Experimental and Prenemilary Numerical Evaluation of Pressure Drops under the Conditions of the Stratified Gas-Liquid Flow in a Horizontal Pipe Filled with Metal Foam

Jerzy Hapanowicz (), Adriana Szydłowska and Jacek Wydrych
Additional contact information
Jerzy Hapanowicz: Department of Process and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Opole University of Technology, St. Mikołajczyka 5, 45-271 Opole, Poland
Adriana Szydłowska: Department of Process and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Opole University of Technology, St. Mikołajczyka 5, 45-271 Opole, Poland
Jacek Wydrych: Department of Thermal Engineering and Industrial Facilities, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Opole University of Technology, St. Mikołajczyka 5, 45-271 Opole, Poland

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 23, 1-22

Abstract: The paper reports the results of experimental tests and numerical simulations related to the pressure drop during two-phase air-water mixture flow through a pipe containing metal foam packing. Aluminium foam with 40 PPI open cells was used in the tests. A horizontal pipe with an internal diameter of 10 mm was used, and the foam only occupied a section of the pipe length equal to 240 mm. In the section of the pipe upwards of the foam, stratified flow pattern was generated, i.e., the most characteristic type for the gas-liquid flow. The results of the experimental research were compared with the values derived on the basis of the empirical method, which was developed for several different metal foams and two-phase systems. The values derived from measurements and calculations were subsequently applied to validate one numerical simulation method that is known to be particularly applicable for two-phase gas-liquid flow through metal foams. As a final result, the phenomena resulting from the presence of foam in the stratified flow through a gas-liquid system, the deficiencies of the methods applied in calculating pressure drops and modeling their values in accordance with the adopted numerical procedure were indicated. All research and modelling were carried out with the purpose of testing the potential of metal foam use in pipes dedicated to heat exchanger design, particularly ones intended to improve energy efficiency.

Keywords: gas-liquid system; stratified flow; metal foam; pressure drops; experimental research; CFD simulations (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: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/23/9068/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/23/9068/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:15:y:2022:i:23:p:9068-:d:988961

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().