Title: Void Fraction and Flow Patterns of Gas-Liquid Two-Phase Flow in a Microchannel
Abstract:An optical measurement system was developed to investigate the flow phenomena of gas-liquid two-phase flow in a circular microchannel with the diameter of 100 μm. From the output wave signals which co...An optical measurement system was developed to investigate the flow phenomena of gas-liquid two-phase flow in a circular microchannel with the diameter of 100 μm. From the output wave signals which correspond to the passages of the gas and the liquid by using multiple optical fibers and photodiodes, void fraction was measured successfully. The presence of a large compressible gas volume upstream of the mixing chamber had a significant effect on the two-phase flow characteristics in the microchannel, typified by the void fraction data. The flow patterns of bubbly flow, slug flow and ring film flow were observed. The characteristics of optical signal waves corresponding to these flow patterns have been described. The time averaged value of the optical signal wave agreed well with the space averaged value of the volume fraction of the gas from video image.Read More