Characteristics of Water Droplets in Gasoline Pipe Flow

가솔린 송유관에서의 수액적 거동 특성

Liquid fossil fuel contaminated by water can cause trouble in the combustion processes and affect the endurance of a combustion system. Using an optical sensor to monitor the water content instantaneously in a fuel pipeline is an effective means of controlling the fuel quality in a combustion system. In two component liquid flows of oil and water, the flow pattern and characteristics of water droplets are changed with various flow conditions. Additionally, the light scattering of the optical sensor measuring the water content is also dependent on the flow patterns and droplet characteristics. Therefore, it is important to investigate the detailed behavior of water droplets in the pipeline of the fuel transportation system. In this study, the flow patterns and characteristics of water droplets in the turbulent pipe flow of two component liquids of gasoline and water were investigated using optical measurements. The dispersion of water droplets in the gasoline flow was visualized, and the size and velocity distributions of water droplets were simultaneously measured by the phase Doppler technique. The Reynolds number of the gasoline pipe flow varied in the range of $4{\times}10^{4}\;to\;1{\times}10^{3}$, and the water content varied in the range of 50 ppm to 300 ppm. The water droplets were spherical and dispersed homogeneously in all variables of this experiment. The velocity of water droplets was not dependent on the droplet size and the mean velocity of droplets was equal to that of the gasoline flow. The mean diameter of water droplets decreased and the number density increased with the Reynolds number of the gasoline flow.