Kinematic and Dynamic Parameters of a Liquid-Solid Pipe Flow Using DPIV∕Accelerometry

An experimental investigation of a two-phase pipe flow was undertaken to study kinematic and dynamic parameters of the fluid and solid phases. To accomplish this, a two-color digital particle image velocimetry and accelerometry (DPIV∕DPIA) methodology was used to measure velocity and acceleration fields of the fluid phase and solid phase simultaneously. The simultaneous, two-color DPIV∕DPIA measurements provided information on the changing characteristics of two-phase flow kinematic and dynamic quantities. Analysis of kinematic terms indicated that turbulence was suppressed due to the presence of the solid phase. Dynamic considerations focused on the second and third central moments of temporal acceleration for both phases. For the condition studied, the distribution across the tube of the second central moment of acceleration indicated a higher value for the solid phase than the fluid phase; both phases had increased values near the wall. The third central moment statistic of acceleration showed a variation between the two phases with the fluid phase having an oscillatory-type profile across the tube and the solid phase having a fairly flat profile. The differences in second and third central moment profiles between the two phases are attributed to the inertia of each particle type and its response to turbulence structures. Analysis of acceleration statistics provides another approach to characterize flow fields and gives some insight into the flow structures, even for steady flows.