Experimental investigation of horizontal gas-liquid swirling flow characteristics using dual wire-mesh sensors

Abstract

Swirling flow is widely used in power engineering, petroleum production, and the energy and power industry, which can provide the centrifugal force on the fluid in the pipeline, resulting in a modification of phase distribution. Understanding the details of swirling flow specific features is essential for better application of swirling flow. The test section consists of a 32 mm inner diameter pipe with a swirler, whose pitch is 40 mm. A couple of 16 × 16 dual wire-mesh sensors (WMS) were employed to distinguish the non-swirling and swirling flow, with one sensor arranged 300 mm before the swirler and another one at 48 mm after the swirler. The gas superficial velocities were within the scope of 3.456 m/s-20.734 m/s, and the liquid superficial velocities varied from 0.035 m/s to 0.415 m/s, which covered stratified flow, slug flow, and annular flow. The 3-D reconstruction of the gas-liquid distribution was performed to reveal the detailed information of flow patterns on both sides of the swirler. The conclusions point out that flow characteristics are significantly altered after the swirler. The swirler can enhance the liquid-carrying capacity of the gas when the inlet void fraction is greater than 77.9%. The distribution of the radial void fraction is similar under the action of the swirler. Interestingly, the probability density functions (PDFs) of the downstream void fraction of slug flow are all bimodal, which is no longer limited by the gas velocity. These findings can provide new insight into the application of swirling flow.