Difficulties in applying laser technique to measure drop sizes in vertical and inclined Annular gas-liquid flows

Sohail H. Zaidi

doi:10.1117/12.256255

1 November 1996 Difficulties in applying laser technique to measure drop sizes in vertical and inclined Annular gas-liquid flows

Sohail H. Zaidi

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 2863, Current Developments in Optical Design and Engineering VI; (1996) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.256255
Event: SPIE's 1996 International Symposium on Optical Science, Engineering, and Instrumentation, 1996, Denver, CO, United States

Abstract

Annular two phase flow is one of the most common regimes of gas/liquid flow found in industrial equipment. In this regime, the liquid flows in part as a film on the channel walls while the rest of the liquid is carried as drops by the gas flowing in the center of the channel. Detailed knowledge of the liquid drops particularly their sizes and velocities is essential in processes involving heat and mass transfer. This information is of great importance for the oil industry where inclined drilling has recently become a common practice. The effect of inclination on the drop sizes is still unknown and requires further investigation. Laser diffraction is one of the few available techniques which is widely used for the measurement of droplet size distribution. Although the technique is simple to use, it is not free from problems. This paper highlights the practical difficulties encountered when the technique was used to measure the drop size distribution in an inclinable flow column. The laser system was mounted on the rig and the flow column was rotated from vertical to horizontal position. Liquid drops appearing on the optical windows prohibited laser measurements. Other problems included the glass reflections and vibration when the rig was in operation. In this paper some practical suggestions have been made to overcome these problems and some useful results have been included.

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Sohail H. Zaidi "Difficulties in applying laser technique to measure drop sizes in vertical and inclined Annular gas-liquid flows", Proc. SPIE 2863, Current Developments in Optical Design and Engineering VI, (1 November 1996); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.256255

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