Flow annular

The fluid dehvery in an air-spray system can be pressure or suction fed. In a pressure-fed system, the fluid is brought to the atomizer under positive pressure generated with an external pump, a gas pressure over the coating material in a tank, or an elevation head. In a suction system, the annular flow of air around the fluid tip generates sufficient vacuum to aspirate the coating material from a container through a fluid tube and into the air stream. In this case, the paint supply is normally located in a small cup attached to the spray device to keep the elevation differential and frictional pressure drop in the fluid-supply tube small. 

In annular flow, liquid flows as a thin film along the pipe wall and gas flows in the core. Some liquid is entrained as droplets in the gas core. At veiy high gas velocities, nearly all the liquid is entrained as small droplets. Inis pattern is called spray, dispersed, or mist flow. 

Lockhart and Martinelh (ibid.) correlated pressure drop data from pipes 25 mm (1 in) in diameter or less within about 50 percent. In general, the predictions are high for stratified, wavy, ana slug flows and low for annular flow The correlation can be applied to pipe diameters up to about 0.1 m (4 in) with about the same accuracy. 

A plot of (dP/dL)p/(dP/dL)sL versus (1-Rc) results in three distinct lines shown in Figure 27, where the values of the constants a and b are indicated. The three ranges correspond to approximately the bubble-slug, stratified, and annular flow regimes. Formulas to calculate for substitution into the above equation are ... 

Figure 37. (A) Fluid bed, annular flow almost entirely at the inlet (B) Both annular and spout flow at inlet (C) Spout flow only at inlet.

This also applies to circular pipes or ducts and oval and rectangular ducts not flowing full. The equivalent diameter is used in determining the Reynolds number for these cases, but does not apply to very narrow or slotted or annular flow cross-sections. 

For annular flow of Bingham plastic and Power law fluids, respectively, PpLv T L... 

In high heat flux (heat transfer rate per unit area) boilers, such as power water tube (WT) boilers, the continued and more rapid convection of a steam bubble-water mixture away from the source of heat (bubbly flow), results in a gradual thinning of the water film at the heat-transfer surface. A point is eventually reached at which most of the flow is principally steam (but still contains entrained water droplets) and surface evaporation occurs. Flow patterns include intermediate flow (churn flow), annular flow, and mist flow (droplet flow). These various steam flow patterns are forms of convective boiling. 

Typically, FT boilers tend to have lower rates of overall heat-flux and lower steam/water quality, and nucleate boiling predominates. Water tube (WT) boilers tend to have higher heat fluxes and higher steam/water quality under these conditions, annular flow convective boiling tends to dominate. 

Fig. 5. Device for measuring the wall-film flow rate with annular flow in a tube [from Hewitt et al. (H5)].

The above experimenters have used the technique described to obtain flow rate measurements of the liquid wall-film at various mass velocities, tube dimensions, etc., and some typical results from Staniforth and Stevens (S7) are shown in Fig. 7. Also shown are the values of burn-out heat flux obtained at the four different mass velocities indicated. It can be seen that the liquid-film flow rate decreases steadily with increasing heat flux until at burn-out the flow rate becomes zero or very close to zero. We thus have confirmation of a burn-out mechanism in the annular flow regime which postulates a liquid film on the heated wall diminishing under the combined effects of evaporation, entrainment, and deposition until at burn-out, the film has become so thin that it breaks up into rivulets which cause dry spots and consequent overheating. 

The annular flow regime is very extensive, and the above mechanism of burn-out is stated (S7) to be consistent with the film-flow measurement data over a range of exit qualities from 10 to 100% for uniformly heated round tubes. A summary of experimental observations on flow patterns produced... 

The annular flow pattern discussed above shows a definite connection with burn-out, and enables a simple burn-out mechanism to be set forth. There are many other flow patterns referred to in the literature, however, and we will consider here what can be said about any connection they may have with burn-out. It does not follow that there must be a connection, as a flow pattern is essentially a description of the bulk conditions in a channel and depends upon the none-too-reliable results of visual observation, which is often impeded by optical distortion. Thus, although gross conditions may appear to change and one pattern give way to another, the hydrodynamic state prevailing close to the heated surface may remain practically unaffected and the burn-out mechanisms unaltered. 

P3. Polomik, E. E., Levy, S., and Sawochka, S. G., Heat transfer coefficients with annular flow during once-through boiling of water to 100 per cent quality at 800, 1100, and 1400 psia, GEAP-3703 (1961). 

Hewitt, G. F., King, I. and Lovegrove, P. C. Brit. Chem. Eng. 8 (1963) 311-318. Holdup and pressure drop measurements in the two phase annular flow of air-water mixtures. 

Slug/semi-annular flow. Here both slug and semi-annular flows were present. The vapor velocity increased with the heat flux and the rear of elongated bubbles began to break up (Fig. 2.30d). Coalescence was no longer clean and created a churn-like zone where the liquid slug had been. 

Semi-annular flow. Liquid slugs were non-existent (Fig. 2.30e). A liquid film formed at the tube wall with a nearly continuous central vapor core, truncated periodically by churning liquid-vapor zones, which disappear gradually. 

Annular flow (wavy and smooth). A liquid film flowed on the tube wall with a continuous central vapor core without churning zones (Fig. 2.30f,g). 

Semi annular flow at (f) Wavy annular flow at =82%... 

Notably, the higher the mass flux, the earlier annular flow is reached. Bubbly flow is more or less non-existent for mass fluxes exceeding 1,000 kg/m s. The most important observation about the flow patterns is that their transitions are controlled primarily by the rate of coalescence, which is not recognized as a contributing factor by any of the micro-scale or macro-scale flow pattern maps. 

Slug/semi nnularflow O Semi-annular flow... 

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