Impacts of U and Inverted U-Bends on Vertical Gas-Liquid Two-Phase Fluids

Abstract

The current work is experimentally based which is conducted on the purpose of studying the impacts of U and inverted U-bends on gas/liquid behavior in a vertical upward and downward flow line. The main instruments used are wire mesh sensor (WMS) and liquid film probes. Both devices are installed at the top and bottom locations of upward and downward sections. Probability density functions (PDFs) and time traces of averaged void fraction are applied to reveal the flow behavior inside this configuration. It is very obvious from achieved results that the flow structure in the adjacent parts of the bends is significantly different from those apart away. These bends act on distribution of the flow and change it from uniform to un uniform in adjacent straight sections of the pipeline. This is attributed to the action of centrifugal and gravitational forces that generated by the bends. The results are further explained by analysis the reconstructed images obtained from Wire Mesh Sensor technique, and circumferential distribution of liquid film that measured by conductive film probes. The data of liquid film profile are consistent with PDFs and time traces data extracted by WMS.