Experimental measurement of flow distribution in a parallel mini‐channel fluidic network using PIV technique

Boutin, Guillaume; Wei, Min; Fan, Yilin

doi:10.1002/apj.2013

Cited by 3 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Besides numerical methods, existing experimental techniques for the evaluation of fluid distribution are limited to visualizations by color, pH indicator or fluorescence tracers [22][23][24]. Other intrusive experimental methods such as Hot Wire Probe (HWP), Doppler Ultrasonic Velocimetry (DUV) are compared by Boutin et al [25]. But the above-listed techniques give only single point measurement other than detailed flow distribution information.…”

Section: Existing Methods In Fluid Distribution Identificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When comes to millimetric device that have short residence time, this method is limited by the sampling rate of conductometer. PIV (Particle Image Velocimetry) [25,27] and LIF (Laser Induced Fluorescence) [28] measurements provide quantitative velocity distribution inside certain flow configurations, but under specific conditions. First, the visualization is usually limited to simple or single-pipe devices but not adapted to 3D complex configurations.…”

Section: Existing Methods In Fluid Distribution Identificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Residence time distribution on flow characterisation of multichannel systems: Modelling and experimentation

Guo

Fan

2018

Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science

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Residence Time Distribution (RTD) is a frequently used tool in conventional process equipment and it provides internal flow characterisation by simple tracer tests. In this paper, we explore the feasibility of using RTD to identify fluid distribution uniformity in millimetric multichannel devices. Both theoretical modelling and experimental implementation are conducted to 16-channel systems. Theoretical modelling confirms the effectiveness of non-intrusive RTD measurements in evaluating flowrate distribution uniformity. Different influencing factors, such as channel corrosion, blockage, distributor structure, channel length or width variation, etc., can be reflected by RTD response curve. The experimental setup consists of a lab-developed RTD test platform coupling a fast camera and two miniflowcells capable to quantify rapid tracer concentration evolution through carbon ink visualization. The platform is particularly powerful for very narrow RTD measurement with residence time down to 1 s. With the platform, we investigate the RTD characteristics of a multichannel device under several flow conditions. Model correlation of the experimental data gives valuable information such as fluid distribution, plug-flow ratio and perfectly mixed volume. 1.1. Previous studies Parallel millimetric channels can be configured to provide multiple functionalities including heat exchange, mixing and chemical reaction. Our previous studies [10,15,16] on a 16-channel device have demonstrated rapid mixing effect (with micromixing time down to 10 ms) and compact heat exchange property (with the overall heat transfer coefficient being in the range of 2000-5000 W m −2 K −1). All these performances are thanks to a special tree-like structure that serves as fluid distributor and collector. By using such a nature-inspired manifold, the flow distribution non-uniformity is estimated to be lower than 10% under test flow conditions. However, once channel flowrates differ among channels (non-uniform distribution, or maldistribution), the global performance is expected to degrade in most cases. Regarding micromixing and chemical reaction, uneven fluid distribution can result in unbalanced reagents composition thus totally different reaction kinetics. Shown in Fig. 1 is the link between fluid residence time and micromixing time, previously

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Section: Existing Methods In Fluid Distribution Identificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Existing Methods In Fluid Distribution Identificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Residence time distribution on flow characterisation of multichannel systems: Modelling and experimentation

Guo

Fan

2018

Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science

Self Cite

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“…In our pre-test, two numbers of instantaneous frames, 200 and 375, were used for each plane to test the image independence. The maximum deviation is less than 0.1% (Boutin et al, 2016). Therefore, 200 pairs of frames for each plane were enough to save the experiment and post-processing time.…”

Section: Measurement Procedures and Uncertaintymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The maximum possible deviation is 5.1% which will be indicated as the error bar for PIV results in the following figures, implying that the PIV technique is relatively accurate for flow-rate distribution measurements among parallel channels. More details on the PIV measurement procedure may be found in our earlier work (Boutin et al, 2016).…”

Section: Measurement Procedures and Uncertaintymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Numerical and experimental investigation on the realization of target flow distribution among parallel mini-channels

Wei

Boutin

Fan

et al. 2016

Chemical Engineering Research and Design

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Fluid flow maldistribution is considered as one of the main causes of performance deterioration in various energy and process systems, especially when parallel micro-or mini-channel fluidic networks are involved. For a specific purpose, the optimal flow distribution is not necessarily uniform. However, specific non-uniform distributions are somewhat more difficult to achieve than uniform ones. The insertion of a geometrically optimized baffle has been numerically confirmed as an effective solution to this issue, but experimental validation is still lacking which is indispensable for bridging the gap between theory and practice. This paper presents a numerical and experimental investigation on the realization of target flow distribution among parallel mini-channels, using the optimized baffle insertion method. A 15-channel fluidic network integrated with the distributor and the collector is fabricated and tested. Various perforated baffles are optimized and fabricated corresponding to different target distributions (uniform, ascending and descending). PIV technique is used for the flow distribution measurement while CFD simulations are also performed for comparison. CFD results and PIV data show that different target distributions could be successfully achieved by the optimized baffle insertion method. The robustness of the optimized baffle for uniform distribution is also evaluated and discussed to provide some guidelines for future applications.

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Past and current components-based detailing of particle image velocimetry: A comprehensive review

Rohács¹,

Yasar²,

Kale³

et al. 2023

Heliyon

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Experimental measurement of flow distribution in a parallel mini‐channel fluidic network using PIV technique

Cited by 3 publications

References 44 publications

Residence time distribution on flow characterisation of multichannel systems: Modelling and experimentation

Residence time distribution on flow characterisation of multichannel systems: Modelling and experimentation

Numerical and experimental investigation on the realization of target flow distribution among parallel mini-channels

Past and current components-based detailing of particle image velocimetry: A comprehensive review

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