A study of bubbly flow characteristics in a vertical tube using wire mesh tomography

For the development of nuclear reactors and the assessment of their safety features, the development of computer code with the high quantity database from the measurement as well as the understanding of the multiphase flow physics are necessary. In this study, the characteristics of bubbly flow in a vertical tube are investigated using Wire Mesh Tomography (WMT). Void fraction is detected from the dependency of electrical conductivity on the local void fraction. The developed sensor is a circular type with two parallel measuring planes to have the capability of gas velocity and bubble size evaluation. The experiment is conducted in a 50 mm ID tube at the fully developed condition (93D). The mean bubble size is treated as a constant parameter independent from the superficial gas and liquid velocity by using the bubble generator with a water sub flow. The result shows the capability of WMT for bubbly flow characteristic study. The effects of superficial gas and liquid velocity and the additional bubble intensity on the void fraction distribution are presented. These effects are supposed to change the lateral lift force in both magnitude and directions which induce the bubble migrated toward to or depart from the wall. (author)