Experimental investigation on two-phase air/high-viscosity-oil flow in a horizontal pipe

The flow of very-viscous-oil and air through a horizontal pipe (inner diameter 22 mm) is experimentally studied. We first build and analyze the flow pattern map; a comparison between the air–water and the air–oil flow pattern maps shows a strong influence of the fluid properties. The experimental flow maps are compared with empirical and theoretical ones – Baker (1954), Mandhane et al. (1974), and Petalas and Aziz (1998) – showing a poor agreement. Experimental pressure gradients are also reported and compared with theoretical model, but also in this case the agreement is not very satisfactory. Finally, the elongated bubble velocity and length are measured and compared to model present in the literature. We conclude that the high viscosity of the liquid phase has a strong influence on the results and that the current models are not able to predict the flow features satisfactorily.     

Experimental investigation of phase inversion in a stirred vessel using LIF

A non-intrusive dye tracing technique, laser-induced fluorescence (LIF), has been applied to investigate phase inversion in concentrated immiscible organic-aqueous liquid dispersions. The phase inversion process from oil-in-water (o/w) dispersion to water-in-oil (w/o) dispersion has been recorded by a high-speed video camera. Apart from phase inversion, secondary dispersion, drop coalescence and breakup mechanisms, have also been observed in great detail. The experimental results demonstrate that phase inversion is a gradual phenomenon: the process occurs only over 1-2 s, may not occur globally and depends on the local phase distribution. During phase inversion, two opposing pairs of processes, namely drop coalescence and break-up, and the inclusion and escape of small drops in larger drops, play a key role in phase inversion. The structure of the dispersion is extremely complex and a great number of secondary dispersions and multi-dispersions appear during phase inversion, which include water-oil-water secondary dispersions.     

Influence of a surfactant or salt on phase inversion in a water–oil pipe flow

Phase inversion experiments have been performed with a water–oil flow through a pipe to study the effect of the addition of a surfactant or of salt on the critical dispersed phase volume fraction (at the point of phase inversion). The addition of a surfactant caused a small change in the critical volume fraction, but the general form of the ambivalence region in the inversion map remained the same. The influence of salt was negligible.     

Modeling the pressure drop of wet gas in horizontal pipe

A model for gas-liquid annular and stratified flow through a horizontal pipe is investigated,using the two-phase hydrokinetics theory.Taking into consideration the flow factors including the void fraction,the friction between the two phases and the entrainment in the gas core,the one-dimensional momentum equation for gas has been solved.The differential pressure of the wet gas between the two tapings in the straight pipe has been modeled in the pressure range of 0.1-0.8 MPa.In addition a more objective iteration approach to determine the local void fraction is proposed.Compared with the experimental data,more than 83％ deviation of the test data distributed evenly within the band of ± 10％.Since the model is less dependent on the specific empirical apparatus and data,it forms the foundation for further establishing a flow measurement model of wet gas which will produce fewer biases in results when it is extrapolated.     

Fast determination of phase inversion in polymer blends using ultrasonic technique

Ultrasonic attenuation and velocity, together with SEM observation were used to investigate the morphology of some polymer blends. For miscible polymer blends of PVC/NBR, because there is no phase inversion but a homogeneous system a linear change (without discontinuity) of ultrasonic velocity and attenuation was observed in a whole composition ranges. For immiscible polymer blends, namely, PP/PS, PS/EPDM and PS/SBS system, the non-linear variation of ultrasonic velocity with composition indicates the immiscibility. On the other hand, the intensity of scattering attenuation changed from system to system depending on the size of dispersed phase, but a discontinuity of scattering attenuation was always observed as the phase inversion occurred. Our result suggests the sensitivity of ultrasonic attention vs phase inversion and may be served as a useful method to fast determine the phase inversion for immiscible polymer blends.     

Prediction of phase inversion in agitated vessels using a two-region model

Phase inversion in agitated vessels was studied using a two-region model. In this model, breakup and coalescence were assumed to take place in the vicinity of the impeller and away from that region, respectively. The mechanism of phase inversion was regarded as the result of an imbalance between the breakup and coalescence processes. Hence phase inversion was assumed to occur when the coalescence frequency exceeded that of breakup. In addition, the concept of a radial distribution function was adopted in the model in order to account for droplet coalescence in concentrated dispersions. Using the two-region model, the effect of interfacial tension, viscosity, density and impeller size on the width of the ambivalent range was investigated. The predictions agree well with experimental data particularly for the upper curve of the ambivalent range; however, the organic phase fraction of the lower curve is in some cases underestimated by the model.     

Low-velocity pneumatic conveying of coarse particles in a horizontal pipe

Slug flow was studied for air velocities less than 8 m/s with polyethylene pellets in a straight pipe 32 mm in diameter and 5.5 m in length, and was classified into 2 regimes: successive slug flow and solitary slug flow. A settled layer of particles did not form in the latter and high air pressure was required to push the slug as compared with the former. Successive slug flow was found in the low-velocity region where the power consumption reaches a minimum, a minimum that is lower than the minimum of the suspension flow region.     

Influence of selective filling on rheological properties and phase inversion of two-phase polymer blends

We investigate the phase inversion of selectively filled polystyrene (PS)/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) blends prepared by melt mixing. As we have shown by transmission electron microscopy analysis and by the calculation of different selectivity criteria, the filler used (glass spheres of submicron dimensions) resides exclusively in the PMMA-phase and modifies its rheological properties correspondingly.Four blend series made of PS and PMMA with different filler content are analyzed for the location of phase inversion concentration, φ_PI, and the width of the cocontinuity interval, CCI, in the concentration range where cocontinuity is predominant. Upon addition of filler a shift of φ_PI to higher concentrations of the filled PMMA-phase has been observed. This shift is in agreement with the predictions of a recently proposed equation defining the phase inversion concentration as that concentration where the maximum of the blends' extra elasticity occurs. The qualitative morphological analysis of these blends confirms this result.Moreover, it was found that the cocontinuity interval is widened significantly at increased filler content. We explain the appearance of a wider CCI for filled blends on the basis of a slowdown of processes leading to morphology destruction. Corresponding Tomotika experiments (stability of fibrils) substantiate these findings.     

Laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) studies of liquid-liquid flows. Part I: Flow structures and phase inversion

A non-intrusive dye tracing technique, laser-induced fluorescence (LIF), has been applied to investigate the co-current flow of two immiscible organic-aqueous liquid flows in a vertical pipe. This technique allowed detailed visualization of the dynamic evolution of the flows. Flow structures in liquid-liquid flows at high dispersed phase fraction were revealed which had not been seen before. In pipe flow, an unstable range was found in the flow pattern map in which oil-in-water (o/w) and water-in-oil (w/o) dispersions could co-exist. Secondary dispersions (o/w/o and w/o/w) were observed for most volume fractions and velocities, especially in the unstable range. It was observed that, when the flow is in the unstable region, both w/o/w and o/w/o secondary dispersions could appear in the same set of experiments. It was found that this unstable range in the pipe flow, in spite of the similar appearance, was different to the ambivalent range seen in agitated systems. The one-dimensional drift flux model of Wallis (1969) for dispersed flow and a laminar model for co-current downward annular flow, were also applied to predict the in situ oil holdup; good agreement was obtained.     

Population balance modelling of phase inversion in liquid-liquid pipeline flows

Population balance equations (PBEs) along with the equal surface energy criterion are used to predict phase inversion in liquid-liquid dispersed pipeline flows. Good agreement was found between theory and experiment. Our results suggest that an ambivalent range exists in terms of distance from the inlet (rather than volume fraction) which depends on system parameters.     

BaTiO3-based thermistor hollow fibers prepared using a phase inversion spinning process for energy efficient gas sorption

Positive temperature coefficient of resistivity (PTCR) hollow fibers that exhibit self-regulating heating characteristics have potential applications in temperature-swing adsorption systems (TSA), such as CO₂ recovery and drying of compressed air. La-doped BaTiO₃ hollow fibers displaying a PTCR effect were produced by phase inverting a casting solution consisting of N-methly-2-Pyrrolidone, polymethyl methacrylate, polyvinylpyrrolidone, BaTiO₃, TiO₂, and La₂O₃ through a spinneret into a coagulating waterbath. This was followed by polymer debinding, high temperature sintering between 1350?1400 °C and annealing in air at 1175 °C to produce hollow fibers of the composition Ba_0.9975La_0.0025TiO₃. Hydrothermal synthesis was implemented to deposit an adsorbent porous zeolite X layer within the hollow fiber lumen, which was confirmed by electron dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and CO₂ adsorption at 0 °C. Hence, these materials can be applied to energy efficient TSA gas separation processes. The results are discussed in terms of hollow fiber microstructure, adsorption characteristics and electrical properties.     

Experimental study on prediction model of wet gas pressure drop across single-orifice plate in horizontal pipes in the low gas phase Froude number region

The pressure drop prediction of wet gas across single-orifice plate in horizontal pipes had been solved satisfactorily under an annular-mist flow in the upstream of orifice plates. However, this pressure drop prediction is still not clearly determined when the upstream is in an intermittent flow or stratified flow, which is corresponding to a region of low Fr_G (gas phase Froude number) in the flow pattern map of wet gases. In this study, the wet gas pressure drop across a single-orifice plate was experimentally investigated in the low Fr_G region. By the experiment, the flow pattern transition in the downstream of single-orifice plates, as well as the effects of Fr_G and Fr_L (liquid phase Froude number) on Φ_G (gas phase multiplier), were determined and compared when the upstream is in the flow pattern transition and the stratified flow region, respectively. Prediction performances were examined on the available pressure drop models. It was found that no model could be capable of jointly predicting the wet gas pressure drop in the low Fr_G region with an acceptable accuracy. With a new method of correlating Fr_G and Fr_L simultaneously, new correlations were proposed for the low Fr_G region. Among which the modified Chisholm model shows the best prediction accuracies, with the prediction deviations of Φ_G being within 7% and 3% when the upstream is in flow pattern transition and stratified flow region, respectively.     

Phase continuity detection and phase inversion phenomena in immiscible polypropylene/polystyrene blends with different viscosity ratios

Blends of polypropylene (PP) and polystyrene (PS) were prepared in a twin-screw extruder and studied in a wide range of compositions. Phase continuity was first determined using selective solvent extraction. Subsequently, dynamic stress rheometry and dynamic mechanical analysis were used to detect the co-continuity and phase inversion compositions in the melt and the solid states. It appears that the phase inversion occurs in a domain rather than at a single point. The evaluation of the storage modulus of PP/PS blends in the melt at a constant low frequency gives information about the co-continuity, as far as the onset of co-continuity and phase inversion composition of the PS phase are concerned. The evaluation of the storage modulus and mechanical loss factor at a constant high temperature, or the glass transition temperature intensity allowed to precisely detect the phase inversion composition. The fractionated or bulk crystallization behavior of the crystallizable PP phase in the PP/PS blends can also be used to identify the matrix/dispersed phase or co-continuous phase morphology. Several semi-empirical models using the dynamic viscoelastic properties of blend components have been applied to detect the phase inversion composition. An extensive data set presented, can also be used to guide future modeling.     

Conjugated effects of the compatibilization and the dynamic vulcanization on the phase inversion behavior in poly(butylene terephthalate)/epoxide-containing rubber reactive polymer blends

The conjugated effects of both reactive compatibilization and dynamic vulcanization on the phase inversion behavior of poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT)/epoxide-containing rubber blends have been studied in detail. Pure ethylene-methyl acrylate random copolymer (E-MA) and ethylene-methyl acrylate-glycidyl methacrylate random terpolymer (E-MA-GMA) were used as non reactive or reactive rubber phase, respectively. Location of the phase inversion region was studied using several techniques, including transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dynamical mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA). To evaluate the relative influence of the blend compatibilization and the dynamic vulcanization on the phase inversion behavior, the relative kinetics of the two reactions were modified using different PBT and E-MA-GMA grades. The obtained results show unambiguously that the position and the width of the phase inversion region is essentially governed by the kinetic of the dynamic vulcanization process. The effect of the blend compatibilization remains quite limited even in the case of fast interfacial reaction. The crosslinking of the rubber phase induces an important shift of the phase inversion composition to higher rubber content. For blends containing low molecular weight PBT, up to 60 wt% of rubber can be homogeneously dispersed in the PBT matrix at long mixing time. In this case, development of high performance PBT based thermoplastic vulcanisates can be envisioned.     

Study of the influence of axial conduction in a boiling heated pipe

In this work a characterization of a horizontal heated pipe has been performed. This characterization consists in a steady state analysis of the thermohydraulic behavior of a boiling heated channel with subcooled liquid at the inlet. The temperature, velocities and pressure profiles along the heated section have been analyzed and the length of the single- and two-phase flow regions have been characterized. Without axial conduction and due to the big difference in the magnitude of the single- and two-phase heat transfer coefficient, steep temperature gradients were observed. By adding the effect of axial conduction, more heat is removed from the single phase region and added to the two-phase region through the wall. The net effect was a decrease in length of the two-phase flow region and consequent increase of the single-phase region. It was also observed that the axial conduction decreases the gradients in the wall temperature profile but it does not influence markedly its temperature differences with the fluid.     

Experimental,statistical and stochastic studies of pressure fluctuations in a three-phase fluidized bed with a moderately large diameter

Hydrodynamic properties of bubbling flow through a three-phase fluidized bed with a moderately large diameter have been characterized with statistical and stochastic analyses of a comprehensive set of experimentally measured pressure fluctuations in the bed. The analyses have yielded the fluctuations' histogram, mean, maximum, minimum, standard deviation, skewness, kurtosis, and power-spectral-density function. As the gas flow rate increased with other operating conditions fixed, the mean and standard deviation increased, the skewness decreased, the distribution of the power-spectral-density function broadened, and the major frequency increased. In contrast, as the liquid flow rate increased, the mean and standard deviation decreased, the skewness and kurtosis increased, the powerspectral-density function narrowed, and the major frequency decreased. The hydrodynamic properties of a three-phase fluidized bed with a moderately large column in terms of pressure fluctuations are strongly affected by the flow rates of both the fluidizing gas and liquid.     

Effects of separation space diameter on the performance of a novel reverse flow cyclone

ABSTRACT

A numerical study was carried out to investigate the effect of separation space diameter on the performance of a novel reverse flow tangential inlet cyclone design by using the Eulerian-Lagrangian approach. The design of this cyclone is based on the idea of increasing vortex length and decreasing pressure drop compared with traditional cyclones. This novel cyclone differs from the traditional cyclones with separation space and vortex limiter instead of the conical part. A qualitative numerical study was performed to analyze the effect of separation space diameter on the cyclone performance at different flow rates by evaluating velocity profile, pressure drop, fractional and overall efficiencies. The results show that the collection efficiency of smaller particles increases while pressure drop decreases significantly with the increase in separation space diameter for D₁/D < 0.5.     

R290在小管径水平微肋管内凝结换热实验研究

实验研究水平微肋管内R290的两相流凝结换热特性,在内径为4.3 mm,长度为900 mm的铜管内,测得R290在质流密度180—300 kg/(m~2·s)、饱和温度40—55℃、热流密度3—10 kW/m~2以及干度0.9—0.1范围内的凝结换热系数;分析了质流密度、饱和温度、热流密度以及干度对R290凝结换热性能的影响。结果发现:凝结换热系数随质流密度、热流密度的增大而增加,随饱和温度的升高而减小;随着R290的凝结液化,干度减小,其凝结换热系数也随之减小,仅在热流密度过大时出现先增后减现象。并分别采用4种经典的凝结换热关联式预测R290的凝结换热系数,对比实验结果得出Chang等和Yu等的预测精度比较高。     

Trade-off between thermodynamic enhancement and kinetic hindrance during phase inversion in the preparation of polysulfone membranes

Polysulfone membranes were prepared via the diffusion-induced phase inversion process from casting solutions consisting of polysulfone, dimethyformamide, and polyvinyl pyrrolidone as a polymeric additive. The effect of PVP added in casting solutions was analyzed by measuring the prepared membranes' morphology and water permeability. Variations in a casting solution's thermodynamic and kinetic properties caused by PVP addition suggest that the thermodynamic variation works in favor of the enhancement of demixing in the casting solution, but the rheological variation induces the opposite trend, or the delay of demixing. When prepared by the immersion coagulation into a water bath, the solidified membranes' structural and functional properties indicate that the coagulation of cast solutions was affected by the trade-offrelationship between thermodynamic enhancement and kinetic hindrance. With a small amount of PVP in the casting solution, the thermodynamic driving force played a major role on solution demixing, inducing the demixing enhancement, corresponding to the acceleration of phase separation due to the PVP's nonsolvent effect. Consequently, the PVP acts as a phase separation enhancer, resulting in both macropore enlargement and permeate flux increase. With more addition of PVP, however, the macropore structure and the water permeability were suppressed rather than enlarged or increased. These phenomena reflect that the demixing of the cast solution was delayed, with the kinetic hindrance offsetting the thermodynamic effect for phase separation enhancement.     

Experimental study on the solid velocity in horizontal dilute phase pneumatic conveying of fine powders

The calculation reliability of pressure drop and gas-solid drag force in horizontal dilute phase pneumatic conveying strongly depends on the accuracy of gas-solid velocity correlation. However, there are limited studies on the solid velocity in horizontal dilute phase pneumatic conveying and it is important to further validate suitability of existing correlation of gas-solid velocity, especially for fine particles (such as pulverized coal). Consequently, in this paper, a negative pressure pneumatic conveying test rig is set up and two kinds of powders with different sizes are adopted. Optical fiber probe (OFP) was used to measure the volumetric solid concentration and particle velocity. The volumetric solid concentration was also calculated by using the measured particle velocity. The results show that the solid concentrations obtained by the two methods have good agreement, and discrepancy is within ± 20%. It was found the particle velocities are different in the upper and lower part of the cross-section in the horizontal pipe. However, the difference is generally no more than 2 m/s. The velocity difference will decrease with the increasing gas velocity, and increases with the solid mass flow rate. In the experimental condition of 0.06 mm < d_s < 0.35 mm, 1400 kg/m³ < ρ_s < 2600 kg/m³, the implicit correlation based on Yang's Unified Theory gives the best prediction of particle velocity among existing studies but still with noticeable discrepancy with the comparison of the present experimental data. By modifying the solid friction factor, an improved correlation of the particle velocity was obtained, which agrees better with the experimental data given in the present and literature studies.