Comparison of Gas–Liquid Flow Characteristics in Geometrically Different Swirl Generating Devices

Ryan Anugrah Putra, Martin Neumann-Kipping, Thomas Schäfer and Dirk Lucas
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Ryan Anugrah Putra: Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Institute of Fluid Dynamics, Bautzner Landstr. 400, 01328 Dresden, Germany
Martin Neumann-Kipping: Chair of Imaging Techniques in Energy and Process Engineering, Technische Universität Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany
Thomas Schäfer: Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Institute of Fluid Dynamics, Bautzner Landstr. 400, 01328 Dresden, Germany
Dirk Lucas: Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Institute of Fluid Dynamics, Bautzner Landstr. 400, 01328 Dresden, Germany

Energies, 2019, vol. 12, issue 24, 1-23

Abstract: The gas–liquid flow characteristics for blade, single, and the double-helical swirl elements were numerically investigated and compared in this work. The Euler–Euler model assuming bi-modal bubble size distributions was used. The experiment, conducted in a vertical pipe equipped with a static blade swirl element, was used as the basis for the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. In the experiment, high-resolution gamma-ray computed tomography (HireCT) was used to measure the gas volume fractions at several planes within the blade swirl element. The resulting calculated profiles of the pressure, liquid and gas velocities as well as the gas fraction showed a large influence of the swirl elements’ geometry. The evolution and characteristics of the calculated gas–liquid phase distributions in different measurement planes were found to be unique for each type of swirl element. A single gas core in the center of the pipe was observed from the simulation of the blade element, while multiple cores were observed from the simulations of the single and double helix elements. The cross-sectional gas distribution downstream of the single and double helical elements changed drastically within a relatively short distance downstream of the elements. In contrast, the single gas core downstream of the blade element was more stable.

Keywords: swirling flow; multiphase flow; inline separator; static mixer; CFD simulation; Euler–Euler (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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