AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON AIR-WATER COUNTERCURRENT FLOW LIMITATION IN THE UPPER PLENUM WITH A MULTI-HOLE PLATE

Abstract

Air-water countercurrent flow limitation at perforated plates with four holes was investigated in a vertical tank to see the effects of the plate thickness, the number of hole, and the diameter of the hole on the onset of CCFL. The thickness of plates was 1 cm and 4 cm, with a relatively large hole diameter of 5 cm. The collapsed water level formed on the perforated plate and its distribution in the upper plenum were measured. The gas flow rate in the multi-hole plate is relatively higher than one in the single tube because some of holes in the multi-hole plate provide a flow path fur liquid with less air-liquid resistance than in the single tube. The onset of CCFL occurred at nearly the same air flow rate regardless of the plate thickness. The negligible effect of the plate thickness on CCFL means that the flooding is initiated at the top of the plate rather than at its bottom. It turns out that and better fit the data than when hole diameter is greater than 2.86 cm. In our experimental ranges, the collapsed water levels at the onset of CCFL ranged from 7.5 cm to 10.5 cm. There was no three dimensional distribution of water level before and after the onset of CCFL.