In-lab X-ray particle velocimetry for multiphase flows: Design principles and demonstration of O(1 kHz) XPV

Abstract

We combine X-ray-specific tracer particles, a photon counting detector, and a liquid metal jet anode X-ray source to achieve O(1 kHz) X-ray imaging speeds in the laboratory, 15× faster than previous comparable studies with O(50 μm) tracers. To examine the limits of this measurement technique we conduct three experiments: 2D and 3D X-ray particle velocimetry (XPV) of Poiseuille pipe flow, 3D XPV of flow around a Taylor bubble, and 3D scalar mixing with a laminar jet. These experiments demonstrate the performance improvement achievable by combining the aforementioned elements, the applicability to multiphase flows and deforming systems, and the potential to capture scalar and vector quantities simultaneously. Most importantly, these experiments are conducted with a laboratory-scale system, showing that in-lab X-ray particle velocimetry techniques are now becoming usable for a wider range of flows of interest. Furthermore, the design of XPV experiments is discussed to clarify the trade offs between achievable imaging speed, domain size and spatiotemporal resolution.