Flow Patterns and Heat Transfer Characteristics of a Polymer Pulsating Heat Pipe Filled with Hydrofluoroether

Visualization experiments were conducted to clarify the operational characteristics of a polymer pulsating heat pipe(PHP).Hydrofluoroether(HFE)-7100 was used as a working fluid,and its filling ratio was 50%of the entire PHP channel.A semi-transparent PHP was fabricated using a transparent polycarbonate sheet and a plastic 3D printer,and the movements of liquid slugs and vapor plugs of the working fluid were captured with a high-speed camera.The video images were then analyzed to obtain the flow patterns in the PHP.The heat transfer characteristics of the PHPwere discussed based on the flowpatterns and temperature distributions obtainedwith thermocouples.Before starting heating,because of high wettability,large liquid slugs positioned at the evaporator section of the PHP.After starting heating,since the occurrence of boiling divided the large liquid slugs,oscillatory flowof smaller liquid slugs and vapor plugs was found in the PHP.Clear circulation flow of liquid slugs and vapor plugs was observed when the power input to the PHP was larger than 12.0 W.The flow patterns and temperature distributions confirmed that the circulation flow enhanced the heat transfer from the evaporator section to the condenser section of the PHP.In the circulation flow mode,large growth and contraction of vapor plugs were found one after another in all even-numbered PHP channels.However,the analysis of flow patterns clarified that the phase-change heat transfer rate by large growth and contraction of vapor plugs was 19%of the total heat transfer rate of the PHP.Although the generation of large vapor plugs was found in the PHP,most of the heat was transferred by the sensible heat of the working fluid.

Effect of Internal Flow on Vortex-Induced Vibration of Submarine Free Spanning Pipelines

At present, most researches on the vortex-induced vibration of submarine free spanning pipelines ignore the effect of internal flowing fluid; furthermore, there are no research reports considering the coupling effect of internal and external fluid with the free span. In this paper, combining Iwan's wake oscillator model with the differential equation derived for the dynamic response of submarine free spanning pipelines with inclusion of internal flow, the pipe-fluid coupling equations are developed to investigate the effect of internal flow on the vortex-induced vibration of the free spans. The finite element approximation is implemented to derive the matrix equations of equilibrium. The Newmark method combined with simple iteration is used to solve the system of equations. The results indicate that the internal fluid flow may cause the shift of resonance band to the lower frequency and a slight decrease in the peak value; the effect will be more pronounced with the increase of the span length and can be weakened in the presence of the axial tension.

A unified fractional flow framework for predicting the liquid holdup in two-phase pipe flows

Two-phase pipe flow occurs frequently in oil&gas industry,nuclear power plants,and CCUS.Reliable calculations of gas void fraction(or liquid holdup)play a central role in two-phase pipe flow models.In this paper we apply the fractional flow theory to multiphase flow in pipes and present a unified modeling framework for predicting the fluid phase volume fractions over a broad range of pipe flow conditions.Compared to existing methods and correlations,this new framework provides a simple,approximate,and efficient way to estimate the phase volume fraction in two-phase pipe flow without invoking flow patterns.Notably,existing correlations for estimating phase volume fraction can be transformed and expressed under this modeling framework.Different fractional flow models are applicable to different flow conditions,and they demonstrate good agreement against experimental data within 5%errors when compared with an experimental database comprising of 2754 data groups from 14literature sources,covering various pipe geometries,flow patterns,fluid properties and flow inclinations.The gas void fraction predicted by the framework developed in this work can be used as inputs to reliably model the hydraulic and thermal behaviors of two-phase pipe flows.

Experimental Analyses of Flow Pattern and Heat Transfer in a Horizontally Oriented Polymer Pulsating Heat Pipe withMerged Liquid Slugs

Extended experiments were conducted on the oscillation characteristics of merged liquid slugs in a horizontally oriented polymer pulsating heat pipe(PHP).The PHP’s serpentine channel comprised 14 parallel channels with a width of 1.3 mm and a height of 1.1 mm.The evaporator and condenser sections were 25 and 50 mm long,respectively,and the adiabatic section in between was 75mmlong.Using a plastic 3D printer and semi-transparent filament made from acrylonitrile butadiene styrene,the serpentine channel was printed directly onto a thin polycarbonate sheet to form the PHP.The PHP was charged with hydrofluoroether-7100.In the experiments,the evaporator section was heated,and the condenser section was cooled using high-temperature and low-temperature thermostatic baths,respectively.Flow patterns of the working fluid were obtained with temperature distributions of the PHP.A mathematical model was developed to analyze the flow patterns.Themerged liquid slugs were observed in every two channels,and their oscillation characteristics were found to be approximately the same in time and space.It was also found that the oscillations of the merged liquid slugs became slower,but the heat transfer rate of the PHP increased with a decrease in the filling ratio of the working fluid.This is because vapor condensation was enhanced in vapor plugs as the filling ratio decreased.However,the filling ratio had a lower limit,and the heat transfer rate was maximum when the filling ratio was 40.6%in the present experimental range.

Unsteady Fluidynamic Behavior of Gas Bubbles Flowing in Curved Pipes: A Numerical Study

Petroleum is considered as one of the factors for the development of a nation as well as a cause of economic and political conflicts around the world because of the diversity of products obtained with their derivatives such as fuel for automotives and aviation, and manufacturing plastic parts, among others. The crude petroleum (usually oil, water and gas) found in an underground reservoir is transported to the surface by pipes, and has drawn the attention of researchers because of the problems generated in the pipeline with particular attention to the loss of pressure, friction and bubbles. For a fluid flow in plug regime, where many of the bubbles formed coalesce and produce bigger ones of sizes almost equal to the pipe diameter (Taylor bubble), severe instability in the flow is caused. In this context, the objective of this research has been to study the Taylor bubble flow in curved ducts using the software CFX. Results of the transient effects of the air concentration on the bubble air volumetric fraction, of the viscosity on bubble format, and pipe angle of 90? on bubble symmetry are presented and interpreted.

Movement Properties of Pipe Flow Along Granite Slope of Three Gorges Area of Yangtze River in China

It is well known that, in most cases, soil water doesn't move in the form of laminar flow as described by Darcy law. Only when Reynolds number ( Re ) is no more than 10, does water movement follow Darcy law. A soil profile with 2 9 m long and 2 13 2 60 m deep was excavated on a lower slope located at Zigui County, Hubei Province, China. Field observation found that soil pipes were mainly distributed in the transient layer between horizon B with higher degree of granite weathering and horizon C with lower degree of granite weathering. At the foot of the slope, about 5 7 soil pipes per meter were observed along the vertical direction of the slope. The observed results, obtained by continuous observation of soil pipes and pipe flow processes at granite slope for many rainfall events, indicate that the relationship between velocity of pipe flow and hydraulic gradient along the pipe is parabolic rather than linear. Based on the investigated data of soil, landform, and land use etc., combined with observed data of pipe flow derived from many rainfall events, a pipe flow model was developed. For velocity V p, discharge Q p of pipe flow and radius r of soil pipe, great similarity was found between simulated and observed values. Particularly, the simulated length of soil pipes reflects the great difference among soil pipes as a result of its different position in the soil profile. The length values of 4 soil pipes were estimated to be 98 1%, 27 6%, 11 0% and 3 0% of the longest distance of the catchment, respectively. As a special case of water movement, soil pipe flow follows Darcy Weisbach law. Discharge of pipe flow is much greater than infiltration discharge in common. Only when the depth of groundwater is more than the diameter of soil pipe and water layer submerges soil pipes during rainfall, may pipe flow occur. Under these circumstances, discharge of pipe flow is directly proportional to the depth of groundwater.

The effect of functional loads on free spanning pipeline's VIV response

During the operation and installation of offshore pipelines, high axial forces and pressures are experienced, and their effects cannot be neglected. In this article, the effect of internal flow velocity and functional loads on vortex-induced vibration （VIV） response is investigated. On the basis of the Hamilton principle, a differential equation was derived to describe the motion of a pinned-pinned tensioned spanning pipeline conveying fluid. The VIV response was calculated according to DNV-RP-F105 under different functional loads. The results showed that functional loads influence free spanning pipeline VIV response by changing the natural frequency. Internal flow velocity was found less important for VIV response than other functional load factors, such as effective axial force, because the speed in reality is not high enough to be significant. The research may provide a reference for sensitivity studies of the effect of functional loads on allowable free span lengths.

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 40 mm ID respectively. No. 46 mechanical oil and tap water were used as working fluids. The superflcial velocity ranges of oil and water were: 0.04-1.2m·s-1 and 0.04-2.2m·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 of oil 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.

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.

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 number, 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 agreement 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.

Numerical Simulations of Liquid-Solid Flows in A Vertical Pipe by MPS-DEM Coupling Method

In the process of deep-sea mining,the liquid-solid flows in the vertical transportation pipeline are very complex.In the present work,an in-house solver MPSDEM-SJTU based on the improved MPS and DEM is developed for the simulation of hydraulic conveying.Firstly,three examples including the multilayer cylinder collapse,the Poiseuille flow and two-phase dam-break are used to validate the precision of the DEM model,the pipe flow model and MPS-DEM coupling model,respectively.Then,the hydraulic conveying with coarse particles in a vertical pipe is simulated.The solid particle distribution is presented and investigated in detail.Finally,the coupling method is successfully applied for the simulation of the liquid-solid flows in a vertical pipe with rotating blades,which shows the stability of the solver under rotating boundary conditions.This fully Lagrangian model is expected to be a new approach for analyzing hydraulic conveying.

Vertical 2D Modeling of Free Surface Flow with Hydrodynamic Pressure Using SIMPLE Arithmetic in σ Coordinates

A numerical model for shallow water flow has been developed based on the unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations with the hydrodynamic pressure instead of hydrostatic pressure assumption. The equations are transformed into the σ-coordinate system and the eddy viscosity is calculated with the standard k-ε turbulence model. The control volume method is used to discrete the equations, and the boundary conditions at the bed for shallow water models only include vertical diffusion terms expressed with wall functions. And the semi-implicit method for pressure linked equation arithmetic is adopted to solve the equations. The model is applied to the 2D vertical plane flow of a current over two steep-sided trenches for which experiment data are available for comparison and good agreement is obtained. And the model is used to predicting the flow in a channel with a steep-sided submerged breakwater at the bottom, and the streamline is drawn.

Validation of a CIP-based tank for numerical simulation of free surface flows

A constrained interpolation profile CIP-based numerical tank is developed to simulate violent free surface flows.The numerical simulation is performed by the CIP-based Cartesian grid method,which is described in the present paper.The tangent of hyperbola for interface capturing（THINC） scheme is applied for capturing complex free surfaces.The new model is capable of simulating a flow with violently varied free surface.A series of computations are conducted to assess the developed algorithm and its versatility.These tests include the collapse of water column with and without an obstacle,sloshing in a fixed tank,the generation of regular waves in a tank,the generation of extreme waves in a tank.Excellent agreements are obtained when numerical results are compared with available analytical,experimental,and other numerical results.

Model for seawater fouling and effects of temperature,flow velocity and surface free energy on seawater fouling

A kinetic model was proposed to predict the seawater fouling process in the seawater heat exchangers.The new model adopted an expression combining depositional and removal behaviors for seawater fouling based on the Kern–Seaton model.The present model parameters include the integrated kinetic rate of deposition(k d)and the integrated kinetic rate of removal(k r),which have clear physical signi ficance.A seawater-fouling monitoring device was established to validate the model.The experimental data were well fitted to the model,and the parameters were obtained in different conditions.SEM and EDX analyses were performed after the experiments,and the results show that the main components of seawater fouling are magnesium hydroxide and aluminum hydroxide.The effects of surface temperature,flow velocity and surface free energy were assessed by the model and the experimental data.The results indicate that the seawater fouling becomes aggravated as the surface temperature increased in a certain range,and the seawater fouling resistance reduced as the flow velocity of seawater increased.Furthermore,the effect of the surface free energy of metals was analyzed,showing that the lower surface free energy mitigates the seawater fouling accumulation.

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.

Fluid−Structure Interaction of Two-Phase Flow Passing Through 90° Pipe Bend Under Slug Pattern Conditions

Numerical simulations of evolution characteristics of slug flow across a 90°pipe bend have been carried out to study the fluid−structure interaction response induced by internal slug flow.The two-phase flow patterns and turbulence were modelled by using the volume of fluid(VOF)model and the Realizable k−εturbulence model respectively.Firstly,validation of the CFD model was carried out and the desirable results were obtained.The different flow patterns and the time-average mean void fraction was coincident with the reported experimental data.Simulations of different cases of slug flow have been carried out to show the effects of superficial gas and liquid velocity on the evolution characteristics of slug flow.Then,a one-way coupled fluid-structure interaction framework was established to investigate the slug flow interaction with a 90°pipe bend under various superficial liquid and gas velocities.It was found that the maximum total deformation and equivalent stress increased with the increasing superficial gas velocity,while decreased with the increasing superficial liquid velocity.In addition,the total deformation and equivalent stress has obvious periodic fluctuation.Furthermore,the distribution position of maximum deformation and stress was related to the evolution of slug flow.With the increasing superficial gas velocity,the maximum total deformation was mainly located at the 90°pipe bend.But as the superficial liquid velocity increases,the maximum total deformation was mainly located in the horizontal pipe section.Consequently,the slug flow with higher superficial gas velocity will induce more serious cyclical impact on the 90°pipe bend.

Computational modeling of free-surface slurry flow problems using particle simulation method

The particle simulation method is used to solve free-surface slurry flow problems that may be encountered in several scientific and engineering fields.The main idea behind the use of the particle simulation method is to treat granular or other materials as an assembly of many particles.Compared with the continuum-mechanics-based numerical methods such as the finite element and finite volume methods,the movement of each particle is accurately described in the particle simulation method so that the free surface of a slurry flow problem can be automatically obtained.The major advantage of using the particle simulation method is that only a simple numerical algorithm is needed to solve the governing equation of a particle simulation system.For the purpose of illustrating how to use the particle simulation method to solve free-surface flow problems,three examples involving slurry flow on three different types of river beds have been considered.The related particle simulation results obtained from these three examples have demonstrated that:1) The particle simulation method is a promising and useful method for solving free-surface flow problems encountered in both the scientific and engineering fields;2) The shape and irregular roughness of a river bed can have a significant effect on the free surface morphologies of slurry flow when it passes through the river bed.

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.