Flow pattern identification and measurement techniques in gas-liquid-liquid three-phase flow: A review

The simultaneous flow of gas, oil, and water forms various flow patterns due to the complex interfacial relationships. Three-phase flow patterns are classified as the gas-liquid and liquid-liquid flow patterns. Pressure drop, void fraction, liquid holdup, and phase distribution are important characteristics of the three-phase flow. These characteristics are generally associated with the three-phase flow patterns. Hence, the knowledge about flow patterns can help to predict the overall behavior of the three-phase flow. Studies have been conducted to identify three-phase flow pattern and their characteristics at various superficial velocities of gas, oil, and water. The major purpose of the studies is to gather information about the three-phase co-current flow and use it for improvement of the efficiency of the flow systems. Therefore, the accuracy of the measurement technique is critical. Several types of flow pattern identification and measurement techniques have been developed to improve accuracy and provide high-quality results. In this article, classical and advanced techniques used for the three-phase flow identification and measurement have been reviewed. The survey will help the researchers working in the area of multiphase flow to choose the right technique based on the objectives of the studies.     

Binary Ti–Fe system. Part I: Experimental investigation at high pressure

The present work illustrates the effect of quasi-hydrostatic pressure on the positions and widths of the homogeneity ranges of the intermetallic phases TiFe and TiFe₂ at high temperatures. The experiments were performed with Ti–Fe diffusion couples that were heat treated in a multi-anvil press at 2.5 GPa. The solubility limits of the phases were derived from the concentration profiles that were measured using electron probe microanalysis. It was found that the homogeneity ranges of TiFe and TiFe₂ extend to higher titanium concentrations, if the pressure is applied. The positions of the phase boundaries of the intermetallics on the iron-rich side are not affected by the pressure. The accuracy of the experimental data including the homogeneity ranges and temperatures was verified by comparing the homogeneity ranges of β-Ti(Fe), α/δ-Fe(Ti) and γ-Fe measured in this study with the homogeneity ranges taken from literature. The pressure was calibrated using the pressure-induced phase transitions of bismuth.     

Study on wax precipitation characteristics of wax deposit in pipes

Wax deposit properties are a significant concern in pipeline pigging during waxy crude oil transportation. In the present work, the impacts of flow conditions and oil properties on the wax precipitation characteristics of wax deposits are investigated. A flow loop apparatus was developed to conduct wax deposition experiments using four crude oils collected from different field pipes. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) technique was employed to observe the wax precipitation characteristics of crude oil and wax deposit. The results show that the wax content and the wax appearance temperature (WAT) of the deposits increase with shear stress and radial temperature gradient, and decrease with radial wax molecule concentration gradient near the pipe wall. The DSC tests on the wax deposits revealed that the deposit wax content is strongly correlated to the oil wax content. Furthermore, an empirical correlation was developed to predict the wax content and the WAT of the wax deposit. Verification of the empirical correlation using the different oils indicated that the average relative error of the wax content prediction and average absolute error of WAT prediction were 13.2% and 3.6°C, respectively.     

管式段塞流捕集器构造及其优化设计

天然气近年来由于技术的进步及其自身多项优势而被广泛利用,油气混输作为一种经济性良好的运输方式也开始服务于各大油气田。然而多相流的运动很复杂,加上一些其他因素而产生的段塞流则是危害较大,其主要危害体现在各项参数不稳,混输管路下游的处理设备会受到较大冲击,因此需要在混输管路末端设置段塞流捕集器来缓解这种冲击,保证下游的稳定供给。     

Process and joint quality of ultrasonic vibration enhanced friction stir lap welding

In order to improve the process effectiveness and joint quality, ultrasonic vibrations were integrated with friction stir lap welding. Effect of ultrasonic exertion on the process and joint quality of AA 6061-T6 were investigated. Upon ultrasonic exertion, joints owned larger effective lap width, shorter hooks and improved strength. Weld fracture mode changed from a ductile–brittle mixed mode to a more ductile mode while the fracture path shifted from lap interface to beyond the stir zone. Material flow and interface defects were characterised using lap welded dissimilar aluminium alloy joints. Ultrasonic vibration improved the material flow and reduced the interfacial defects. Variations in failure load of joints were found in accordance with the variations in material flow and interfacial defects.     

Improving weld formability by a novel dual-rotation bobbin tool friction stir welding

A novel dual-rotation bobbin tool friction stir welding (DBT-FSW) was developed, in which the upper shoulder (US) and lower shoulder (LS) have different rotational speeds. This process was tried to weld 3.2 mm thick aluminum-lithium alloy sheets. The metallographic analysis and torque measurement were carried out to characterize the weld formability. Experimental results show that compared to conventional bobbin tool friction stir welding, the DBT-FSW has an excellent process stability, and can produce the defect-free joints in a wider range of welding parameters. These can be attributed to the significant improvement of material flow caused by the formation of a staggered layer structure and the unbalanced force between the US and LS during the DBT-FSW process.     

Critical state model for structured soil

Structure is an evident determinant for macroscopic behaviors of soils. However, this is not taken into account in most constitutive models, as structure is a rather complex issue in models. For this, it is important to develop and implement simple models that can reflect this important aspect of soil behavior. This paper tried to model structured soils based on well-established concepts, such as critical state and sub-loading. Critical state is the core of the classic Cam Clay model. The sub-loading concept implies adoption of an inner (sub-loading) yield surface, according to specific hardening rules for some internal strain-like state variables. Nakai and co-workers proposed such internal variables for controlling density (ρ) and structure (ω), using a modified stress space, called t_ij. Herein, similar variables are used in the context of the better-known invariants (p and q) of the Cam Clay model. This change requires explicit adoption of a non-associated flow rule for the sub-loading surface. This is accomplished by modifying the dilatancy ratio of the Cam Clay model, as a function of the new internal variables. These modifications are described and implemented under three-dimensional (3D) conditions. The model is then applied to simulating laboratory tests under different stress paths and the results are compared to experiments reported for different types of structured soils. The good agreements show the capacity and potential of the proposed model.     

Coexistence of three ferroelectric phases and enhanced piezoelectric properties in BaTiO3–CaHfO3 lead-free ceramics

Perovskite ferroelectrics possess the fascinating piezoelectric properties near a morphotropic phase boundary, attributing to a low energy barrier that the results in structural instability and easy polarization rotation. In this work, a new lead-free system of (1-x)BaTiO₃-xCaHfO₃ was designed, and characterized by a coexistence of ferroelectric rhombohedral-orthorhombic-tetragonal (R-O-T) phases. With the increase amount of CaHfO₃ (x), a stable coexistence region of three ferroelectric phases (R-O-T) exists at 0.06 ≤ x ≤ 0.08. Both large piezoelectric coefficient (d₃₃～400 pC/N), inverse piezoelectric coefficient (d₃₃^*～547 pm/V) and planar electromechanical coupling factor (k_p～58.2%) can be achieved for the composition with x = 0.08 near the coexistence of three ferroelectric phases. Our results show that the materials with the composition located at a region where the three ferroelectric R-O-T phases coexist would have the lowest energy barrier and thus greatly promote the polarization rotation, resulting in a strong piezoelectric response.     

Compiler compatible 5.66 Mb/mm2 8T 1R1W register file in 14 nm FinFET technology

1-read/1-write (1R1W) register file (RF) is a popular memory configuration in modern feature rich SoCs requiring significant amount of embedded memory. A memory compiler is constructed using the 8T RF bitcell spanning a range of instances from 32 b to 72 Kb. An 8T low-leakage bitcell of 0.106 μm² is used in a 14 nm FinFET technology with a 70 nm contacted gate pitch for high-density (HD) two-port (TP) RF memory compiler which achieves 5.66 Mb/mm² array density for a 72 Kb array which is the highest reported density in 14 nm FinFET technology. The density improvement is achieved by using techniques such as leaf-cell optimization (eliminating transistors), better architectural planning, top level connectivity through leaf-cell abutment and minimizing the number of unique leaf-cells. These techniques are fully compatible with memory compiler usage over the required span. Leakage power is minimized by using power-switches without degrading the density mentioned above. Self-induced supply voltage collapse technique is applied for write and a four stack static keeper is used for read Vmin improvement. Fabricated test chips using 14 nm process have demonstrated 2.33 GHz performance at 1.1 V/25 °C operation. Overall V_min of 550 mV is achieved with this design at 25 °C. The inbuilt power-switch improves leakage power by 12x in simulation. Approximately 8% die area of a leading 14 nm SoC in commercialization is occupied by these compiled RF instances.