The Implementation of Image Processing Technique to Analyze the Air-Water Stratified Flow Characteristics in a Horizontal Pipe

In the operation of horizontal two-phase flow system, stratified flow should be maintained since it provides good key operational factors and pipe construction safety. Recently, the investigations of stratified flow have widely covered various aspects of the flow, such as the liquid hold-up. An image processing technique devotes numerous advantages related to the abilities of non-intrusive measurement and quantitative visualization. The aim of the present work was to implement the image processing technique to study the characteristics of the stratified flow. Here, the observations were conducted in a transparent horizontal pipe with inner diameter of 50 mm. Air and water were used as the working fluid. The liquid superficial velocity (J
L
) was between 0.005 m/s to 0.05 m/s while the gas superficial velocity (J
G
) was between 0.94 m/s to 6.00 m/s. The data was processed by using the image processing algorithms that have been developed in the previous study. As a result, qualitative and quantitative identifications of each stratified flow patterns (smooth, ripple, and roll) have been carried out by using an image processing technique. The effects of gas and liquid superficial velocities to stratified flow behaviors were also obtained. Moreover, this study proved that the developed algorithm has been successfully implemented in the present stratified flow case. Furthermore, it can be a promising method to be used in other cases of stratified flow and validation of the available CFD simulation models on stratified flow in horizontal pipes.