Experimental research on bubble size distribution and vapor quality at the outlet of vertical narrow channel

Abstract

The presence of bubbles exerts a strong influence on pressure drop, heat transfer, flow pattern, and many other flow characteristics. Due to the complexity of two-phase flow boiling, it is not easy to carry out experimental research. An experimental setup based on ultrasonic detection method is built up in this paper. The present study investigates bubble size distribution and vapor quality in liquid-gas two-phase flow in a vertical narrow channel with the cross section of 3×20 mm. Bubble size distribution is heavily affected by the heat power and mass flux, which means that different flow patterns show different bubble size distributions. Vapor quality is also obtained by the ultrasonic attenuation method, which is compared to the theoretical calculation. The ultrasonic detection model is mainly applied in the bubble-coalesced flow. As the vapor quality is small, the detection value is close to the theoretical value, and this detection model is suitable for nucleate boiling. As the vapor quality is increased, the deviation is larger. By comparison with the theoretical calculations, it is necessary to modify the ultrasonic detection model to fit different flow patterns, which is helpful to study the liquid entrainment mechanism in the micro-channel (especially when the inner diameter is less than 5 mm) in the future.