A method for detecting bubbles in two-phase gas-liquid flow

Detecting bubble in two-phase flow has been a basic issue in two-phase flow systems. A new method for measuring the frequency of bubble formation is presented in this paper. For this purpose, an electronic device was designed and constructed which works based on a change in intensity of laser beam. For this purpose, continues light beam is embedded just above the needle, which is received by a phototransistor. When bubbles go through this light beam, make a deviation on that and change the intensity of light. So, the electrical resistance between two bases of phototransistor changes and this variation sensed by an electronic board. According to the number of interruption and duration time, the frequency of bubble formation can be calculated. Liquid and gas phases of present work are water and air respectively. Tests are performed in constant liquid height (60 mm above the needle), constant needle diameter (1.6 mm), and gas flow rates between 50 to 1200 ml/hr. Also, three other methods utilized for measuring bubble frequency: image processing (IP), numerical modeling, and theoretical model. Results show that with increasing flow rate of the gas phase frequency of formation increases approximately in a linear manner. Validation of methods with IP method shows that the new device has very good accuracy for measuring bubble formation frequency. So because of the simplicity of using and low cost, it can be a superseded method of image processing.