Fast wire-mesh sensors for gas-liquid flows and decomposition of gas fraction profiles according to bubble size classes

The wire-mesh sensor developed by the Forschungszentrum Rossendorf produces sequences of instantaneous gas fraction distributions in a cross section with a time resolution of 1200 frames per second and a spatial resolution of about 2-3 mm. At moderate flow velocities (up to 1-2 m/s), bubble size distributions can be obtained, since each individual bubble is mapped in several successive distributions. The method was used to study the evolution of the bubble size distribution in a vertical two-phase flow. For this purpose, the sensor was placed downstream of an air injector, the distance between air injection and sensor was varied. The bubble identification algorithm allows to select bubbles of a given range of effective diameter and to calculate partial gas fraction profiles for this diameter range. In this way, the different behaviour of small and large bubbles in respect to the action of the lift force was observed in a realistic flow situation.