Mass Transfer during gas absorption from a linear cluster of slugs in the presence of inert gases

A model of mass transfer during isothermal gas absorption in the presence of inert gas from a slug rising in a channel filled with liquid is suggested. The work studies the case of a small amount of soluble gas inside a slug and employs the approximation of a thin concentration boundary layer. Theoretical results of mass transfer analysis for a single gas slug are applied for determination of mass transfer rate in gas liquid slug flow. In the assumption of a perfect mixing of the dissolved gas in liquid plugs, recurrent relations for the dissolved gas concentration in the n-th liquid plug and mass flux from the n-th gas slug are derived. The mass transfer coefficient in gas-liquid slug flow is determined. In the limiting case the derived formulas for mass transfer in the presence of inert admixtures recover the obtained expressions for mass transfer during absorption of a pure gas. Theoretical results are compared with available experimental data.     

Liquid phase controlled mass transfer in gas-liquid slug flow at low reynolds numbers

A model of mass transfer during isothermal gas absorption from slugs rising in a channel filled with liquid at small Reynolds numbers is suggested. Fluid flow in the region below the bottom of gas slugs is assumed laminar and therefore vortex rings are not formed at the trailing edge of a gas slug. It is assumed also that a flow of dissolved gas can be described by a point source of mass which is located at the bottom of a gas slug. Intensity of this point source of mass at the bottom of the first gas slug emerging into a pure liquid is equal to the total mass flux from the surface of the first slug. The second gas slug emerges into a liquid with concentration distribution formed by a point source of mass at the bottom of the first gas slug. The third gas slug emerges in a liquid with a concentration distribution formed by a point source of mass at the bottom of the second gas slug and so on. Using this model a recurrent relation for mass flux from the n-th gas slug is derived and the total mass flux from n gas slugs in a gas-liquid slug flow is determined.     

Heat and mass transfer during gas hydrate formation at the surface of rising slugs with small admixtures of inert gases

A model of gas hydrate formation on the surface of a slug of forming hydrate gas with inert gas admixture rising in a channel filled with liquid is suggested. Detailed analysis of the case of small concentrations of the inert admixtures in the gaseous phase is presented. Effect of heat released during gas hydrate formation on the rate of gas hydrate formation is investigated. Analytical formula for the rate of gas hydrate formation as a function of the concentration of the inert admixtures in the gaseous phase is derived. It is shown that an isothermal model of gas hydrate formation in the presence of inert gases underestimates a rate of gas hydrate formation in comparison with the nonisothermal model.     

Model of gas hydrate formation on the surface of a slug of a pure gas

A model of gas hydrate formation at a surface of a slug of a pure hydrate forming gas is suggested. Gas hydrate formation at a low degree of subcooling and at pressure that does not considerably exceed the equilibrium pressure are investigated. The investigation analyzes cases of gas hydrate formation at the surface of a gas slug fixed in a channel by a descending fluid flow and gas hydrate formation at the surface of a gas slug rising in a channel filled with liquid. An expression for the time dependence of a slug's length is derived.     

Two models of fluid flow and mass transfer at the trailing edge of a gas slug

Two theoretical models for fluid flow and mass transfer at the trailing edge of a gas slug for small and large Reynolds numbers are suggested. In the case of small Reynolds numbers the creeping fluid flow at the trailing edge of a slug near a corner formed by a plane rigid wall and gas liquid interface is investigated. The flow is caused by in-plane motion and by a fluid in the gap between a rigid wall and a gas-liquid interface. Using this model the rate of mass transfer from the bottom of a slug during gas absorption is determined. In the case of high Reynolds numbers the vortex flow at the trailing edge of the gas slug is investigated. A model of a fluid flow and mass transfer in a vortex flow in cavities is applied for the investigation of vortex formation at the trailing edge of a gas slug.     

Mechanistic Modeling of the Convective Heat Transfer Coefficient in Gas-Liquid Intermittent Flows

The development of a mechanistic procedure to estimate the convection heat transfer in horizontal gas-liquid intermittent—or slug—flow is presented. In broad terms, the mean convective heat transfer coefficient is calculated following an averaging procedure based on the unit cell model of the slug flow pattern. The flow parameters (i.e., unit cell frequency, liquid slug and elongated bubble length and velocity, and liquid hold-up) were obtained from empirical data for air/water flows in a 15 m-long, 25.4 mm ID copper pipe and for natural gas (mostly methane and ethane) and oil or water flows in an actual size, 200 m-long, 150 mm ID steel pipe. A time-averaging procedure based on the unit cell parameters was then used to calculate the mean convective heat transfer coefficient. The slug flow parameters taken on the small scale air/water loop and the actual size pipeline were used for comparisons. Heat transfer data from the small scale air/water loop were used to validate the results calculated using the averaging procedure. Finally, the approach herein proposed also showed good agreement with previously published data and well-known correlations.     

Flow and heat transfer of liquid plug and neighboring vapor slugs in a pulsating heat pipe

A model of fluid flow and heat transfer on liquid slug and neighboring vapor plugs in a pulsating heat pipe (PHP) is proposed. A new energy equation for the liquid slug is built by aid of Lagrange method. The shear stress term related with the fluid flow state is included in the motion equation of the liquid slug. A sensitive heat term is replaced by a phase change term in the energy equation of the vapor plug. Based on our analysis on the displacement variation of the liquid slug with time, it is known that the harmonic force acting on the liquid slug in PHPs is the pressure difference between the vapor plugs. The flow oscillation can be considered as a forced damping vibration of one degree of freedom system. The phase difference of the oscillating flow between with and without the gravity effect can reach 45°. The amplitude and angular frequency of flow oscillation is irrespective with the initial displacement of liquid slug. If the flow pattern remains strictly slug flow in the entire system, the contribution of the sensible heat exchange to the total heat transfer of the PHP is about 80%.     

Numerical simulation of the pressure drop and heat transfer of two phase slug flows in microtubes using moving frame of reference technique

Enhancement in heat transfer using two phase slug flow in microtubes and microchannels has encouraged researchers to focus on this topic as one of the potential methods for miniaturizing heat sinks and exchangers. Numerical simulation of two phase slug flow is time consuming, so some researchers conduct their numerical studies using the moving frame of reference technique for a unit cell consisting of only one slug, i.e. a single phase study, in order to accelerate the simulation process. Both single phase and two phase simulation methods have been performed in the present study and results have been compared. This shows to what extent the moving frame of reference assumption is valid in the case of two phase flow in hydrophilic microtubes when a thin liquid film exists around moving gas bubbles. The present comparison has been conducted for pressure drop and heat transfer for two thermal boundary conditions i.e. constant wall temperature and constant wall heat flux. It has been shown that the moving frame of reference method overpredicts pressure drop and heat transfer and possible reasons have been discussed. This also shows that in a slug flow with no film around bubbles more heat transfer could be achieved.     

Numerical study of the hydrodynamics and heat transfer characteristics of liquid–liquid Taylor flow in microchannel

A numerical study of an oil–water Taylor flow is presented in this paper to explore its flow and heat transfer characteristics. Due to the large surface area to volume ratio in narrow channels, using slug flows, high heat and mass transfer rates could be achieved. Sound knowledge of the underlying physics of slug flow is required for the practical design of microfluidic devices. In this study, hydrodynamics and heat transfer characteristics of dispersed oil droplets flowing inside a vertically upward circular microchannel (D = 0.1 mm) with water being the carrier phase have been explored numerically. ANSYS Fluent was employed to capture the liquid–liquid interface using volume of fluid method. Two different boundary conditions were considered in the present study. First, an isothermal wall of 373 K and later a constant wall heat flux (420 kW/m²) were, respectively, prescribed over the wall of the microchannel. The numerical code was validated against the results available in the literature, and the significant results in the form of pressure drop and heat transfer rates have been discussed. A considerable increase in Nusselt number, up to 180% and 210%, was observed with the oil–water slug flow in contrast to the liquid‐only single‐phase flow inside the microchannel for isothermal and constant wall heat flux conditions, respectively.     

Boiling two-phase flow and efficiency of co- and counter-current microchannel heat exchangers with gas heating

To learn how to utilize the exhaust heat from a high-temperature gas product of a methanol reformer, the present study experimentally investigates the boiling two-phase flow in co- and counter-current microchannel heat exchangers (MCHE) with gas heating. Boiling two-phase flow patterns, two-phase flow instability, and efficiency are explored. The working fluid on the hot and cold sides are helium and liquid methanol, respectively. The silicon-based MCHE, which has dimensions of 20 mm × 20 mm, is designed with 18 parallel microchannels on both sides and is prepared using microfabrication processes. Four types of two-phase flow patterns – bubbly-elongated slug flow, annular flow, annular flow with liquid film breakup, and dryout are identified in both types of MCHE that are studied. A flow pattern map is then constructed on the plane of the methanol mass flux versus heat flux for both types of MCHE. In the counter-current MCHE, the efficiency increases significantly with an increase in the mass flux in both the single- and two-phase flow regions, while the effect of mass flux is insignificant in the co-current MCHE. In the two-phase flow region, the efficiency of both types of MCHEs gradually increases with an increase in the hot-side thermal power until the CHF is approached. The highest efficiency obtained in the present study is about 0.85 and 0.90 for the co- and counter-current MCHEs, respectively.     

The effect of liquid film evaporation on flow boiling heat transfer in a micro tube

Flow boiling in micro channels is attracting large attention since it leads to large heat transfer area per unit volume. Generated vapor bubbles in micro channels are elongated due to the restriction of channel wall, and thus slug flow becomes one of the main flow regimes. In slug flow, sequential bubbles are confined by the liquid slugs, and thin liquid film is formed between tube wall and bubble. Liquid film evaporation is one of the main heat transfer mechanisms in micro channels and liquid film thickness is a very important parameter which determines heat transfer coefficient. In the present study, liquid film thickness is measured by laser focus displacement meter under flow boiling condition and compared with the correlation proposed for an adiabatic flow. The relationship between liquid film thickness and heat transfer coefficient is also investigated. Initial liquid film thickness under flow boiling condition can be predicted well by the correlation proposed under adiabatic condition. Under flow boiling condition, liquid film surface fluctuates due to high vapor velocity and shows periodic pattern against time. Frequency of periodic pattern increases with heat flux. At low quality, heat transfer coefficients calculated from measured liquid film thickness show good accordance with heat transfer coefficients obtained directly from wall temperature measurements.     

Transient flow patterns and bubble slug lengths in parallel microchannels with oxygen gas bubbles produced by catalytic chemical reactions

Transient flow patterns and bubble slug lengths were investigated with oxygen gas (O₂) bubbles produced by catalytic chemical reactions using a high speed camera bonded with a microscope. The microreactor consists of an inlet liquid plenum, nine parallel rectangular microchannels followed by a micronozzle, using the MEMS fabrication technique. The etched surface was deposited by the thin platinum film, which is acted as the catalyst. Experiments were performed with the inlet mass concentration of the hydrogen peroxide from 50% to 90% and the pressure drop across the silicon chip from 2.5 to 20.0 kPa. The silicon chip is directly exposed in the environment thus the heat released via the catalytic chemical reactions is dissipated into the environment and the experiment was performed at the room temperature level. It is found that the two-phase flow with the catalytic chemical reactions display the cyclic behavior. A full cycle consists of a short fresh liquid refilling stage, a liquid decomposition stage followed by the bubble slug flow stage. At the beginning of the bubble slug flow stage, the liquid slug number reaches maximum, while at the end of the bubble slug flow stage the liquid slugs are quickly flushed out of the microchannels. Two or three large bubbles are observed in the inlet liquid plenum, affecting the two-phase distributions in microchannels. The bubble slug lengths, cycle periods as well as the mass flow rates are analyzed with different mass concentrations of hydrogen peroxide and pressure drops. The bubble slug length is helpful for the selection of the future microreactor length ensuring the complete hydrogen peroxide decomposition. Future studies on the temperature effect on the transient two-phase flow with chemical reactions are recommended.     

Visualization and measurements of periodic boiling in silicon microchannels

A simultaneous visualization and measurement investigation has been carried out on flow boiling of water in parallel silicon microchannels of trapezoidal cross-section. Two sets of parallel microchannels, having hydraulic diameters of 158.8 and 82.8 μm, respectively, were used. The visualization study shows that once boiling heat transfer is established, two-phase flow and single-phase liquid flow appear alternatively with time in the microchannels. Large-amplitude/long-period fluctuations with time in wall temperatures, fluid temperatures, fluid pressures, and fluid mass flux, are measured for the first time during flow boiling in the microchannels. The fluctuation periods are found to be dependent on channel size, heat flux, and mass flux. The mechanism of the periodic boiling fluctuations in this experiment as well as their comparisons with other boiling fluctuations phenomena reported previously, are also discussed. The experimental results confirm that large-amplitude/long-period boiling fluctuations can be sustained when the fluctuations of pressure drop and mass flux have phase differences.With the aid of a microscope and high-speed video recording system, bubbly flow, slug flow, churn flow, and other peculiar flow patterns, are observed during two-phase flow periods in the microchannels.     

Flow pattern maps and transition criteria for flow boiling of binary mixtures in a diverging microchannel

This paper presents a visualization study of flow boiling of binary mixtures (methanol–water and ethanol–water mixtures) in a diverging microchannel. The flow pattern and transition criteria are studied in terms of effects of mass flux, heat flux, and molar fraction of the more volatile component (i.e., methanol or ethanol). Four boiling regimes are identified: bubbly-elongated slug flow, annular flow, liquid film breakup, and dryout. Further, generalized flow pattern maps are constructed using coordinates of nondimensional parameter space (boiling number, Weber number, and Marangoni number), wherein relatively distinct boundaries between the flow patterns are identified. Criteria for transitions between flow patterns are proposed in the form of nondimensional groups and are successfully used to predict the experimental results. More than 92% of the data are correctly located within transition boundaries. The criterion for the onset of nucleate boiling—the boundary between single-phase flow and bubbly-elongated slug flow—is also determined for both methanol–water and ethanol–water mixtures on the basis of the same set of nondimensional parameters.     

Numerical simulation of thermofluid characteristics of two-phase slug flow in microchannels

A fundamental study of heat transfer characteristics of two-phase slug flow in microchannels is carried out employing the Volume-of-Fluid (VOF) method. Despite of the fact that numerical simulations of two-phase flows in microchannels have been attempted by many investigators, most efforts seem to have failed in correctly capturing the flow physics, especially those pertaining to the slug flow regime characteristics. The presence of a thin liquid film in the order of 10 μm around the bubble is a contributing factor to the above difficulty. Typically, liquid films have a significant effect on the flow field and heat transfer characteristics. In the simulations reported in this paper, the film is successfully captured and a very high local convective heat transfer coefficient is observed in the film region. A strong coupling between the conductive heat transfer in the solid wall and the convective heat transfer in the flow field is observed and characterized. Results showed that unsteady heat transfer through the solid wall in the axial direction is comparable to that in the radial direction. Results also showed that a fully developed condition could be achieved fairly quickly compared to single-phase flows. The fully developed condition is defined based on the Peclet number (Pe) and a dimensionless length of the liquid slug. Local and time-averaged Nusselt numbers for slug flows are reported for the first time. It was found that significant improvements in the heat transfer coefficient could be achieved by short slugs where the Nusselt number was found to be 610% higher than in single-phase flows. The study revealed new findings related to slug flow heat transfer in microchannels with constant wall heat flux.     

Prandtl and capillary effects on heat transfer performance within laminar liquid–gas slug flows

This paper investigates a two-phase non-boiling slug flow regime for the purposes of enhancing heat transfer in microchannel heat sinks or compact heat exchangers. The primary focus is upon understanding the mechanisms leading to enhanced heat transfer and the effect of using different Prandtl number fluids, leading to variations in Capillary number. Experimental work was conducted using Infrared thermography and results are presented in the form of Graetz solution, spanning both the thermal entrance and fully developed flow regions. Nusselt numbers enhancements were observed throughout when data was reduced to account for void fraction. However, the gaseous void was also noted to demonstrate an artificial increase with greater thicknesses of the liquid film, due to higher Capillary numbers. Up to 600% enhancement in heat transfer rates were observed over conventional Poiseuille flow. This was verified through Nusselt number measurements over inverse Graetz number ranges from 10^?4 to 1 and slug length to channel diameter ratios from 0.88 to 32. Varying Prandtl and Capillary numbers caused notable effects in the transition region between entrance and fully developed flows. Significant Nu oscillations were observed for low Pr fluids due to internal circulation within the slug. However, these oscillations are observed to be damped out when higher Prandtl number fluids are employed. The thickness of the liquid film surrounding the gas bubbles is shown to have a significant influence on heat transfer performance. Overall, this study provides a greater understanding of the mechanisms leading to significant enhancements in heat exchange devices employing two-phase gas–liquid flows without boiling.     

Gas–liquid two-phase flow patterns in a miniature square channel with a gas permeable sidewall

Characteristics of air–water two-phase flow patterns in a miniature square channel having a gas permeable sidewall were investigated experimentally. Water was fed into the channel from its entrance, while air was injected uniformly into the channel along the permeable sidewall. This configured two-phase flow problem is encountered in direct feed methanol fuel cells. Flow patterns in both vertical upward and horizontal flows were identified using a high-speed motion analyzer. The visualization shows that the typical flow pattern encountered in the conventional co-current gas–liquid two-phase flow, such as bubbly flow, plug flow, slug flow and annular flow were also observed in the present work. However, unlike the conventional co-current gas–liquid two-phase flow in a channel with gas and liquid uniformly entering from one of its ends, for the flow configuration considered in this work, the stratified flow and wavy flow were not found in horizontal flow. And a so-called “single layer bubbly flow” was found in vertical upward flow, which is characterized by a mono small-gas-bubble layer existing adjacent to the surface of the permeable sidewall with the reminding space occupied by the liquid phase. Four transitional flow patterns such as bubbly-plug flow, bubbly-slug flow, plug–slug flow, and slug-annular flow, were found to exist between the distinct flow patterns. Finally, the flow regime maps for various liquid volumetric fluxes are presented in terms of mass quality versus the volumetric flux of gas phase.     

管壳式换热器壳侧气液两相流路分析法的研究

以Tinker壳侧流动模型为基础，提出了适宜于单相和气液两相流路分析法的壳侧单元流动模型。以主流、旁路流和泄漏流等各分流路的气液流量分布在稳态下应使壳侧流动的能量损耗达到最小的原则为基础，建立了壳侧气液两相流路分析法，给出了各流路的气液流量比例及错流区、窗口区压降的预测步骤，也给出了壳侧总压降计算式。建立的两相流路分析法预测结果与试验结果符合较好。     

Effects of film evaporation on laminar mixed convection heat and mass transfer in a vertical channel

A numerical study of finite liquid film evaporation on laminar mixed convection heat and mass transfer in a vertical parallel plate channel is presented. The influences of the inlet liquid mass flow rate and the imposed wall heat flux on the film vaporization and the associated heat and mass transfer characteristics were examined for air-water and air-ethanol systems. Predicted results obtained by including transport in the liquid film are contrasted with those where liquid film transport is neglected, showing that the assumption of an extremely thin film made by Tsay and Yan (Wärme- und Stoffübertragung 26, 23–31 (1990)) is only valid for a system with a small liquid mass flow rate. Additionally, it is found that the heat transfer between the interface and gas stream is dominated by the transport of latent heat associated with film evaporation. The magnitude of the evaporative latent heat flux may be five times greater than that of sensible heat flux.     

Correlation to Predict the Maximum Heat Flux of a Vertical Closed-Loop Pulsating Heat Pipe

The objective of this study is to experimentally investigate the effect of various parameters on the maximum heat flux of a vertical closed-loop pulsating heat pipe (CLPHP) and the inside phenomena that cause maximum heat flux to occur. A correlation to predict the maximum heat flux using the obtained results was also established. Quantitative and qualitative experiments were conducted and analyzed. A copper CLPHP and a transparent high-temperature glass capillary tube CLPHP were used in the quantitative and qualitative experiments. From the study, it was found that when the internal diameter and number of meandering turns increased, the maximum heat flux increased. However, when the evaporator section length increased, the maximum heat flux decreased. The maximum heat flux of a CLPHP occurs due to the dry-out of liquid film at the evaporator section. This occurs after a two-phase working fluid circulation changes flow pattern from countercurrent slug flow to co-current annular flow, because the vapor velocity increases beyond a critical value. A correlation to predict the maximum heat flux obtained from this study was developed.