PRESSURE FLUCTUATION AND FLOW REGIMES OF AIR-WATER FLOW IN A SMALL TUBE

Previous studies have shown that flow regimes of gas-liquid flow in small tubes and channels are related to pressure drop fluctuations along the flow passages, and some flow regimes exhibit characteristic pressure fluctuation patterns. This has led to the possibility of using pressure fluctuations to identify flow patterns. This article presents a test program to show experimentally the relationship of pressure fluctuations to gas bubbles, liquid slugs, and waves on a gas-liquid interface in small tubes and channels. In the experiment, a high-speed video camera was used to examine flow mixture passing a pressure tap. Pressure fluctuation at the tap was measured simultaneously using a pressure transducer. The results have shown that high-frequency pressure fluctuation is related to gas bubbles, liquid slugs, or waves on a gas-liquid interface passing the pressure tap. It has found that low-frequency pressure waves are related to flow regimes in the test tube. This research has provided further information for flow regime identification using pressure fluctuation traces.