STUDY OF THREE-PHASE AIR-BRINE-SALT COUNTERFLOW IN AN INCLINED PIPE
Gas-liquid-solid counterflow (GLSCF) in inclined pipes occurs in various industrial processes, including oil and gas production and desalination systems. This thesis presents an experimental investigation of GLSCF in a 2-inch pipe inclined at 30°, utilizing air, saturated brine, and salt particles. A wide range of gas and liquid superficial velocities were tested. High-speed and standard-speed video recordings, pressure, and fluid level measurements were used to analyze flow regimes, bubble characteristics (length, velocity, depth, frequency), void fraction, and solid particle velocity. This study introduces a novel flow-regime map combining concurrent and countercurrent flow regimes. Empirical equations were developed to predict average bubble length, depth, velocity, and cross-sectional void fraction. Additionally, a new flow phenomenon, stationary tri-axial vortices, was identified and characterized. This research provides valuable data and empirical correlations for GLSCF, with implications for industrial applications and future development of numerical models.
inclined pipe flow, stationary triaxial vortices, countercurrent flow, concurrent flow, gas-liquid-solid flow, multiphase flow
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