Experimental investigation of two-phase gas-liquid flow in microchannel with T-junction

Abstract

Using high-speed video recording and the method of dual laser scanning the gas-liquid flow was investigated in rectangular microchannels with an aspect ratio of 2.35 and 1.26. Experiments were earned out for the vertical flow of ethanol-nitrogen mixture in a microchannel with a cross section of 553×235 µm and for the horizontal flow of water-nitrogen mixture in a microchannel with a cross section of 315×250 µm. The T-mixer was used at the channel's inlet for gas-liquid flow formation. It was observed that elongated bubble, transition, and annular flows are the main regimes for a microchannel with a hydraulic diameter substantially less than the capillary constant. Using laser scanning, the maps of flow regimes for ethanol-nitrogen and water–nitrogen mixtures were obtained and discussed.