Flow Characteristics of Centrifugal Gas-Liquid Separator (Investigation with Air-Water Two-Phase Flow Experiment)

Abstract

Air water two phase flow experiment was conducted to examine the basic flow characteristics of a centrifugal gas liquid separator. Vertical transparent test section, which is 4 m in height, was used to imitate the scale of a BWR separator. Flow rate conditions of gas and liquid were fixed at 0.1 m3/s and 0.033 m3/s, respectively. Radial distributions of two-phase flow characteristics, such as void fraction, gas velocity and bubble chord length, were measured by traversing dual optical void probes in the test section, horizontally. The flow in the standpipe reached to quasi-developed state within the height to diameter aspect ratio H/D=10, which in turn can mean the maximum value for an ideal height design of a standpipe. The liquid film in the barrel showed a maximum thickness at 0.5 to 1 m in height from the swirler exit, which was a common result for three different standpipe length conditions, qualitatively and quantitatively. The empirical database obtained in this study would contribute practically to the validation of numerical analyses for an actual separator in a plant, and would also be academically useful for further investigations of two-phase flow in large-diameter pipes.