Non-Newtonian Effects on Gas-Liquid Slug Flow in Micro-channel with T-junction Mixer

Abstract

The length of liquid slug and gas bubble, gas bubble velocity and pressure drop of gas-liquid two-phase flow in a rectangular channel were measured using a high speed camera and a different pressure transducer. Water and Glycerol-solution as Newtonian liquids and Sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, Xanthan gum and Polyacrylamide-water solution as non-Newtonian liquids were used as the liquid phase, and N₂ gas was used as the gas phase. The equivalent hydraulic diameter of the rectangular channel was 0.51 mm. The measured pressure drop data were compared with unit cell model, which applied to gas bubble pressure drop prediction proposed by Kurimoto et al. (2017). The following conclusions were obtained: (1) Different flow pattern was observed only in Polyacrylamide-water solution. (2) Frictional pressure drop on two-phase flow can associate with an effective viscosity of liquid. (3) Effects of elasticity of liquid on non-Newtonian two-phase two-phase flow should be accounted to predict accurately pressure drop.