Experimental Study on Flow Patterns and Pressure Drop of Decaying Swirling Gas-Liquid Flow in a Vertical Pipe

Abstract

Vertical swirling gas-liquid flow is a kind of complex two-phase flow containing a nonzero tangential velocity component in engineering applications. The accurate flow regime characterization, phase distribution information and pressure drop data about vertical swirling flow are the basis for the optimization of steam generator (SG), which can greatly reduce the cost and improve the safety of nuclear plants. To get these key parameters of swirling vertical flow, we have made a comprehensive visualization experiment in a vertical pipe with 30mm diameter and 5m length by high-speed camera. The experimental pipe is separated into swirling part and non-swirling part. We have set three observation section with different vertical heights in the swirling part. Changing the flow rate of water and gas, different swirling flow pattern photos can be captured by high-speed camera. Based on the photos of different positions and image-processing MATLAB code, we can get three flow regime maps and figure out the decaying law of swirling gas-liquid flow. The pressure drop can be recorded by rotameter at each position. The decaying law of pressrure drop can be concluded from it. These data can be a guide for designing gas-liquid separator in SG to improve the efficiency of nuclear plant.