Title

Design Of A Two-Phase Separator For Variable Gravity Applications

Abstract

Vapor-liquid two-phase flow systems are gaining importance in space -based and aerospace applications due to their compactness, reliability and high power-to-weight ratio. A phase separator is needed, if a mechanical pump or compressor is required. This paper describes an experimental study for the design and development of a two-phase separator. The main aim of this study is to design a separator that could separate some amount of liquid-free vapor from the two-phase mixture. The design consists of a coiled tube with a number of holes drilled on the outside. Two-phase mixture is sent into the tube one end and the separation is achieved by using centrifugal force that is developed due to the motion of the fluid inside a coil tube. The dense fluid is pushed towards the outer radius of the tube and is extracted from the holes. Different parameters like length of the tube, diameter of the tube, diameter of the coil, diameter of the holes, distance between the holes, flow rate of the two-phase fluid mixture in the tube and material of the tube have been considered. The apparatus was built and tested for various input flow rates with the input vapor to liquid volumetric ratio ranging from 50:1 to 100:1. For the experiment, air and water are used as gas and liquid respectively. The apparatus was tested positioned in three different ways - horizontal, vertical with fluid mixture flow from top to bottom and vice versa. A preliminary separation efficiency of 93% was observed in the position when the fluid mixture is sent from the top of the tubular coil and 100% in the other two positions. It was found that the flow patterns inside the tube determine the range in which the apparatus functions independent of gravity. The apparatus would be tested in the NASA KC-135 aircraft in the future. © 2004 by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. All rights reserved.

Publication Date

12-1-2004

Publication Title

37th AIAA Thermophysics Conference

Number of Pages

-

Document Type

Article; Proceedings Paper

Personal Identifier

scopus

Socpus ID

84897795387 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/84897795387

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