Experimental Investigation and CFD Modeling of Slush Cryogen Flow Measurement Using Circular Shape Capacitors

• Main Authors: Bogdan Florian Monea, Eusebiu Ilarian Ionete, Stefan Ionut Spiridon
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-04-01
• Series: Sensors
• Subjects: cryogenic fluid; slush flowmeter; circular capacitors; numerical simulation
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/20/7/2117

The measurement of two-phase cryogenic fluid mixtures flow, also known as slush cryogen flow, with its most attractive form (liquid and solid) is of great interest for various applications, due to its thermodynamic advantages. This paper presents a newly developed device, under the form of a circular capacitor prototype, together with an experimental stand for slush formation. Slush nitrogen was used as testing fluid during the experimental work. Then, the experimental data for slush cryogen flow measurement using the proposed circular shape capacitor were compared with theoretical results obtained by simulation. A three-dimensional flow field model was built and solved for the innovative design slush flowmeter using a computational fluid dynamic (CFD) model. Nitrogen slush density of 874 kg/m³, representing approximately 30% solid fraction, was reported for both the modeling and experimental testing, although the numerical investigation is not limited to these values. By comparing experimental vs. simulation results, a deeper view on the designed configuration can be achieved, thus improving the progress in producing high-performance next generation devices for two-phase flow measurement in terms of physical dimensions, length and space between armatures. Even so, the mathematical model has limitations when mixtures with higher percentages of solid phase and particle sizes are encountered.