Phase Distribution of Gas–Liquid Slug–Annular Flow in Horizontal Parallel Micro-Channels

Yanchu Liu, Siqiang Jiang and Shuangfeng Wang ()
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Yanchu Liu: Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Soft Mechanics & Smart Manufacturing, Department of Mechanics and Aerospace Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), Shenzhen 518055, China
Siqiang Jiang: Key Lab of Heat Transfer Enhancement and Energy Conservation of Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
Shuangfeng Wang: Key Lab of Heat Transfer Enhancement and Energy Conservation of Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 10, 1-15

Abstract: As a transitional flow pattern, slug–annular flow occurs over a wide range of operating conditions in micro-channels while its distribution in parallel micro-channels has not been well characterized. Herein, we conducted an experiment to study the phase distribution of slug–annular flow in parallel micro-channels. The test section consists of a header with a diameter of 0.48 mm and six branch channels with a diameter of 0.40 mm. Nitrogen and 0.03 wt% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) solution were used as the test fluids. It was found that the phase distribution of the slug–annular flow was unstable and the duration of the varying process showed regularity with different inlet conditions. Increasing the liquid superficial velocity facilitated the liquid phase to flow into channels at the fore part of the header, while the channels at the rear part of the header were more supplied with liquid as the gas superficial velocity, volume fraction of gas, and volume flow rate increased. Furthermore, the results indicated that the channels located at the rear part of the header experienced a pronounced enhancement in the supply of both the liquid and gas phases, with the spacing between the branches increasing. A predictive correlation was formulated to ascertain the distribution of the liquid phase within slug–annular flow across parallel micro-channels.

Keywords: slug–annular flow; two-phase; phase distribution; visualization; parallel micro-channels; branch spacing (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: 2024
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