s to 0.198 m/s. Typical radial profiles of interfacial area concentration, oil phase fraction, interfacial velocity, and oil drops Sauter mean diameter are presented. An interesting phenomenon is that the local and cross-section-averaged interfacial area concentrations display concave change with water flow rate under constant oil flow rate. The physical mechanism of such a variation is discussed in details.