Experimental investigation of the influence of column scale,gas density and liquid properties on gas holdup in bubble columns

Measurements of gas holdups in bubble columns of 0.16, 0.30 and 0.33 m diameter were carried out. These columns were operated in co-current flow of gas and liquid phases and in semibatch mode. The column of 0.33 m diameter was operated at elevated pressures of up to 3.6 MPa. Nitrogen was employed as the gas phase and deionized water, aqueous solutions of ethanol and acetone and pure acetone and cumene as the liquid phase. The effects of differing liquid properties, gas density (due to elevated pressure), temperature, column diameter and superficial liquid velocity on gas holdup were studied. The gas holdup measurements were utilized by differential pressure measurements at different positions along the height of the bubble columns which allowed for the identification of axial gas holdup profiles. A decrease of gas holdup with increasing column diameter and an increase of gas holdup with increasing pressure was observed. The effect of a slightly decreasing gas holdup with increasing liquid velocity was found to exist at smaller column diameters. The use of organic solvents as the liquid phase resulted in a significant increase in gas holdup compared to deionized water. It is found that published gas holdup models are mostly unable to predict the results obtained in this study.     

Investigations of phase inversion and frictional pressure gradients in upward and downward oil–water flow in vertical pipes

The present study has attempted to investigate phase inversion and frictional pressure gradients during simultaneous vertical flow of oil and water two-phase through upward and downward pipes. The liquids selected were white oil (44 mPa s viscosity and 860 kg/m³ density) and water. The measurements were made for phase velocities varying from 0 to 1.24 m/s for water and from 0 to 1.87 m/s for oil, respectively. Experiments were carried either by keeping the mixture velocity constant and increasing the dispersed phase fraction or by keeping the continuous phase superficial velocity constant and increasing the dispersed phase superficial velocity. From the experimental results, it is shown that the frictional pressure gradient reaches to its lower value at the phase inversion point in this work. The points of phase inversion are always close to an input oil fraction of 0.8 for upward flow and of 0.75 for downward flow, respectively. A few models published in the literature are used to predict the phase inversion point and to compare the results with available experimental data. Suitable methods are suggested to predict the critical oil holdup at phase inversion based on the different viscosity ratio ranges. Furthermore, the frictional pressure gradient is analyzed with several suitable theoretical models according to the existing flow patterns. The analysis reveals that both the theoretical curves and the experimental data exhibit the same trend and the overall agreement of predicted values with experimental data is good, especially for a high oil fraction.     

Experiments with a Wire-Mesh Sensor for stratified and dispersed oil-brine pipe flow

Two-phase oil–water flow was studied in a 15 m long horizontal steel pipe, with 8.28 cm internal diameter, using mineral oil (having 830 kg/m³ density and 7.5 mPa s viscosity) and brine (1073 kg/m³ density and of 0.8 mPa s viscosity). Measurements of the holdup and of the cross-sectional phase fraction distribution were obtained for stratified flow and for highly dispersed oil–water flows, applying a capacitive Wire-Mesh Sensor specially designed for that purpose. The applicability of this measurement technique, which uses a circuit for capacitive measurements that is adapted to conductive measurements, where one of the fluids is water with high salinity (mimicking sea water), was assessed. Values for the phase fraction values were derived from the raw data obtained by the Wire-Mesh Sensor using several mixture permittivity models. Two gamma-ray densitometers allowed the accurate measurement of the holdups, which was used to validate the data acquired with the capacitive Wire-Mesh Sensor. The measured time-averaged distribution of the phase fraction over the cross-sectional area was used to investigate the details of the observed two-phase flow patterns, including the interface shape and water height. The experiments were conducted in the multiphase-flow test facility of Shell Global International B.V. in the Netherlands.     

Analysis of an organized turbulent structure using a pattern recognition technique in a drag-reducing surfactant solution flow

This work presents the investigation for an organized turbulent structure in a drag-reducing flow of dilute surfactant solution by utilizing a particle image velocimetry system to perform the pattern recognition technique on a trajectory in four quadrants of streamwise and wall-normal velocity fluctuations. The pattern recognition is added to a new algorithm in order to directly capture the spatial rotation motion. The Reynolds number based on the channel height and bulk mean velocity was set to 1.5 × 10⁴. Surfactant solution with a weight concentration of 150 ppm was employed and the drag reduction rate was 65%. In the drag-reducing flow, we observe increased frequencies of occurrence of the flow events that correspond to a meandering motion in the wall-normal direction of the high-and low-speed regions. Three findings from investigation of the ensemble-averaged Reynolds shear stress and vortex structure are as follows: (i) the Reynolds shear stress in the large fluctuation range occurs in the narrow region; (ii) Size, strength, arrangement and inclination in the spatial vortex structure in the drag-reducing flow differ from those of the water; and (iii) all trajectory contributions for the wall friction coefficient decrease. Finally, we interpreted that the viscoelasticity characterizing the viscoelastic stress and relaxation time in rheological properties of the flow changes specific elementary vortex for the drag-reducing flow, and the trajectories of each flow pattern change drastically.     

The effect of aspect ratio in counter-current gas-liquid bubble columns: Experimental results and gas holdup correlations

It is generally admitted that the gas holdup is independent of the column dimensions and gas sparger design if three criteria are satisfied: the diameter of the bubble column is larger than 0.15 m, gas sparger openings are larger than 1–2 mm and the aspect ratio is larger than 5. This paper contributes to the existing discussion; in particular, the effect of the aspect ratio (within the range 1–15) in a counter-current gas-liquid bubble column has been experimentally studied and a new gas holdup correlation to estimate the influence of aspect ratio, operation mode and working fluid on the gas holdup has been proposed. The bubble column, equipped with a spider gas sparger, is 5.3 m in height, has an inner diameter of 0.24 m; gas superficial velocities in the range of 0.004–0.23 m/s have been considered, and, for the runs with water moving counter-currently to the gas phase, the liquid has been recirculated at a superficial velocity of −0.0846 m/s. Filtered air has been used as the gaseous phase in all the experiments, while the liquid phase has included tap water and different aqueous solutions of sodium chloride as electrolyte. Gas holdup measurements have been used to investigate the flow regime transitions and the global bubble column hydrodynamics. The counter-current mode has turned out to increase the gas holdup and destabilize the homogeneous flow regime; the presence of electrolytes has resulted in increasing the gas holdup and stabilizing the homogeneous flow regime; the aspect ratio, up to a critical value, has turned out to decrease the gas holdup and destabilize the homogeneous flow regime. The critical value of the aspect ratio ranged between 5 and 10, depending on the bubble column operation (i.e., batch or counter-current modes) and liquid phase properties. Since no correlation has been found in the literature that can correctly predict the gas holdup under the investigated conditions, a new scheme of gas holdup correlation has been proposed. Starting from considerations concerning the flow regime transition, corrective parameters are included in the gas holdup correlation to account for the effect of the changes introduced by the aspect ratio, operation mode and working fluid. The proposed correlation has been found to predict fairly well the present experimental data as well as previously published gas holdup data.     

Influence of sudden contractions on in situ volume fractions for oil–water flows in horizontal pipes

Oil–water two-phase flow experiments were conducted in horizontal ducts made of Plexiglas® to determine the in situ oil fraction (holdup) by means of the closing valves technique, using mineral oil (viscosity: 0.838 Pa s at 20 °C; density: 890 kg m⁻³) and tap water. The ducts present sudden contractions from 50 mm to 40 mm i.d. and from 50 mm to 30 mm i.d., with contraction ratios of 0.64 and 0.36, respectively. About 200–320 tests were performed by varying the flow rates of the phases. Flow patterns were investigated for both the up- and downstream pipe in order to assess whether relevant variations of the flow patterns across the sudden contraction take place. Data were then compared with predictions of a specific correlation for oil–water flow and some correlations for gas–water flow. A drift-flux model was also applied to determine the distribution parameter.     

Experimental investigation on the slip between oil and water in horizontal pipes

This work is devoted to study of the slip phenomenon between phases in water–oil two-phase flow in horizontal pipes. The emphasis is placed on the effects of input fluids flow rates, pipe diameter and viscosities of oil phase on the slip. Experiments were conducted to measure the holdup in two horizontal pipes with 0.05 m diameter and 0.025 m diameter, respectively, using two different viscosities of white oil and tap water as liquid phases. Results showed that the ratios of in situ oil to water velocity at the pipe of small diameter are higher than those at the pipe of big diameter when having same input flow rates. At low input water flow rate, there is a large deviation on the holdup between two flow systems with different oil viscosities and the deviation becomes gradually smaller with further increased input water flow rate.     

Experimental study on the effect of drag reducing polymer on flow patterns and drag reduction in a horizontal oil–water flow

In this study, a HMW anionic co-polymer of 40:60 wt/wt NaAMPS/acrylamide was used as a drag reducing polymer (DRP) for oil–water flow in a horizontal 25.4 mm ID acrylic pipe. The effect of polymer concentration in the master solution and after injection in the main water stream, oil and water velocities, and pipe length on drag reduction (DR) was investigated. The injected polymer had a noticeable effect on flow patterns and their transitions. Stratified and dual continuous flows extended to higher superficial oil velocities while annular flow changed to dual continuous flow. The results showed that as low as 2 ppm polymer concentration was sufficient to create a significant drag reduction across the pipe. DR was found to increase with polymer concentration increased and reached maximum plateau value at around 10 ppm. The results showed that the drag reduction effect tends to increase as superficial water velocity increased and eventually reached a plateau at U_sw of around 1.3 m/s. At U_sw > 1.0 m/s, the drag reduction decreased as U_so increased while at lower water velocities, drag reduction is fluctuating with respect to U_so. A maximum DR of about 60% was achieved at U_so = 0.14 m/s while only 45% was obtained at U_so = 0.52 m/s. The effectiveness of the DRP was found to be independent of the polymer concentration in the master solution and to some extent pipe length. The friction factor correlation proposed by Al-Sarkhi et al. (2011) for horizontal flow of oil–water using DRPs was found to underpredict the present experimental pressure gradient data.     

Investigation of two-phase flow pattern,liquid holdup and pressure drop in viscous oil–gas flow

An experimental investigation was carried out on viscous oil–gas flow characteristics in a 69 mm internal diameter pipe. Two-phase flow patterns were determined from holdup time-traces and videos of the flow field in a transparent section of the pipe, in which synthetic commercial oils (32 and 100 cP) and sulfur hexafluoride gas (SF₆) were fed at oil superficial velocities from 0.04 to 3 m/s and gas superficial velocities from 0.0075 to 3 m/s.     

Gas dispersion in horizontal pulp-fibre-suspension flow

Dispersion of gas into pulp-suspension horizontal flow was investigated downstream of 90° tees for ranges of fibre mass concentrations (0–3.0%), superficial liquid/pulp velocities (0.5–5.0 m/s) and superficial gas velocities (0.11–0.44 m/s) based on a gas mixing index, derived from the standard deviation of cross-sectional local gas holdup obtained from electrical resistance tomography. Mixing for dilute suspensions was similar to that for water, but differed significantly for higher suspension concentrations. Mixing worsened with increasing fibre mass concentration for the bubble flow regime, likely due to dense fibre networks in the core of the pipe causing bubbles to congregate near the wall. When buoyancy was significant, gas uniformity improved with increasing pulp concentration, since robust fibre networks caused liquid/pulp slugs to flow at the top of the pipe, whereas stratified flow was approached at lower concentrations. Mixing was less dependent on superficial liquid/pulp velocity at higher pulp concentrations, due to less variation in flow regimes.     

Flow pattern transition in liquid-liquid flows with a transverse cylinder

The effect of a cylindrical bluff body on the interface characteristics of stratified two-phase, oil-water, pipe flows is experimentally investigated with high speed Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). The motivation was to study the feasibility of flow pattern map actuation by using a transverse cylinder immersed in water in the stratified pattern, and particularly the transition from separated to dispersed flows. The cylinder has a diameter of 5 mm and is located at 6.75 mm from the bottom of the pipe in a 37 mm ID acrylic test section. Velocity profiles were obtained in the middle plane of the pipe. For reference, single phase flows were also investigated for Reynolds numbers from 1550 to 3488. It was found that the flow behind the cylinder was similar to the two dimensional cases, while the presence of the lower pipe wall diverted the vorticity layers towards the top. In two-phase flows, the Froude number (from 1.4 to 1.8) and the depth of the cylinder submergence below the interface affected the generation of waves. For high Froude numbers and low depths of submergence the counter rotating von Karman vortices generated by the cylinder interacted with the interface. In this case, the vorticity clusters from the top of the cylinder were seen to attach at the wave crests. At high depths of submergence, a jet like flow appeared between the top of the cylinder and the interface. High speed imaging revealed that the presence of the cylinder reduced to lower mixture velocities the transition from separated to dual continuous flows where drops of one phase appear into the other.     

Flow patterns and pressure drop of ionic liquid–water two-phase flows in microchannels

The two-phase flow of a hydrophobic ionic liquid and water was studied in capillaries made of three different materials (two types of Teflon, FEP and Tefzel, and glass) with sizes between 200 μm and 270 μm. The ionic liquid was 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis{(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl}amide, with density and viscosity of 1420 kg m⁻³ and 0.041 kg m⁻¹ s⁻¹, respectively. Flow patterns and pressure drop were measured for two inlet configurations (T- and Y-junction), for total flow rates of 0.065–214.9 cm³ h⁻¹ and ionic liquid volume fractions from 0.05 to 0.8. The continuous phase in the glass capillary depended on the fluid that initially filled the channel. When water was introduced first, it became the continuous phase with the ionic liquid forming plugs or a mixture of plugs and drops within it. In the Teflon microchannels, the order that fluids were introduced did not affect the results and the ionic liquid was always the continuous phase. The main patterns observed were annular, plug, and drop flow. Pressure drop in the Teflon microchannels at a constant ionic liquid flow rate, was found to increase as the ionic liquid volume fraction decreased, and was always higher than the single phase ionic liquid value at the same flow rate as in the two-phase mixture. However, in the glass microchannel during plug flow with water as the continuous phase, pressure drop for a constant ionic liquid flow rate was always lower than the single phase ionic liquid value. A modified plug flow pressure drop model using a correlation for film thickness derived for the current fluids pair showed very good agreement with the experimental data.     

Onset of entrainment and degree of dispersion in dual continuous horizontal oil–water flows

The transition from stratified to dual continuous oil–water flow (where each phase retains its continuity but there is dispersion of one phase into the other) as well as the dispersed phase fractions in the layers of the dual continuous pattern, were studied experimentally. Transition to this pattern from stratified flow occurs when drops of one phase appear into the other (onset of entrainment). The studies were carried out in a 38 mm ID horizontal stainless steel test section using two different inlet geometries, a T- and a Y-junction. The patterns were visualized through a transparent acrylic section located at 7 m from the inlet using a high speed video camera. Phase distribution measurements in a pipe cross section were obtained just before the acrylic section with a local impedance probe and the results were used to calculate the volume fraction of each phase entrained into the other. The onset of entrainment was found to occur at lower superficial water velocities as the oil superficial velocities increased. However, the inlet geometry did not affect significantly the transition line. During dual continuous flow, the dispersion of one phase into the opposite was found to extend further away from the interface with increasing water superficial velocity for a certain oil superficial velocity. An increase in the superficial water velocity increased the entrained fraction of water in oil (E_w/o) but there was no trend with the oil velocity. Similarly, an increase in the superficial oil velocity increased the fraction of oil drops in water (E_o/w) but the water velocity had no clear effect. The entrainment fractions were affected by the inlet geometry, with the T-inlet resulting in higher entrainment than the Y-inlet, perhaps because of the increased mixing induced by the T-inlet. The difference between the two inlets increased as the oil and water velocities increased.     

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.     

Evaluation of flow patterns and elongated bubble characteristics during the flow boiling of halocarbon refrigerants in a micro-scale channel

In the present study, quasi-diabatic two-phase flow pattern visualizations and measurements of elongated bubble velocity, frequency and length were performed. The tests were run for R134a and R245fa evaporating in a stainless steel tube with diameter of 2.32 mm, mass velocities ranging from 50 to 600 kg/m² s and saturation temperatures of 22 °C, 31 °C and 41 °C. The tube was heated by applying a direct DC current to its surface. Images from a high-speed video-camera (8000 frames/s) obtained through a transparent tube just downstream the heated sections were used to identify the following flow patterns: bubbly, elongated bubbles, churn and annular flows. The visualized flow patterns were compared against the predictions provided by Barnea et al. (1983) [1], Felcar et al. (2007) [10], Revellin and Thome (2007) [3] and Ong and Thome (2009) [11]. From this comparison, it was found that the methods proposed by Felcar et al. (2007) [10] and Ong and Thome (2009) [1] predicted relatively well the present database. Additionally, elongated bubble velocities, frequencies and lengths were determined based on the analysis of high-speed videos. Results suggested that the elongated bubble velocity depends on mass velocity, vapor quality and saturation temperature. The bubble velocity increases with increasing mass velocity and vapor quality and decreases with increasing saturation temperature. Additionally, bubble velocity was correlated as linear functions of the two-phase superficial velocity.     

Local gas and liquid phase velocity measurement in a miniature stirred vessel using PIV combined with a new image processing algorithm

A method which combines standard two-dimensional particle image velocimetry (PIV) with a new image processing algorithm has been developed to measure the average local gas bubble velocities, as well as the local velocities of the liquid phase, within small stirred vessel reactors. The technique was applied to measurements in a gas–liquid high throughput experimentation (HTE) vessel of 45 mm diameter, but it is equally suited to measurements in larger scale reactors. For the measurement of liquid velocities, 3 μm latex seeding particles were used. For gas velocity measurements, a separate experiment was conducted which involved doping the liquid phase with fluorescent Rhodamine dye to allow the gas–liquid interfaces to be identified. The analysis of raw PIV images enabled the detection of bubbles within the laser plane, their differentiation from obscuring bubbles in front of the laser plane, and their use in lieu of tracer particles for gas velocity analysis using cross-correlation methods. The accuracy of the technique was verified by measuring the velocity of a bubble rising in a vertical glass column. The new method enabled detailed velocity fields of both phases to be obtained in an air–water system. The overall flow patterns obtained showed a good qualitative agreement with previous work in large scale vessels. The downward liquid velocities above the impeller were greatly reduced by the addition of the gas, and significant differences between the flow patterns of the two-phases were observed.     

Experimental investigation into transient pressure pulses during pneumatic conveying of fine powders using Shannon entropy

This paper presents the results of an ongoing investigation into transient pressure pulses using Shannon entropy. Pressure fluctuations (produced by gas–solid two-phase flow during fluidized dense-phase conveying) are recorded by pressure transducers installed at strategic locations along a pipeline. This work validates previous work on identifying the flow mode from pressure signals (Mittal, Mallick, & Wypych, 2014). Two different powders, namely fly ash (median particle diameter 45 μm, particle density 1950 kg/m³, loosely poured bulk density 950 kg/m³) and cement (median particle diameter 15 μm, particle density 3060 kg/m³, loosely poured bulk density 1070 kg/m³), are conveyed through different pipelines (51 mm I.D. × 70 m length and 63 mm I.D. × 24 m length). The transient nature of pressure fluctuations (instead of steady-state behavior) is considered in investigating flow characteristics. Shannon entropy is found to increase along straight pipe sections for both solids and both pipelines. However, Shannon entropy decreases after a bend. A comparison of Shannon entropy among different ranges of superficial air velocity reveals that high Shannon entropy corresponds to very low velocities (i.e. 3–5 m/s) and very high velocities (i.e. 11–14 m/s) while low Shannon entropy corresponds to mid-range velocities (i.e. 6–8 m/s).     

CFD–DEM simulation of the pneumatic conveying of fine particles through a horizontal slit

Fine particles play a significant role in many industrial processes. To study the dynamic behavior of fine particle and their deposition in rock fractures, the pneumatic conveying of fine particles (approximately 100 μm in diameter) through a small-scale horizontal slit (0.41 m × 0.025 m) was studied, which is useful for the sealing technology of underground gas drainage in coal mining production. The CFD–DEM method was adopted to model the gas-particle two-phase flow; the gas phase was treated as a continuum and modeled using computational fluid dynamics (CFD), particle motion and collisions were simulated using the DEM code. Then, the bulk movement of fine particles through a small-scale horizontal slit was explored numerically, and the flow patterns were further investigated by visual inspection. The simulation results indicated that stratified flow or dune flow can be observed at low gas velocities. For intermediate gas velocities, the flow patterns showed pulsation phenomena, and dune flow reappeared in the tail section. Moreover, periodic flow regimes with alternating thick and sparse stream structures were observed at a high gas velocity. The simulation results of the bulk movement of fine particles were in good agreement with the experimental findings, which were obtained by video-imaging experiments. Furthermore, the calculated pressure drop versus gas velocity profile was investigated and compared with relative experimental findings, and the results showed good agreement. Furthermore, the particle velocity vectors and voidage distribution were numerically simulated. Selected stimulation results are presented and provide a reference for the further study of fine particles.     

Experimental investigation of turbulence modulation in particle-laden coaxial jets by Phase Doppler Anemometry

The effect of solid particles on the flow characteristics of axisymmetric turbulent coaxial jets for two flow conditions was studied. Simultaneous measurements of size and velocity distributions of continuous and dispersed phases in a two-phase flow are presented using a Phase Doppler Anemometry (PDA) technique. Spherical glass particles with a particle diameter range from 102 to 212 μm were used in this two-phase flow, the experimental results indicate a significant influence of the solid particles and the Re on the flow characteristics. The data show that the gas phase has lower mean velocity in the near-injector region and a higher mean velocity at the developed region. Near the injector at low Reynolds number (Re = 2839) the presence of the particles dampens the gas-phase turbulence, while at higher Reynolds number (Re = 11 893) the gas-phase turbulence and the velocity fluctuation of particle-laden jets are increased. The particle velocity at higher Reynolds number (Re = 11 893) and is lower at lower Reynolds number (Re = 2839). The slip velocity between particles and gas phase existed over the flow domain was examined. More importantly, the present experiment results suggest that, consideration of the gas characteristic length scales is insufficient to predict gas-phase turbulence modulation in gas-particle flows.     

Numerical evaluation of turbulence models for dense to dilute gas–solid flows in vertical conveyor

A two-fluid model (TFM) of multiphase flows based on the kinetic theory and small frictional limit boundary condition of granular flow was used to study the behavior of dense to dilute gas–solid flows in vertical pneumatic conveyor. An axisymmetric 2-dimensional, vertical pipe with 5.6 m length and 0.01 m internal diameter was chosen as the computation domain, same to that used for experimentation in the literature. The chosen particles are spherical, of diameter 1.91 mm and density 2500 kg/m³. Turbulence interaction between the gas and particle phases was investigated by Simonin's and Ahmadi's models and their numerical results were validated for dilute to dense conveying of particles. Flow regimes transition and pressure drop were predicted. Voidage and velocity profiles of each phase were calculated in radial direction at different lengths of the conveying pipe. It was found that the voidage has a minimum, and gas and solid velocities have maximum values along the center line of the conveying pipe and pressure drop has a minimum value in transition from dense slugging to dilute stable flow regime. Slug length and pressure fluctuation reduction were predicted with increasing gas velocity, too. It is shown that solid phase turbulence plays a significant role in numerical prediction of hydrodynamics of conveyor and the capability of particles turbulence models depends on tuning parameters of slip-wall boundary condition.