Experimental investigation of two-phase separation in a horizontal T-junction with vertical branch arm

Authors

  • Z. Q. Memon Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, 32610 Seri Iskandar, Perak, Malaysia
  • W. Pao Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, 32610 Seri Iskandar, Perak, Malaysia.
  • F. Hashim Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, 32610 Seri Iskandar, Perak, Malaysia
  • S. Ahmed Department of Education, Sukkur IBA University, Airport Road Sukkur, Sindh Pakistan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15282/jmes.13.4.2019.14.0470

Keywords:

Gas-liquid separation; T-junction; slug flow; diameter ratio effect; superficial phases’ velocities., Gas-liquid separation, T-junction, slug flow, diameter ratio effect, superficial phases’ velocities

Abstract

T-junctions are commonly used in offshore platforms and process industry. When two-phase flow passes through T-junction, separation of two-phases takes place. This separation of two-phase flow through T-junction produces high liquid carry-over in the branch arm, causing breakdown of downstream equipment. In this experimental study, phase separation data have been obtained for air-water mixture flow through dividing T-junction with a pipe diameter of 74 mm and the branch arm is positioned vertically upward. T-junctions with diameter ratios of 1, 0.67, 0.5, and 0.27 were tested in the slug flow regime. The superficial velocities of air (JG1) were varied 0.20 - 1.16 m/s and inlet water superficial velocities (JL1) were varied 0.40-0.53 m/s. The extraction ratio between branch arm and main arm (W3/W1) was varied between 0 to 1. It was observed that the phase separation efficiency of T-junction depends upon the diameter ratio, upstream superficial velocities of both phases - air and water. Finally, the experimental data have been compared against the predicted results obtained from the numerical correlations.

References

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Published

2019-12-30

How to Cite

[1]
Z. Q. Memon, W. Pao, F. Hashim, and S. Ahmed, “Experimental investigation of two-phase separation in a horizontal T-junction with vertical branch arm”, J. Mech. Eng. Sci., vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 5922–5937, Dec. 2019.

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 4 (2019): (December 2019)

Section

Article

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