Our laboratories are equipped with a range of diagnostic measurement techniques which will be applied to characterise interface shape as well as the properties of the bulk flow field with an emphasis in the regions close to surfaces and interfaces. These encompass:
- Electrical and nucleonic tomography equipment [Wire Mesh and Multi-Film Sensors, WMS/MFS; Electrical Capacitance Tomography, ECT; Electrical Resistance Tomography, ERT; Gamma and X-ray Ray Densitometry, GRD/XRD; and local conductivity probes, CP],
- Laser-based optical diagnostic techniques [Laser Induced Fluorescence, LIF; Phase Doppler Anemometry, PDA and (micro-)Particle Image Velocimetry, (µ)PIV]. Access to such a wide range of techniques enables selection as required by the length- and time-scales of the phenomena.
Measurement capabilities within our laboratories: resolution of available measurement techniques
Imperial College
Example of rigs (TMF-IC-Flow Facilities 2012) available in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Imperial College include the high-pressure ‘Water, air, sand, and petroleum (WASP)’ facility, which comprises a 37 m long test section with a 78 mm internal diameter that can be inclined at ± 2º to the horizontal. WASP is equipped with high-speed visualisation capabilities, which can yield axial- and side-views of the complex interfacial structures accompanying the various multiphase flow regimes as a function of pressure drop or flow rates, temperature, and inlet conditions. WASP is also equipped with GRD/XRD.
University of Nottingham
At the University of Nottingham, the Large Double Closed Loop Rig has a built-in compressor and gas is reused after passing through the 10 m tall, 127 mm diameter vertical test section. This unit enables fluids other than air/water to be studied. Proposed fluids are a low-surface tension liquid (silicone oil) and sulphur hexafluoride for the gas. The latter would enable gas densities of ≤25 kg m-3 to be used (for this operation upgrading of pipework is required to ensure zero leakage of this expensive gas). (Rig_Nottingham)
University College London
At UCL, two rigs will be used. The first can have either stainless steel or acrylic test section with 38 mm ID and two different types of inlet geometry introducing either a stratified or a dispersed initial condition. The second has a 14 mm ID acrylic test section and is fitted with a Y-inlet which promotes a stratified initial condition. Its smaller size makes it easier to change fluids so that different properties are explored. ). (Rig_UCL)
