Pressure Drop Characteristics on Gas/Liquid Two-Phase Flow in A Curved Mini-Channel Affected by The Wall Wettability

Abstract

In the present investigation, detailed observation on the pressure drop characteristics affected by the wall wettability in a curved mini-channel were carried out. The test channel is the serpentine channel with six straight sections and curved sections. The test channel has a square cross section that has 2.0mm on each side, and the radius of curvature was 1.0mm. The test channel was made of the transparent acrylic resin for flow visualization. In order to investigate the influence of the wall wettability, water-repellent and attracting treatments were applied to the acrylic channel, respectively. In this investigation, in relation to the analysis method of the pressure drop, we evaluated the time averaged pressure drop and the pressure fluctuation, respectively. In the case of the water-repellent and attracting channel, the time averaged pressure drop was lower than the normal channel. In addition, in the straight section without the water repellent, the fluctuation of the pressure drop was considered to be correlated only by the Lockhart-Martinelli's parameter. On the other hand, in the cases the effects of channel curvature and water repellent are outstanding, the fluctuation of the pressured drop was widely scattered and hard to be correlated by the Lockhart-Martinelli's parameter.