Experimental analysis of multiphase flows. Design and setup of an experimental facility

Identifier:  TDX:3178

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/TDX3178

Authors:  Sassi Arobba, Paolo Juan

Abstract:
The dynamics of three-phase flows involve phenomena of high complexity, whose understanding and an enhanced prediction capacity of fluid dynamics in multiphase flow systems is crucial for the design and construction of facilities meant for a wide range of industries. This research work presents the design and set up of LESLIE, a low pressure multiphase flow loop for the experimental analysis of two and three-phase flows through pipelines and their accessories. It is designed to measure key parameters, so as to characterise the behaviour of multiphase flows involving gas, liquid and solid phases both in horizontal and vertical pipelines. New experimental data is presented in this study for intermittent two and three-phase flows in horizontal pipelines involving air, water and polypropylene pellets of sizes ranging between 1 and 2 millimetres. Flow visualization, pressure and void fraction measurements were performed and are explored in this work for the case of intermittent flows for a variety of settings. The influence of solid particles over the frictional pressure drop, flow regime and slug frequency is reported in this work. Furthermore, the analysis of the dynamics of annular two-phase flows by means of image processing techniques has allowed obtaining droplet size distributions, which are also presented in this study.