An Experimental Study on the Flow Characteristics of OilWater Two-Phase Flow in Horizontal Straight Pipes

The flow patterns and their transitions of oil-water two-phase flow in horizontal pipes were studied. The experiments were conducted in two kinds of horizontal tubes, made of plexiglas pipe and stainless steel pipe with 40mm ID respectively. No. 46 mechanical oil and tap water were used as working fluids. The superficial velocity ranges of oil and water were: 0.04-1.2m·s^-1 and 0.04-2.2 m·s^-1, respectively. The flow patterns were identified by visualization and by transient fluctuation signals of differential pressure drop. The flow patterns were defined according to the relative distribution ofoil and water phases in the pipes. Flow pattern maps were obtained for both pipelines. In addition, semi-theoretical transition criteria for the flow patterns were proposed, and the proposed transitional criteria are in reasonable agreement with available data in liquid-liquid systems.

Numerical Simulation of Turbulent Swirling Pipe Flow with an Internal Conical Bluff Body

Turbulent swirling flow inside a short pipe interacting with a conical bluff body was simulated using the commercial CFD code Fluent.The geometry used is a simplified version of a novel liquid/gas separator used in multiphase flow metering.Three turbulence models,belonging to the Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes(RANS)equations framework,are used.These are,RNG k-ε,SST k-ωand the full Reynolds stress model(RSM)in their steady and unsteady versions.Steady and unsteady RSM simulations show similar behavior.Compared to other turbulence models,they yield the best predictions of the mean velocity profiles though they exhibit some discrepancies in the core region.The influence of the Reynolds number on velocity profiles,swirl decay,and wall pressure on the bluff body are also presented.For Reynolds numbers generating a Rankine-like velocity profile,the width and magnitude of flow reversal zone decreases along the pipe axis disappearing downstream for lower Reynolds numbers.The tangential velocity peaks increase with increasing Reynolds number.The swirl decay rate follows an exponential form in accordance with the existing literature.These flow features would affect the performance of the real separator and,thus,the multiphase flow meter,noticeably.

Research on the orientation distribution of fibers immersed in a pipe flow

The computed orientation distribution of fibers immersed in laminar pipe flows showed that the longitudinal distributions are wide for small Reynolds numbers and become narrower with increasing Re.For low Re number.the axial orientation distributions are broad with almost no preferred orientations.For high Re numer,the axial distribution becomes narrow.with sharp maxima..The mean values of the longitudinal orientation depend strongly on the Re number.The computed results are in qualitative agreemernt with relevant experimental results.

Flow Electrification of Insulated Liquid in Metal Pipes

When relative motion occurs between a liquid and a solid, the two phases carry electric charge with opposite signs. The created charge easily accumulates in the liquid, and the amount of the charge carried in an insulated liquid refers to many factors, such as contact area with the solid surface, the contact time, and so forth. However, current theories agree that the amount of charge created during flow electrification is proportional to the contact surface. In this paper, the classical wall current theory is applied to establish an interfacial electrical double-layer model of flow electrification phenomena when an insulated liquid passes over metal pipe surface. Meanwhile, in conjunction with charge relaxation function, the relation between the charge density and flow velocity, the contact time and the contact area is obtained during the liquid flowing process. The experimental result demonstrates that the flowing charge carried in the insulated liquid is not simply proportional to the contact area, but has a non-linear dependence on the contact area and the contact time. Moreover, down flow experimental equipment pipes of different length and diameter, and dielectric hydraulic oil VG46 are used in an experimental study of laminar flow, in order to understand electrification phenomena in dielectric liquid flowing over metal pipes of different length and aperture. If they both increase linearly, charge relaxation will increase exponentially. As a result, the test result verifies related theoretical analysis, and the method given provides a theoretical basis to analyze interracial electrical phenomena.

An Investigation on the Void Fraction for upward Gas-Liquid Slug Flow in Vertical Pipe

In order to investigate the influence of the entrance effect on the spatial distribution of phases, the experiments on gas-liquid two-phase slug flow in a vertical pipe of 0.03m ID were carried out by using optical probes and an EKTAPRO 1000 high speed motion analyzer. It demonstrates that the radial profile of slug flow void fraction is parabolic. Influenced by the falling liquid film, the radial profile curve of liquid slug void fraction in the wake region is also parabolic. Since fully turbulent velocity distribution is built up in the developed region,the void fraction profile in this region is the saddle type. At given superficial liquid velocity, the liquid slug void fraction increases with gas velocity. The radial profiles of liquid slug void fraction at different axial locations are all saddle curves, but void fraction is obviously high around the centerline in the entrance region. The nearer the measuring station is from the entrance, the farther the peak location is away from the wall.

Distribution of void fraction for gas-liquid slug flow in aninclined pipe

In order to investigate the effect of inclination angle on the spatial distribution of phases, experiments on gas-liquid two-phase slug flow in an inclined pipe were carried out by using the optical probe and an EKTAPRO 1000 high speed motion analyzer. It has been demonstrated that the inclination angle and the mixture velocity are important parameters to influence the distribution of void fraction for upward slug flow in the inclined pipe. At high mixture velocity, the gas phase profile is axial symmetry in the cross-section of the pipe. This is similar to that for vertical slug flow. In contrast, most of the gas phase is located near the upper pipe wall at low mixture velocity. By measuring the axial variation of void fraction along the liquid slug, it can be concluded that there is a high void fraction wake region with length of 3～4D in the front of liquid slug. In the fully developed zone of liquid slug, the peak value of the void fraction is near the upper wall.

THEORETICAL ANALYSIS OF USING AIRFLOW TO PURGE RESIDUAL WATER IN AN INCLINED PIPE

A refined theoretical analysis for using the spiral airflow and axial airflow to purge residual water in an inclined pipe was presented. The computations reveal that, in most cases, the spiral flow can purge the residual water in the inclined pipe indeed while the axial flow may induce back flow of the water, just as predicted in the experiments presented by Horii and Zhao et al. In addition, the effects of various initial conditions on water purging were studied in detail for both the spiral and axial flow cases.

Low frequency oscillatory flow in a rotating curved pipe

The low frequency oscillatory flow in a rotating curved pipe was studied by using the method of bi-parameter perturbation. Perturbation solutions up to the second order were obtained and the effects of rotationon the low frequency oscillatory flow were examined in detail, The results indicated that there exists evident difference between the low frequency oscillatory flow in a rotating curved pipe and in a curved pipe without ro-tation. During a period, four secondary vortexes may exist on the circular cross-section and the distribution of axial velocity and wall shear stress are related to the ratio of the Coriolis foree to centrifugal foree and the axial pressure gradient.

RESEARCH ON THE MOTION OF PARTICLES IN THE TURBULENT PIPE FLOW OF FIBER SUSPENSIONS

The motion of fibers in turbulent pipe flow was simulated by 3-D integral method based on the slender body theory and simplified model of turbulence.The orientation distribution of fibers in the computational area for different Re numbers was computed.The results which were consistent with the experimental ones show that the fluctuation velocity of turbulence cause fibers to orient randomly.The orientation distributions become broader as the Re number increases.Then the fluctuation velocity and angular velocity of fibers were obtained.Both are affected by the fluctuation velocity of turbulence.The fluctuation velocity intensity of fiber is stronger at longitudinal than at lateral,while it was opposite for the fluctuation angular velocity intensity of fibers.Finally,the spatial distribution of fiber was given.It is obvious that the fiber dispersion is strenghened with the increase of Re numbers.

Measurement of Fluid Flow in Pipe and Porous Media by High-Resolution Magnetic Resonance Imaging

The objective of this study is to understand the process of fluid flow in pipe and porous media with different pore structures. High-resolution Magnetic Resonance Imaging （MRI） technique was used to visualize the pore structure and measure fluid flow. The porous media was formed by packed bed of glass beads. Flow measurement was carried out by a modified spin echo sequence. The results show that the velocity distribution in pipe is annular and the linear relation between MRI velocity and actual velocity is found in pipe flow measurement. The flow distribution in porous media is rather heterogeneous, and it is consistent with heterogeneous pore structure. The flow through pores with the high volume flow rate is determined largely by geometrical effects such as pore size and cross-sectional area.

ANALYTIC SOLUTIONS OF INCOMPRESSIBLE LAMINAR FLOW IN THE INLET REGION OF A PIPE

The laminar analytic solutions of velocities and pressure in the central zone of the inlet region of pipe flow are given under the condition of uniform inflow, based on the Navier-Stokes equations of incompressible viscous flow.

K-ε-T MODEL OF DENSE LIQUID-SOLID TWO-PHASE TURBULENT FLOW AND ITS APPLICATION TO THE PIPE FLOW

To predict the characteristics of dense liquid-solid two-phase flow, K-Ε-T model is established, in which the turbulent flow of fluid phase was described with fluid turbulent kinetic energy Kf and its dissipation rate Εf, and the particles random motion was described with particle turbulent energy Kp and its dissipation rate Εp and pseudothermal temperature Tp. The governing equations were also derived. With K-Ε-T model, numerical study of dense liquid-solid two-phase turbulent up-flow in a pipe is performed. The calculated results are in good agreement with experimental data of Alajbegovic et al. (1994), and some flow features are captured.

Formation of Necklace-Type Vortex System Upstream of a Gate Valve in Pipe Flow

A gate valve is one of the main elements of a circular pipeline, but the flow characteristics around the gate valve are hardly known. In this study, clarification of the flow field in front of the gate valve model in a pipe flow via flow visualization and PIV analysis was attempted. As a result, four kinds of steady necklace-type vortex systems, 2-vortex, 4-vortex, 6-vortex and 8-vortex systems, were clearly observed in a Reynolds number between 290 and 2130. In addition, the main vortex was observed in the Reynolds number range between 2130 and 4870 with difficulty. On this account, both the center position and vorticity in the main vortex are presented against Reynolds number.

Optimal transient growth in turbulent pipe flow

The optimal transient growth process of perturbations driven by the pressure gradient is studied in a turbulent pipe flow. A new computational method is proposed, based on the projection operators which project the governing equations onto the sub- space spanned by the radial vorticity and radial velocity. The method is validated by comparing with the previous studies. Two peaks of the maximum transient growth am- plification curve are found at different Reynolds numbers ranging from 20 000 to 250 000. The optimal flow structures are obtained and compared with the experiments and DNS results. The location of the outer peak is at the azimuthal wave number n = 1, while the location of the inner peak is varying with the Reynolds number. It is observed that the velocity streaks in the buffer layer with a spacing of 100δv are the most amplified flow structures. Finally, we consider the optimal transient growth time and its dependence on the azimuthal wave length. It shows a self-similar behavior for perturbations of different scales in the optimal transient growth process.

MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMIC PIPE FLOW IN DUCTS WITH PARTIAL CIRCULAR RING CROSS SECTION AND ANNULAR CROSS SECTION

In this paper we use the Green function method to solve the problem of steady one dimensional flow of an incompressible viscous, electrically conducting fluid through a pipe with partial circular ring cross sec- tion and one with annular cross section, in the presence of an applied transverse uniform magnetic field, We ob- tain analytic solutions and carry out some numerical calculations of the velocity distribution and induced magnet- ic field.

On the helical pipe flow with a pressure-dependent viscosity

We address the flow of incompressible fluid with a pressure-dependent viscosity through a pipe with helical shape. The viscosity-pressure relation is defined by the Barus law. The thickness of the pipe and the helix step are assumed to be of the same order and considered as the small parameter. After transforming the starting problem, we compute the asymptotic solution using curvilinear coordinates and standard perturbation technique. The solution is provided in the explicit form clearly showing the influence of viscosity-pressure dependence and pipe＇s geometry on the effective flow.

AN ANALYTIC SOLUTION OF DENSE TWO-PHASE FLOW IN A VERTICAL PIPELINE

According to a mathematical model for dense two-phase flows presented in the previous pape[1],a dense two-phase flow in a vertical pipeline is analytically solved, and the analytic expressions of velocity of each continuous phase and dispersed phase are respectively derived. The results show that when the drag force between twophasesdepends linearly on their relative velocity, the relative velocity profile in the pipeline coincides with Darcy's law except for the thin layer region near the pipeline wall, and that the theoretical assumptions in the dense two-phase flow theory mentioned are reasonable.

GENERAL SECOND ORDER FLUID FLOW IN A PIPE

It is more satisfactory for fluid materials between viscous and elastic to introducethe fractional calculus approach into the constitutive relationship. This paper employsthe fractional calculus approach to study second fluid flow in a paper. First, we derivethe analytical solution which the derivate order is half and then with the analyticalsolution we verify the reliability of Laplace numerical inversion based on Crumpalgouithm for the problem, and finally we analyze the characteristics of second orderfluid flow in a pipe by using Crump method. The results indicate that the more obviousthe viscoelastic properties of fluid is, the more sensitive the dependence of velocity andstress on fractional derivative order is.

Three-phase flow of submarine gas hydrate pipe transport

In the hydraulic transporting process of cutter-suction mining natural gas hydrate, when the temperature-pressure equilibrium of gas hydrate is broken, gas hydrates dissociate into gas. As a result, solid-liquid two-phase flow(hydrate and water) transforms into gas-solid-liquid three-phase flow(methane, hydrate and water) inside the pipeline. The Euler model and CFD-PBM model were used to simulate gas-solid-liquid three-phase flow. Numerical simulation results show that the gas and solid phase gradually accumulate to the center of the pipe. Flow velocity decreases from center to boundary of the pipe along the radial direction. Comparison of numerical simulation results of two models reveals that the flow state simulated by CFD-PBM model is more uniform than that simulated by Euler model, and the main behavior of the bubble is small bubbles coalescence to large one. Comparison of numerical simulation and experimental investigation shows that the values of flow velocity and gas fraction in CFD-PBM model agree with experimental data better than those in Euler model. The proposed PBM model provides a more accurate and effective way to estimate three-phase flow state of transporting gas hydrate within the submarine pipeline.

FLUID FLOW IN A HELICAL PIPE

Without simplifying the N-S equations of Germano's[5], we study the flow in a helical circular pipe employing perturbation method. A third perturbation solution is fully presented. The first- second- and third-order effects of curvature κ and torsion τ on the secondary flow and axial velocity are discussed in detail. The first-order effect of curvature is to form two counter-rotating cells of the secondary flow and to push the maximum axial velocity to the outer bend. The two cells are pushed to the outer bend by the pure second-order effect of curvature. The combined higher-order (second-, third-) effects of curvature and torsion, are found to be an enlargement of the lower vortex of the secondary flow at expense of the upper one and a clockwise shift of the centers of the secondary vortices and the location of maximum axial velocity. When the axial pressure gradient is small enough or the torsion is sufficiently larger than the curvature, the location of the maximal axial velocity is near the inner bend. The equation of the volume flux is obtained from integrating the perturbation solutions of axial velocity. From the equation the validity range of the perturbation solutions in this paper can be obtained and the conclusion that the three terms of torsion have no effect on the volume flux can easily be drawn. When the axial pressure gradient is less than 22.67, the volume flux in a helical pipe is larger than that in a straight pipe.