A New Device for Gas-Liquid Flow Measurements Relying on Forced Annular Flow

A new measurement device,consisting of swirling blades and capsule-shaped throttling elements,is proposed in this study to eliminate typical measurement errors caused by complex flow patterns in gas-liquid flow.The swirling blades are used to transform the complex flow pattern into a forced annular flow.Drawing on the research of existing blockage flow meters and also exploiting the single-phase flow measurement theory,a formula is introduced to measure the phase-separated flow of gas and liquid.The formula requires the pressure ratio,Lockhart-Martinelli number(L-M number),and the gas phase Froude number.The unknown parameters appearing in the formula are fitted through numerical simulation using computational fluid dynamics(CFD),which involves a comprehensive analysis of the flow field inside the device from multiple perspectives,and takes into account the influence of pressure fluctuations.Finally,the measurement model is validated through an experimental error analysis.The results demonstrate that the measurement error can be maintained within±8%for various flow patterns,including stratified flow,bubble flow,and wave flow.

Impact of well placement and flow rate on production efficiency and stress field in the fractured geothermal reservoirs

Geothermal energy has gained wide attention as a renewable alternative for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions.The advancements in enhanced geothermal system technology have enabled the exploitation of previously inaccessible geothermal resources.However,the extraction of geothermal energy from deep reservoirs poses many challenges due to high‐temperature and high‐geostress conditions.These factors can significantly impact the surrounding rock and its fracture formation.A comprehensive understanding of the thermal–hydraulic–mechanical(THM)coupling effect is crucial to the safe and efficient exploitation of geothermal resources.This study presented a THM coupling numerical model for the geothermal reservoir of the Yangbajing geothermal system.This proposed model investigated the geothermal exploitation performance and the stress distribution within the reservoir under various combinations of geothermal wells and mass flow rates.The geothermal system performance was evaluated by the criteria of outlet temperature and geothermal productivity.The results indicate that the longer distance between wells can increase the outlet temperature of production wells and improve extraction efficiency in the short term.In contrast,the shorter distance between wells can reduce the heat exchange area and thus mitigate the impact on the reservoir stress.A larger mass flow rate is conducive to the production capacity enhancement of the geothermal system and,in turn causes a wider range of stress disturbance.These findings provide valuable insights into the optimization of geothermal energy extraction while considering reservoir safety and long‐term sustainability.This study deepens the understanding of the THM coupling effects in geothermal systems and provides an efficient and environmentally friendly strategy for a geothermal energy system.

Comparison of the precision of glacier flow rates derived from offset-tracking using Sentinel-2 and Landsat-8/9 imagery

Offset-tracking is an essential method for deriving glacier flow rates using optical imagery.Sentinel-2(S2)and Landsat-8/9(L8/9)are popular optical satellites or constellations for polar studies,offering high spatial resolution with relatively short revisit time,wide swath width,and free accessibility.To evaluate and compare the precision of offset-tracking results yielded with these two kinds of data,in this study S2 and L8/9 imagery observed in Petermann Glacier in Greenland,Karakoram in High-Mountains Asia,and Amery Ice Shelf in the Antarctic are analyzed.Outliers and various systematic error sources in the offset-tracking results including orbital and strip errors were analyzed and eliminated at the pre-process stage.Precision at the off-glacier(bare rock)region was evaluated by presuming that no deformation occurred;then for both glacierized and the off-glacier regions,precision of velocity time series was evaluated based on error propagation theory.The least squares method based on connected components was used to solve flow rates time series based on multi-pair images offset-tracking.The results indicated that S2 achieved slightly higher precision than L8/9 in terms of both single-pair derived displacements and least square solved daily flow rates time series.Generally,the RMSE of daily velocity is 26%lower for S2 than L8/9.Moreover,S2 provided higher temporal resolution for monitoring glacier flow rates.

Flow Rate Measurement of Gravity Infusion Set and Functional Evaluation of Drop Counter: A Pilot Study

Developing a novel drop counter by introducing the Internet of Things concept has been vigorously conducted in recent years. Understanding the newly introduced drop counter’s flow rate control accuracy and flow rate count feature is essential for improving safety in infusion management. This study aimed to verify if the new drop counters could secure accurate flow rate and drip count by conducting actual flow rate measurements using gravimetry and functional evaluation. A drop counter was attached to each drip chamber of the infusion set, and an IV drip was conducted at the 100 ml/h flow rate. The weight of discharged physiological saline was measured to plot trumpet curves. Next, three different types of drop counters were evaluated to determine if they maintained drip count accuracy according to the changes in their position angles. The flow rate errors in all conditions indicated trumpet-like curves, exhibiting an overall error range within ±10% in all observation windows. Although every drop counter successfully detected and measured dripping, it was challenging in some counters to detect dripping when the drip chamber was tilted. In comparing adult and pediatric IV sets, the adult IV set was found to be less likely to detect dripping in the angled position. No significant differences in results were confirmed between high and low flow rates, suggesting that the drop count function would not be affected by the flow rate in the ranges of typical infusion practices. Doppler sensors have a wide range of measurements and high sensitivity;the dripping was detected successfully even when the drip chamber was tilted, probably due to the advantages of these sensors. In contrast, miscounts occurred in those equipped with infrared sensors, which could not detect light intensity changes in tilted positions. Understanding the tendencies in flow rate errors in infusion can be valuable information for infusion management.

Effects of channel wall wettability on gas-liquid dynamics mass transfer under Taylor flow in a serpentine microchannel

The wall wettability of microchannels plays an important role in the gas-liquid mass transfer dynamics under Taylor flow.In this study,we regulated the contact angle of the wall surface through surface chemical grafting polymerization under controlled experimental conditions.The dynamic changes of CO_(2)bubbles flowing along the microchannel were captured by a high-speed video camera mounted on a stereo microscope,whilst a unit cell model was employed to theoretically investigate the gas-liquid mass transfer dynamics.We quantitatively characterized the effects of wall wettability,specifically the contact angle,on the formation mechanism of gas bubbles and mass transfer process experimentally.The results revealed that the gas bubble velocity,the overall volumetric liquid phase mass transfer coefficients(kLa),and the specific interfacial area(a)all increased with the increase of the contact angle.Conversely,gas bubble length and leakage flow decreased.Furthermore,we proposed a new modified model to predict the gas-liquid two-phase mass transfer performance,based on van Baten’s and Yao’s models.Our proposed model was observed to agree reasonably well with experimental observations.

System Energy and Efficiency Analysis of 12.5 W VRFB with Different Flow Rates

Vanadium redox flow battery(VRFB)is considered one of the most potential large-scale energy storage technolo-gies in the future,and its electrolyte flow rate is an important factor affecting the performance of VRFB.To study the effect of electrolyte flow rate on the performance of VRFB,the hydrodynamic model is established and a VRFB system is developed.The results show that under constant current density,with the increase of electrolyte flow rate,not only the coulombic efficiency,energy efficiency,and voltage efficiency will increase,but also the capacity and energy discharged by VRFB will also increase.But on the other hand,as the flow rate increases,the power of the pump also increases,resulting in a decrease in system efficiency.The energy discharged by the system does not increase with the increase in flow rate.Considering the balance between efficiency and pump power loss,it is experimentally proved that 120 mL·min-1 is the optimal working flow rate of the VRFB system,which can maximize the battery performance and discharge more energy.

Relation of tea ingestion to salivary redox and flow rate in healthy subjects

The biochemistry of human saliva can be altered by food intake.The benefits of tea drinking were extensively studied but the influence of tea ingestion on human saliva has not been revealed.The work aimed to investigate the immediate and delayed effect of vine tea,oolong tea and black tea intake on certain salivary biochemistry and flow rate.The saliva samples of healthy subjects were collected before,after and 30 min after tea ingestion.The chemical compositions and antioxidant capacity of tea samples were analyzed to correlate with salivary parameters.Principal component analysis indicated that the effects of vine tea consumption were dominated by increasing salivary flow rate(SFR),production rate of total protein(TPC),thiol(SH),malondialdehyde,catalase activity and antioxidant capacity(FRAP)in saliva.The antioxidant profile of studied tea samples(FRAP,polyphenols,flavonoids)was positively correlated with salivary SFR,TPC,SH and FRAP but negatively correlated with salivary uric acid concentration in saliva.

Evaluation of frictional pressure drop correlations for air-water and air-oil two-phase flow in pipeline-riser system

Accurate prediction of the frictional pressure drop is important for the design and operation of subsea oil and gas transporting system considering the length of the pipeline. The applicability of the correlations to pipeline-riser flow needs evaluation since the flow condition in pipeline-riser is quite different from the original data where they were derived from. In the present study, a comprehensive evaluation of 24prevailing correlation in predicting frictional pressure drop is carried out based on experimentally measured data of air-water and air-oil two-phase flows in pipeline-riser. Experiments are performed in a system having different configuration of pipeline-riser with the inclination of the downcomer varied from-2°to-5°to investigated the effect of the elbow on the frictional pressure drop in the riser. The inlet gas velocity ranges from 0.03 to 6.2 m/s, and liquid velocity varies from 0.02 to 1.3 m/s. A total of885 experimental data points including 782 on air-water flows and 103 on air-oil flows are obtained and used to access the prediction ability of the correlations. Comparison of the predicted results with the measured data indicate that a majority of the investigated correlations under-predict the pressure drop on severe slugging. The result of this study highlights the requirement of new method considering the effect of pipe layout on the frictional pressure drop.

A Novel Method for Determining the Void Fraction in Gas-Liquid Multi-Phase Systems Using a Dynamic Conductivity Probe

Conventional conductivity methods for measuring the void fraction in gas-liquid multiphase systems are typically affected by accuracy problems due to the presence of fluid flow and salinity.This study presents a novel approach for determining the void fraction based on a reciprocating dynamic conductivity probe used to measure the liquid film thickness under forced annular-flow conditions.The measurement system comprises a cyclone,a conductivity probe,a probe reciprocating device,and a data acquisition and processing system.This method ensures that the flow pattern is adjusted to a forced annular flow,thereby minimizing the influence of complex and variable gas-liquid flow patterns on the measurement results;Moreover,it determines the liquid film thickness solely according to circuit connectivity rather than specific conductivity values,thereby mitigating the impact of salinity.The reliability of the measurement system is demonstrated through laboratory experiments.The experimental results indicate that,in a range of gas phase superficial velocities 5–20 m/s and liquid phase superficial velocities 0.079–0.48 m/s,the maximum measurement deviation for the void fraction is 4.23%.

A Numerical Study on the Effect of the Backflow Hole Position on the Performances of a Self-Priming Pump

A self-priming pump is a centrifugal pump that has the ability to prime itself. Typically, its performance dependson the configuration of its reflux hole. In this study, the ANSYS FLUENT software is used to investigate the effectsof three different radial positions of the reflux hole on gas-liquid two-phase distribution, pressure pulsation, andimp during self-priming. The research results indicate that: (1) The effective channel size for the reflux liquid toenter the volute varies depending on the location of the reflux hole. The effect of the impeller rotation on thereflux liquid becomes more obvious as the setting distance of the reflux aperture decreases. (2) The position ofthe reflux hole significantly affects the gas phase mass fraction inside the impeller, resulting in a significant reductionin the time it takes for the mass fraction to exceed 80%. (3) The position of the reflux hole significantly affectsthe average pressure on each monitoring surface. (4) Placing the reflux hole at a excessively distant radial distancecan result in an excessive vertical component. (5) The self-priming performance of the pump can be improved tosome extent by placing the return hole at a small radial distance.

Pedestrian flow through exit:Study focused on evacuation pattern

Experiments are conducted on the evacuation rate of pedestrians through exits with queued evacuation pattern and random evacuation pattern. The experimental results show that the flow rate of pedestrians is larger with the random evacuation pattern than with the queued evacuation pattern. Therefore, the exit width calculated based on the minimum evacuation clear width for every 100 persons, which is on the assumption that the pedestrians pass through the exit in one queue or several queues, is conservative. The number of people crossing the exit simultaneously is greater in the random evacuation experiments than in the queued evacuation experiments, and the time interval between the front row and rear row of people is shortened in large-exit conditions when pedestrians evacuate randomly. The difference between the flow rate with a queued evacuation pattern and the flow rate with a random evacuation pattern is related to the surplus width of the exit, which is greater than the total width of all accommodated people streams. Two dimensionless quantities are defined to explore this relationship. It is found that the difference in flow rate between the two evacuation patterns is stable at a low level when the surplus width of the exit is no more than 45% of the width of a single pedestrian stream. There is a great difference between the flow rate with the queued evacuation pattern and the flow rate with the random evacuation pattern in a scenario with a larger surplus width of the exit. Meanwhile, the pedestrians crowd extraordinarily at the exit in these conditions as well, since the number of pedestrians who want to evacuate through exit simultaneously greatly exceeds the accommodated level. Therefore, the surplus width of exit should be limited especially in the narrow exit condition, and the relationship between the two dimensionless quantities mentioned above could provide the basis to some extent.

Rate transient analysis methods for water-producing gas wells in tight reservoirs with mobile water

Tight gas reservoirs with mobile water exhibit multi-phase flow and high stress sensitivity.Accurately analyzing the reservoir and well parameters using conventional single-phase rate transient analysis methods proves challenging.This study introduces novel rate transient analysis methods incorporating evaluation processes based on the conventional flowing material balance method and the Blasingame type-curve method to examine fractured gas wells producing water.By positing a gas-water two-phase equivalent homogenous phase that considers characteristics of mobile water,gas,and high stress sensitivity,the conventional single-phase rate transient analysis methods can be applied by integrating the phase's characteristics and defining the phase's normalized parameters and material balance pseudotime.The rate transient analysis methods based on the equivalent homogenous phase can be used to quantitatively assess the parameters of wells and gas reservoirs,such as original gas-in-place,fracture half-length,reservoir permeability,and well drainage radius.This facilitates the analysis of production dynamics of fractured wells and well-controlled areas,subsequently aiding in locating residual gas and guiding the configuration of well patterns.The specific evaluation processes are detailed.Additionally,a numerical simulation mechanism model was constructed to verify the reliability of the developed methods.The methods introduced have been successfully implemented in field water-producing gas wells within tight gas reservoirs containing mobile water.

MODFLOW-CFPv2 模型在岩溶隧道突涌水及对地下水环境影响中的应用: 以云南鹤庆锰矿沟岩溶水系统为例

滇中地区构造复杂、岩溶发育,隧洞突涌水及泉流量衰减是隧洞施工过程中最棘手的问题之一。锰矿沟岩溶水系统岩溶管道化程度高,岩溶裂隙与岩溶管道2种含水介质差异显著。采用MODFLOW-CFPv2双重介质数值模型对锰矿沟岩溶水系统展开数值模拟研究,精细刻画岩溶管道与引水隧洞,进而掌握隧洞施工对地下水流场影响以及泉流量变化的规律。结果表明:(1)MODFLOW-CFPv2模型能够刻画岩溶地区复杂的地质结构,较好地模拟研究区地下水位的动态特征和岩溶泉流量响应特征。(2)在强排工况下隧洞单位长度最大涌水量为164 m^(3)/(d·m),单位长度稳定涌水量为69 m^(3)/(d·m),锰矿沟岩溶泉流量也出现显著下降的趋势,在模拟期内平均泉流量从天然条件下1578 L/s下降至1098 L/s,总体减少了30.4%;峰值泉流量从2133 L/s下降至1375 L/s,减少了35.5%,强排工况施工会对隧洞工程施工和地下水环境造成显著影响;限排工况下隧洞单位长度最大涌水量为39 m^(3)/(d·m),单位长度稳定涌水量为24 m^(3)/(d·m),隧洞单位长度涌水量显著降低,锰矿沟岩溶泉流量的下降趋势也得到了一定程度的改善,模拟期内平均泉流量降低至1284 L/s,减少了18.6%,峰值泉流量降低至1617 L/s,减少了22.1%。采用的MODFLOW-CFPv2双重介质模型具有较精确刻画岩溶区管道、溶洞、裂隙共存的高度非均质岩溶水系统的能力,能够定量评价香炉山隧洞施工对锰矿沟岩溶水系统地下水流场及泉流量的影响,为香炉山隧洞工程的突涌水灾害防治提供参考依据,也为岩溶地区复杂地质条件下地下水研究提供借鉴经验。

基于Flowmaster的发动机滑油供油系统流量压力换热特性建模与仿真

为了分析滑油从滑油泵组流经燃滑油散热器、喷嘴至轴承腔内的流动换热特性,基于Flowmaster流体系统仿真平台,以发动机滑油供油系统为研究对象,通过各支点喷嘴模型建立及仿真计算,验证喷嘴设计符合性。根据燃滑油散热器结构特点,计算流阻和换热特性,建立仿真计算模型,验证散热器流阻特性及换热性能;建立滑油供油系统模型,仿真计算轴承腔、附件机匣、转接齿轮箱等处供油流量、供油压力及供油温度,分析评估系统流量压力换热特性,支撑滑油系统正向设计。

Flow behavior and microstructure of ZK60 magnesium alloy compressed at high strain rate

Flow behavior and microstructure of a homogenized ZK60 magnesium alloy were investigated during compression in the temperature range of 250-400 ℃ and the strain rate range of 0.1-50 s^-1. The results showed that dynamic recrystallization （DRX） developed mainly at grain boundaries at lower strain rate （0.1-1 s^-1）, while in the case of higher strain rate （10-50 s^-1）, DRX occurred extensively both at twins and grain boundaries at all temperature range, especially at temperature lower than 350 ℃, which resulted in a more homogeneous microstructure than that under other deformation conditions. The DRX extent determines the hot workability of the workpiece, therefore, hot deformation at the strain rate of 10-50 s^-1 and in the temperature range of 250-350 ℃ was desirable for ZK60 alloy. Twin induced DRX during high strain rate compression included three steps. Firstly, twins with high dislocation subdivided the initial grain, then dislocation arrays subdivided the twins into subgrains, and after that DRX took place with a further increase of strain.

A study of hydrate plug formation in a subsea natural gas pipeline using a novel high-pressure flow loop

The natural gas pipeline from Platform QKI8-1 in the southwest of Bohai Bay to the onshore processing facility is a subsea wet gas pipeline exposed to high pressure and low temperature for a long distance. Blockages in the pipeline occur occasionally. To maintain the natural gas flow in the pipeline, we proposed a method for analyzing blockages and ascribed them to the hydrate formation and agglomeration. A new high-pressure flow loop was developed to investigate hydrate plug formation and hydrate particle size, using a mixture of diesel oil, water, and natural gas as experimental fluids. The influences of pressure and initial flow rate were also studied. Experimental results indicated that when the flow rate was below 850 kg/h, gas hydrates would form and then plug the pipeline, even at a low water content （10%） of a water/oil emulsion. Furthermore, some practical suggestions were made for daily management of the subsea pipeline.

Numerical Simulation of Gas-Liquid Flow in a Stirred Tank with a Rushton Impeller

The gas-liquid flow field in a stirred tank with a Rushton diskturbine, including the impeller region, was numerically simulatedusing the improved inner-outer iterative procedure. Thecharacteristic features of the stirred tank, such as gas cavity andaccumulation of gas at the two sides of wall baffles, can be capturedby the simulation. The simulated results agree well with availableexperimental data. Since the improved inner-outer iterative algorithmdemands on empirical formula and experimental data for the impellerregion, and the approach seems generally applicable for simulatinggas-liquid stirred tanks.

Design and Experimental Analyses of Small-flow High-head Centrifugal-vortex Pump for Gas-Liquid Two-phase Mixture

The design method of small-flow high-head centrifugal-vortex pump was presented. This pump, configured with inducer, complex-centrifugal impeller and open-vortex impeller, was put forward to deliver gas-liquid two-phase mixture. An HTB-5/60 type sample pump was developed and tested on a closed-loop test rig. Experimental studies on performance and cavitation tests for gas-liquid two-phase mixture were carried out compared with pure-water experimental results. Also the effect of gas phase on pump was analyzed and discussed. The experimental results show that performance and cavitation characteristics of the sample purnp deteriorates progressively with increasing volume fraction of gas. When the total capacity Qm is between 4.5 m^3·h^-1 and 6 m^3·h^-1 and the gas flow rate qg below 0.66 m^3·h^-1, or qg/Qm is lower than 15%, the characteristic curves are approximately parallel to those in pure water test, but the performance deteriorates sharply until an abrupt flow-cutting at a critical volume fraction of gas. This pump is found suitable for transporting gas-liquid two-phase mixture when working around rated capacity of 5 m^3·h^-1 with qglQm below 15%.

Flow Regime Identification of Gas-liquid Two-phase Flow Based on HHT

A new method to identify flow regime in two-phase flow was presented, based on signal processing of differential pressure using Hilbert Huang transform （HHT）. Signals obtained from a Venturi meter were decomposed into different intrinsic mode functions （IMFs） with HHT, then the energy fraction of each intrinsic mode and the mean value of residual function were calculated, from which the rules of flow regime identification were summarized. Experiments were carried out on two-phase flow in the horizontal tubes with 50mm and 40mm inner diameter, while water flowrate was in the range of 1.3m^3.h^-1 to 10.5m^3.h^-1, oil flowrate was from 4.2m^3.h^-1 to 7.0m^3.h^-1 and gas flowrate from 0 to 15m^3.h^-1. The results show that the proposed rules have high precision for single phase, bubbly, and slug, plug flow regirne identification, which are independent of not only properties of two-phase fluid. In addition, the method can meet the need of industrial application because of its simple calculation.

Experimental Investigation of Vibration Response of A Free-Hanging Flexible Riser Induced by Internal Gas-Liquid Slug Flow

The vibration response of a free-hanging flexible riser induced by internal gas-liquid slug flow was studied experimentally in a small-diameter tube model based on Froude number criterion. The flow regime in a curved riser model and the response displacements of the riser were simultaneously recorded by high speed cameras. The gas superficial velocity ranges from 0.1 m/s to 0.6 m/s while the liquid superficial velocity from 0.06 m/s to 0.3 m/s.Severe slugging type 3, unstable oscillation flow and relatively stable slug flow were observed in the considered flow rates. Severe slugging type 3 characterized by premature gas penetration occurs at relatively low flow rates. Both the cycle time and slug length become shorter as the gas flow rate increases. The pressure at the riser base undergoes a longer period and larger amplitude of fluctuation as compared with the other two flow regimes. Additionally, severe slugging leads to the most vigorous in-plane vibration. However, the responses in the vertical and horizontal directions are not synchronized. The vertical vibration is dominated by the second mode while the horizontal vibration is dominated by the first mode. Similar to the vortex-induced vibration, three branches are identified as initial branch, build-up branch and descending branch for the response versus the mixture velocity of gas-liquid flow.