Mist Flow Research Articles

Investigating of vibration and noise characteristics in two-phase gas-liquid flow through a spiral capillary tube

The vaporization of refrigerant in the liquid-phase in spiral capillary tube induces complex two-phase flow that causes vibrations and noise, which affect the performance and stability of refrigeration systems. Therefore, the flow patterns, vibrations, flow-borne and structure-borne noises in spiral capillary tube are explored, and the effects of coil diameters, pitches and temperatures are analyzed. The results showed that the flow upstream the vaporization point was dominant by liquid-phase, then changed to bubbly flow downstream the vaporization point under various structures, and further changed to mist flow near the outlet, while it changed to gas-phase flow near the outlet under high temperature. The flow-borne noise was mainly affected by the flow turbulence, and the total sound pressure level (TSPL) increased by 17.1 % on average as the temperature increased from 309.6 to 317.6 K, and rose with the increase in pitch. As the coil diameter increased, the TSPL first increased and then decreased. Moreover, the maximum deformation of structure increased by 58.33 % as the diameter increased from 35 to 50 mm, but changed little with various pitches. The changing trends of vibration intensity caused the similar variations of structure-borne noise. The TSPL of structure-borne noise increased by 9.14 % with the diameter increasing from 35 to 50 mm, but it changed little at various pitches. The TSPL of structure-borne noise was much higher than flow-borne noise, which meant that improving the structural vibration can control the noise of refrigerant flow in spiral capillary tube.

PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF AISI 4340 HARDENED STEEL IN DUAL JET MQL TURNING SYSTEM: A COMPARISON STUDY BETWEEN CVD AND PVD-COATED CARBIDE TOOLS

The hard part turning process used to finish the cylindrical surfaces has some critical machining responses like tool wear with the lower quality of the machined surfaces. Minimum quantity lubrication (MQL)-based machining environment is currently considered an advanced cooling and lubrication technique. Cutting speed, feed rate, and cutting depth are considered input parameters, and the TaguchiL27 orthogonal array (OA) has been adopted as the design of the experiment. In this context, average surface roughness ([Formula: see text]), tool flank wear (VBc), cutting temperature ([Formula: see text]C), and chip morphology have been selected as measured outputs. To improve the machining performance of hardened steel, a sustainable MQL ([Formula: see text] directions) cooling system has been employed at the cutting zone. Iron–aluminum LRT 30 was considered as the base fluid for the hard turning of AISI 4340 steel by PVD (AlTiN) and CVD (TiN/TiCN/Al2O3) coating cutting inserts. The primary effects of process parameters and their influences on the measured outputs have been discussed. The dual jet MQL-based hard turning was performed at three levels of cutting speeds (80, 170, and 260[Formula: see text]m/min), feed rate (0.5, 0.1, and 0.15[Formula: see text]mm/rev), and cutting depth (0.2, 0.3, and 0.4[Formula: see text]mm) with an air pressure of 5[Formula: see text]bar and mist flow rate 50[Formula: see text]ml/h. The findings showed that PVD-coated carbide tools outperformed CVD-coated tools. The model of the measured outputs of both tools has been developed using second-order regression analysis. Utilizing ANOVA analysis, all the predictive models were observed to be significant and acceptable with larger than 90% of [Formula: see text] value.

Relationship of flow pattern, vibration, and noise in automobile refrigerant system and flow pattern identification based on convolutional neural network

In recent years, the flow-induced vibration and noise in automotive refrigerant system gradually become the main factor affecting driving comfort. However, the relationship of flow pattern, vibration, and noise is not clear, and pattern identification is not easy but necessary. In this paper, a series of experiments are conducted to investigate the relationship of flow pattern, flow-induce vibration, and noise near the thermal expansion valve in an automobile refrigerant system. The flow pattern, vibration, and noise are closely related to startup processes. Mist flow, which contains more mist two-phase mixture than transition flow and wispy-annular flow, leads to the largest amplitude of vibration and strong broadband hiss noise. Moreover, the increase in compressor speed promotes the pattern transition and the vibration amplitude in time domain but has no effect on the distribution of vibration peaks in frequency spectrum. Finally, a short-time Fourier transform and convolutional neural network combined method for flow pattern identification is developed based on the relationship of flow pattern and flow-induced noise. After using transfer learning and data augmentation, four trained network architectures show relatively high accuracy above 94% for test set. Among them, ResNet34 not only has the highest accuracy of 98.8% but also can recognize each type of flow pattern. The generalization of this method can help engineers to recognize flow patterns in air conditioning without flow visualization but only need to measure sound signals.

OpenFOAM simulations for development of a mist flow diverter in aerosol jet printing

OpenFOAM simulations for development of a mist flow diverter in aerosol jet printing

Chemical weed control in direct-seeded rice using drone and mist flow spray technology

Weeds are the primary pest that reduces crop yield. Herbicide-based weed control is an efficient strategy for farmers, offering economically feasible weed management for agricultural crop production. The effectiveness of agrochemicals relies on the correct calibration and exact calculations of the rates needed per unit area, uniform distribution over treated surface and spraying conditions. The current investigation aims to investigate the efficacy of selected herbicides for weed control using drones. A field experiment was carried out in a commercial plot in Sungai Besar, Sabak Bernam Selangor, from September to December 2022 and April to July 2023 to assess the effectiveness of using drones to apply herbicides in direct-seeded rice. The main goal was to assess the effectiveness of Rinskor (Loyant), Rinskor + Cyhalofop (Novlect), Cyhalofop (Clincher), Bispyribac (Nominee), and Propanil (Stam 80WG) herbicides in suppressing weeds in direct-seeded rice using drone and mist blower sprayers, as well as their operational efficiency. The experimental plot was arranged using a randomized complete block design with three replications. The results of the experiments recorded the toxicity of the herbicides on rice at early stage but rice plant was recovered at 21 days after spray. High grain yield components were recorded for the Novlect and Loyant treated plots. The density and dry weight of grasses, sedges, and broad-leaved weeds were considerably reduced when the herbicides were applied using mist blowers and drones. Nominee showed the lowest weed control efficiency compared to other applied herbicides in both seasons. Results showed that compared to the mist blower application, applying Novlect via drone is more successful for timely weed control in direct-seeded rice, which in turn reduces labor intensity and hardship.

The effect of swirling shear blade on gas-liquid flow pattern and mass transfer performance in Venturi injector

To address the challenge of low mass transfer efficiency of gas-liquid reaction in traditional reactors, this study proposes a new method to improve the gas-liquid mass transfer efficiency by integrating swirl shear blades (SSB) into Venturi injectors. The gas-liquid flow patterns in the mixing and diffusion sections between the Swirl Venturi Injector (SVI) and the Traditional Venturi Injector (TVI) was compared, and it was found that the SSB significantly reduced the proportion of annular flow while increased the proportion of mist flow. The enhancement factor αE and the acceleration factor αA are applied to evaluate the mass transfer performance. Compared to TVI, the maximum αA of SVI was 29%, and the maximum αE was 43%. This work shows great potential in efficiently capturing gas components with low solubility in the liquid phase, thereby helping to achieve the goal of green chemical engineering.

Spray mist-assisted drilling of through silicon vias (TSV) using nanosecond laser: Influence of CNT nanofluid

Through Silicon Vias (TSV) are crucial in semiconductor technology for vertically connecting multiple stacks in 3D packaging. High aspect ratio, smooth and slightly tapered TSVs enhance layout efficiency and void-free filling. Being contact-less and dry-etching process, laser machining is a promising technique to fabricate TSVs. A percussion laser drilling approach was used to fabricate TSVs on a 500 μm thick silicon wafer with a 1064 nm ns laser. Four environments such as air, compressed air jet, water mist, carbon nanotube (CNT) fluid mist were employed to assess laser machining effects on TSV performance in terms of entrance and exit diameters, recast layer, side wall damage, and taper angle. Optimized process parameters (laser pulse energy and pulse number) were derived from an ANN prediction model. Laser drilling under CNT mist produced relatively circular (entrance diameter), straight, and clean TSVs. Reduced debris redeposition was observed under air jet, water mist, and CNT mist compared to air. Minimal sidewall damage occurred under water mist and CNT mist as compared to those machined in air and air jet. CNT mist yielded TSVs with less recast layer (∼7 μm), taper angle (∼1.05 deg.), and heat affected zone (HAZ) thickness (∼50 μm). Enhanced machining quality may be attributed to increased thermal conductivity of CNT nanofluid and pressurized mist flow rate, improving cooling and debris removal. Furthermore, a detailed investigation of TSV using SEM was performed and the findings were compared to those of other research groups.

Experimental research on the transformation of gas-oil two-phase flow pattern in large vertical annulus

Criteria for gas-oil two-phase flow transformation are essential guidelines that are used as auxiliary equations for the calculation of two-phase flows in gas-oil based drilling fluids within wellbores. The currently used flow pattern transformation criteria, which are based on gas-water two-phase flow experiments in circular pipes or small annuli, have limited applicability when calculating the gas-liquid two-phase flows in oil-based drilling fluids. In this study, experiments were carried out on the transformation of gas-oil two-phase flow patterns in a large annulus (φ100 mm × φ60 mm × 12 m) under different viscosities (16–39 mPa s). The flow characteristics of gas-liquid two-phase flows were measured using electrical capacitance volume tomography (ECVT) at different superficial gas-liquid velocities. It was found that as the liquid phase viscosity increased, the slug flow area gradually expanded, and the superficial gas velocity at which the annular mist flow appeared decreased. When the superficial Reynolds number of the liquid phase exceeded the critical value (approximately 135), the slug flow no longer appeared in the wellbore, and the bubble flow was directly transformed into the churn flow. Based on the results of the dimensionless analysis in the experiments, the criteria for flow-type transitions among different flow patterns were established by considering the influence of the liquid-phase viscosity. Both the average relative errors between the predicted and experimental values of the superficial gas velocity during the bubble-slug, bubble-churn, slug-churn, and churn-annular transitions, at the same superficial liquid velocities, were less than 3.5, 4.5, 3, and 7%, respectively.

Efficient removal of oil mist via triboelectric negative air ions

Oil mist poses a long-term threat to both the environment and human health, and the high stability of fine oil mist particles makes them difficult to remove efficiently using traditional methods. This study reports on a strategy for the efficient removal of oil mist based on triboelectric negative air ions (TENAIs), delving into the charging and migration characteristics of the air/oil mist system during the oil mist removal process by TENAI. It was found that TENAIs could charge oil mist particles, causing the oil droplets to accelerate or change direction. During this process, submicron oil droplets coalesce into larger droplets, which are then efficiently removed under the coupled action of gravity and electric field forces. Experimental results indicate that the addition of the triboelectric negative air ion system increased the velocity of the oil mist flow field by 15–20 times, and the removal efficiency was enhanced by 280%. This study reveals the microscopic mechanism by which negative air ions promote rapid aggregation and settling of particles, providing a scientific basis for the efficient and sustainable management of oil mist.

Experimental analysis of subcooled flow boiling in a microchannel evaporator of a pumped two-phase loop

High-power electronics exceed the heat dissipation capability of conventional air or liquid-based forced convection cooling systems. A pumped two-phase loop (P2PL) utilizing phase change heat transfer can effectively transport and dissipate high heat fluxes generated from the electronics at very small thermal resistance while consuming negligible pumping power. Existing research primarily focuses on standalone evaporators with fixed boundary conditions, neglecting the interactions between the evaporator and other components within the P2PL. This knowledge gap hinders the comprehensive understanding of system performance. To address this need, an experimental study was conducted to examine subcooled flow boiling in a microchannel evaporator of P2PL using R-134a. The parameters used for the investigation are evaporator heat input, mass flux, chiller loop inlet temperature, and fluid charge ratio. Additionally, flow visualization through a sight glass tube at the evaporator outlet was used to identify the two-phase flow regimes, namely – the onset of nucleate boiling, bubbly, slug, stratified, annular, and mist flow. The dominant flow boiling mechanisms and its transitions in the microchannel were identified based on the varying slopes of the boiling curves. The dynamic responses were additionally utilized to differentiate between single-phase and two-phase flows as well as to identify the propagation of dryout in the microchannel evaporator. The study further revealed that for a constant wall superheat, within the convective boiling dominant regime, the heat transfer rate in the evaporator exhibits an increase with the mass flow rate. In contrast, in the nucleate boiling dominant regime, the heat transfer rate remains unaffected by the mass flow rate. Furthermore, it was found that as the fluid charge ratio increases, the heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop in the evaporator decreases.

CFD modelling of flashing flows for nuclear safety analysis: possibilities and challenges

Abstract Because of its relevance for the safety analysis of pressurized water reactors (PWR), many research activities on flashing flows in pipes and nozzles arose from the mid of last century. Most of them have been focused on the critical mass flow rate and transient pressure or temperature fluctuations by means of experiments and system codes. Since the beginning of this century, owing to the increase in computer speed and capacity, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is being used more and more in the investigation of flashing flows, which has the advantage of providing three-dimensional insights in the internal flow structure as well as its evolution. This work presents an overview of relevant flashing scenarios in the nuclear safety analysis, and focuses on the discussion about possibilities and challenges of using CFD modelling. It is shown that a two-fluid model with the thermal phase-change model is superior to a mixture model with pressure phase-change, relaxation and equilibrium models, respectively, in terms of interfacial mass transfer, however, efforts are still required to improve the interphase heat-transfer model. Furthermore, since flashing is accompanied with high void fraction and broad bubble size ranges, a poly-disperse two-fluid model is recommended, but the effect of phase change on bubble coalescence and breakup needs further research. In addition, during flashing the flow pattern may change from single phase to bubbly flow, churn flow, annular flow, and even mist flow. The rapid change of interfacial topology as well as its influence on the applicability of closure models remains a challenge.

Two-phase flow characteristics of cryogenic propellant in filling the head cavity of liquid rocket engine

The filling of the head cavity downstream of the valve with liquid oxygen in a cryogenic rocket engine is a crucial stage in ignition. The work presented here intends to study the two-phase flow characteristics in the head cavity through visualization experiments and simulations, which are carried out using liquid nitrogen as the substitution fluid. The geometry used comes from the scaling of the actual head cavity in the engine. The temperature of liquid nitrogen (TLN2,s) supplied for the head cavity is higher than the saturation temperature in the head cavity (Tsat,c) with room pressure as the initial state, which is proved in the pro-cooling pipeline upstream of the valve before the filling process. Flash boiling is inevitable due to the sudden drop in pressure after the valve is opened. Then, the pressure in the head cavity rises in two steps. The production of gaseous nitrogen leads to the first step, and the mist flow is visualized because liquid nitrogen is broken up and carried by gaseous nitrogen in the form of droplets. The increase in the content of liquid nitrogen in the head cavity causes the second step, and the bubbly flow occurs as the gaseous nitrogen is dispersed as small bubbles in the continuous liquid nitrogen. The transition from mist flow to bubbly flow is led by the decrease in the superheat of liquid nitrogen (ΔT = TLN2,s- Tsat,c). The transition occurs at ΔT = 4 K ∼ 5 K and the minimum achievable superheat is 1.3 K when the mass flow rate of liquid nitrogen supplied is 5.4 kg/s ∼ 6.9 kg/s. Furthermore, the gas nitrogen content in the head cavity is mainly determined in the first step of the pressure rise. Reducing the temperature of liquid nitrogen supplied can weaken the flash boiling, and increase the content of liquid nitrogen in the head cavity.

Mechanisms of enhanced heat transfer of piston oscillating cooling in a heavy-duty diesel engine

The thermal load and reliability of pistons become major concerns with the increase of power density of internal combustion engines. The oscillating cooling technology is often adopted to enhance the heat transfer of pistons in heavy-duty diesel engines. To understand the heat transfer mechanisms, this study developed an optical oscillating cooling piston based on a real heavy-duty engine. The characteristics of two-phase oscillating flows were optically observed under different conditions. As engine speed increased from 100 to 700 r/min or oil supply pressure decreased from 0.2 to 0.8 bar, the oscillation intensity of the two-phase flow gradually increased and the oscillating flow pattern developed from slug to intermittent mist flow. Furthermore, computational fluid dynamics simulations were performed to analyze the heat transfer mechanisms of oscillating cooling and optimize the structure of the piston. The results showed that the heat transfer coefficient of oscillating cooling can be decomposed into three components, namely conventional flow, oscillation enhanced and jet flushing parts. The conventional flow part accounts for the largest proportion of the total heat transfer coefficient, whose value is positively correlated with oil flow rate. The oscillation enhanced part is optimal when the oil filling rate is between 40 % and 60 %. The jet flushing part can lead to a higher temperature gradient in the outer cooling gallery and thus increased thermal stress. The cooling capacities of inner and outer galleries are mainly influenced by the diameters of the oil outlet and distributor pipes, respectively. The jet flushing part can be controlled by changing the inclination angle of the distributor pipe. Finally, optimization achieved an improvement of 8.3 % in cooling capacity of inner cooling gallery and a reduction of 27.5 % of heat dissipation inhomogeneity in the piston.

Improved heteroepitaxy of κ-Ga2O3 on c-plane sapphire by initial mist flow stabilization during mist chemical vapor deposition

Kappa-phase gallium oxide (κ-Ga2O3) is a metastable gallium oxide polymorph and an ultrawide bandgap semiconductor with potential applications in various electronic and optoelectronic devices. In this study, we present the effect of mist flow stabilization during the initial stages of mist chemical vapor deposition process on the crystal quality of heteroepitaxial thin films of κ-Ga2O3 grown on c-plane sapphire. Two κ-Ga2O3 films were grown using the same growth parameters with the only differing factor being the stabilization of the initial mist flow. Structural and optical properties of the films were characterized. Both processes resulted in epitaxial growth; however, controlling the initial mist flow leads to an improved Ga2O3/Al2O3 interface and superior crystal quality. The film grown with regulated mist flow exhibited an optical bandgap of 4.93 eV, a smooth surface with a root mean square roughness of 1.56 nm and a rocking curve full-width half-maximum value of 0.17°. Also, Ti/Au deposition on κ-Ga2O3 resulted in an interface resembling that of β-Ga2O3 and Ti/Au, explaining previous reports of ohmic behavior between κ-Ga2O3 and Ti/Au contacts.

Openfoam Simulations for Development of a Mist Flow Diverter in Aerosol Jet Printing

The Aerosol Jet® (AJ) direct-write technology enables material deposition for producing micron-scale fine features on various substrates with almost arbitrary geometry, which is of particular interest in manufacturing 3D conformal electronics among other applications. It operates by delivering an aerosol mist stream consisting of micron-size “ink” droplets, through an aerodynamic focusing nozzle with co-flowing sheath gas in a tapered channel, to the substrate several millimetres away with an impinging jet flow [1]. The ink pattern produced with AJ printing is essentially controlled in a “vector drawing mode” by the relative motion of the substrate with respect to the deposition nozzle. When a constant mist flow rate is fed into the deposition head, a mechanism for stopping the mist flow toward substrate must be implemented to prevent ink deposition in places where ink is undesired along the substrate moving toolpath. In other words, the mist stream toward substrate needs to be switched off at the time when the places of substrate where ink deposition is unwanted are moved under the AJ deposition nozzle, and to be switched on at the time when ink deposition is wanted. For the mist flow toward substrate, it can be considered as a function of time with on or off at certain time points. Here we describe a vacuum-boost diverter for rapid mist flow on-and-off switching in AJ printing, with OpenFOAM® simulations to aid its development and to offer fundamental understanding of its operational behaviour.

Joint OH-PLIF and Mie scattering imaging of enhanced water mist suppression of buoyant fires

This study presents the first near-field measurements of interactions between reaction layers and water mist droplets suppressing a buoyant turbulent diffusion flame that is representative of a fire. Joint Mie scattering and OH-PLIF are employed at a high repetition rate of 400 Hz to image the droplet field and OH structure, which are deemed here to approximate the high-temperature reaction zone. Compressed natural gas (CNG) buoyant diffusion flames are stabilised on the Sydney Turbulent Buoyant Fire Burner, which is surrounded by a low-velocity air co-flow that is seeded with fine water mist droplets (d32 ∼ 50 µm). The water mist is doped with varying concentrations of metal alkali salts (NaHCO3, KHCO3) that release radical scavenging molecules, providing enhanced suppression capabilities through chemical inhibition in addition to the quenching effect from the water droplets. The spray boundary condition across the wind tunnel exit plane is quantified using Phase Doppler Interferometry. Flame extinction limits are measured by defining the critical condition at which the flame destabilises and lifts off the burner exit plane. A stability map is developed to quantify suppression efficacy in terms of the water mist flow rate and inhibitor concentration. Joint Mie-OH images of selected cases at varying extinction levels show that the addition of inhibitor introduces frequent breakages in the OH layers, marking regions of local extinction and reignition. Large mass fractions of inhibitor in the water, which, once evaporated, produces excess salt crystals in the local extinction zones that causes streaks of salt clouds that line both the lean and rich side of the flame. The chemical scavenging effects of the OH radical by NaHCO3 and KHCO3 is quantified by evaluating the reduction of the mean OH fluorescence signal in the flame at varying locations. Probability density functions for the OH area characterise local extinction in the flame due to the radical scavengers. The order of OH radical depletion and localised extinction in the flame due to the water mist follows: KHCO3 > NaHCO3 > H2O.

Experimental study and modeling of water film thickness in aero-engine under air–water mist flow

The water film not only plays an important role in the mass, momentum, and energy transfer between the air–water-surface but also determines the on-wing washing effect of the aero-engine. In view of this, air–water mist flow visualization experiments have been conducted at different gas velocities and water-to-air ratios in a compressor cascade, and the microscopic water film images have been analyzed to extract the transient water film thickness data by the Matlab code. It was found that the transient water film thickness fluctuation has no obvious association with the gas velocity, and the water film fluctuation is more affected by the water-to-air ratio. As the water-to-air ratio increases, the fluctuation magnitude of the water film thickness increases. The average water film thickness has been studied in relation to gas velocity and water flow rate, i.e., the average thickness of water film decreases with increasing gas velocity and increase with the increasing water flow rate. On the basis of the water film flow equation and taking the droplet collection efficiency into account, i.e., from the perspective of the physical mechanism of water film formed, a new model for predicting the water film thickness of a compressor blade surface under the air–water mist flow condition was proposed and validated. This model predicted, with a root mean square error and the mean absolute percentage error of 11.6% and 9.15%, respectively, under the present experimental flow conditions.

Simulation of the Asphaltene Deposition Rate in Oil Wells under Different Multiphase Flow Condition

As the wellbore pressure falls below the bubble point pressure, the light components in the oil phase are liberated, forming additional vapor, and the single-phase flow becomes a gas–liquid two-phase flow. However, most studies simplify the multiphase flow to a single-phase flow to study asphaltene deposition in wellbores. This assumption under multiphase conditions may lead to inaccurate prediction results and a substantial economic and operational burden for the oil and gas industry. Therefore, it is crucial to predict the deposition rate of asphaltene in a multiphase flow to assist in minimizing this issue. To do so, the volume of fluid coupling level-set (VOSET) model was used to obtain the flow pattern (bubble, slug, churn, and annular) in the current work. In the next step, the VOSET + k-ε turbulent + DPM models were used to simulate asphaltene deposition in a multiphase flow. Finally, the effects of different parameters, such as the gas superficial velocity, liquid superficial velocity, particle diameter, interfacial tension, viscosity, and average deposition rate, were investigated. The findings revealed that the maximum average deposition rate of asphaltene particles in a bubble flow is 1.35, 1.62, and 2 times that of a slug flow, churning flow, and annular mist flow, respectively. As the apparent velocity of the gas phase escalates from 0.5 m/s to 4 m/s, the average deposition rate experiences an increase of 82%. Similarly, when the apparent velocity of the liquid phase rises from 1 m/s to 5 m/s, the average deposition rate is amplified by a factor of 2.1. An increase in particle diameter from 50 μm to 400 μm results in a 27% increase in the average deposition rate. When the oil–gas interfacial tension is augmented from 0.02 n/m to 0.1 n/m, the average deposition rate witnesses an 18% increase. Furthermore, an increase in crude oil viscosity from 0.012 mPa·s to 0.06 mPa·s leads to a 34% increase in the average deposition rate. These research outcomes contribute to a deeper understanding of the asphaltene deposition problem under multiphase flow conditions and offer fresh perspectives on the asphaltene deposition issue in the oil and gas industry.

On falling film evaporator – A review of mechanisms and critical assessment of correlation on a horizontal tube bundle with updated development

Optimization of the energy efficiency and reduction of the greenhouse gas emission for the heat pump system is imperative to meet the net-zero goals at 2050. Chillers with falling film evaporator design not only possess better system performance but also contain less refrigerant inventory. Hence, accurate prediction of the evaporator performance is pivotal especially when charged with low-GWP refrigerant. The present study reviews the correlations for falling film evaporator with a horizontal tube bundle configuration. The major efforts of this study include four tasks: (a) literature review of the experimental studies and available empirical correlations; (b) comprehensive discussion of the falling film evaporation heat transfer mechanism; (c) development of a new rationally based correlation based on available literature; and (d) comparison of different correlations based on the existing data. The collected data includes 4114 data points from 8 sources, 6 refrigerants (R-600a, R-290, R-245fa, R-134a, R-1234ze(E), R-123), 5 types of the tubes (Plain, Turbo-GII-HP, GEWA-B, Low-fin, High-Flux), liquid Weber number from 2.2 × 10−6 to 0.7, imposed vapor Weber number from 0 to 37.2, heat flux from 2.5 to 151.5 kW/m2, and film Reynolds number from 1 to 3159.8. The new correlation gives a MAD of 28.3%, and an R2 of 0.86. Yet, the developed correlation considers various heat transfer mechanisms, including the transition point from falling film evaporation to the nucleate boiling, local evaporation, dry-out, mist flow, imposed flow, and enhanced tube effects.

Experimental investigation on droplet evolutions in co-flow around the bluff body

Annular mist flow widely exists in natural gas and other engineering fields. Vortex flowmeter has gradually become an effective means of wet gas measurement. However, the droplets in the flow field will influence the stability of the vortex. In this paper, the interaction between droplets and vortex was studied by experiments. A novel in-focus criterion was proposed to improve the accuracy of droplet measurement. Simultaneous acquisition of droplet size, velocity, and concentration was achieved. The spatial evolution of droplet parameters was obtained to determine the position where the droplets were evenly distributed. The bidirectional coupling mechanism between droplets and vortex was studied. Firstly, the influence of the vortex flow field on droplets was reflected by the characteristics of droplet distribution around the bluff body. Secondly, the effect of droplets on the vortex signal in the flow field was analyzed based on Stokes number Stp and liquid-phase load φl. When φl < 0.03, the probability distribution of droplet velocity downstream of the bluff body presents double peaks. The exchange momentum between the small droplets and the vortex is stronger, and vice versa for the larger droplets. Finally, the quality factor of vortex signals decreases from -2.09 to -2.18 with the increase in the volume concentration of droplets. It is further demonstrated that the increase in volume concentration of droplets will destroy the vortex structure and degrade the quality of the vortex signal.