skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Two-phase gas-liquid flow characteristics inside a plate heat exchanger

Abstract

In the present study, the air-water two-phase flow characteristics including flow pattern and pressure drop inside a plate heat exchanger are experimentally investigated. A plate heat exchanger with single pass under the condition of counter flow is operated for the experiment. Three stainless steel commercial plates with a corrugated sinusoidal shape of unsymmetrical chevron angles of 55 and 10 are utilized for the pressure drop measurement. A transparent plate having the same configuration as the stainless steel plates is cast and used as a cover plate in order to observe the flow pattern inside the plate heat exchanger. The air-water mixture flow which is used as a cold stream is tested in vertical downward and upward flow. The results from the present experiment show that the annular-liquid bridge flow pattern appeared in both upward and downward flows. However, the bubbly flow pattern and the slug flow pattern are only found in upward flow and downward flow, respectively. The variation of the water and air velocity has a significant effect on the two-phase pressure drop. Based on the present data, a two-phase multiplier correlation is proposed for practical application. (author)

Authors:
 [1];  [2]
  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, South East Asia University, Bangkok 10160 (Thailand)
  2. Fluid Mechanics, Thermal Engineering and Multiphase Flow Research Lab (FUTURE), Department of Mechanical Engineering, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, Bangmod, Bangkok 10140 (Thailand)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
21350390
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 34; Journal Issue: 8; Other Information: Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved; Journal ID: ISSN 0894-1777
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
42 ENGINEERING; HEAT EXCHANGERS; AIR; PLATES; WATER; LIQUID FLOW; PRESSURE DROP; TWO-PHASE FLOW; LIQUIDS; MIXTURES; COUNTERFLOW SYSTEMS; CORRELATIONS; VARIATIONS; VELOCITY; Flow pattern; Corrugated channel; Two-phase multiplier

Citation Formats

Nilpueng, Kitti, and Wongwises, Somchai. Two-phase gas-liquid flow characteristics inside a plate heat exchanger. United States: N. p., 2010. Web. doi:10.1016/J.EXPTHERMFLUSCI.2010.05.001.
Nilpueng, Kitti, & Wongwises, Somchai. Two-phase gas-liquid flow characteristics inside a plate heat exchanger. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.EXPTHERMFLUSCI.2010.05.001
Nilpueng, Kitti, and Wongwises, Somchai. 2010. "Two-phase gas-liquid flow characteristics inside a plate heat exchanger". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.EXPTHERMFLUSCI.2010.05.001.
@article{osti_21350390,
title = {Two-phase gas-liquid flow characteristics inside a plate heat exchanger},
author = {Nilpueng, Kitti and Wongwises, Somchai},
abstractNote = {In the present study, the air-water two-phase flow characteristics including flow pattern and pressure drop inside a plate heat exchanger are experimentally investigated. A plate heat exchanger with single pass under the condition of counter flow is operated for the experiment. Three stainless steel commercial plates with a corrugated sinusoidal shape of unsymmetrical chevron angles of 55 and 10 are utilized for the pressure drop measurement. A transparent plate having the same configuration as the stainless steel plates is cast and used as a cover plate in order to observe the flow pattern inside the plate heat exchanger. The air-water mixture flow which is used as a cold stream is tested in vertical downward and upward flow. The results from the present experiment show that the annular-liquid bridge flow pattern appeared in both upward and downward flows. However, the bubbly flow pattern and the slug flow pattern are only found in upward flow and downward flow, respectively. The variation of the water and air velocity has a significant effect on the two-phase pressure drop. Based on the present data, a two-phase multiplier correlation is proposed for practical application. (author)},
doi = {10.1016/J.EXPTHERMFLUSCI.2010.05.001},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/21350390}, journal = {Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science},
issn = {0894-1777},
number = 8,
volume = 34,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Nov 15 00:00:00 EST 2010},
month = {Mon Nov 15 00:00:00 EST 2010}
}