Experimental evaluation on characteristics of a falling-film flow on the horizontal tube subject to ultrasonic field

The falling-film flow characteristics significantly influence the heat and mass transfer process in the horizontal tube absorber. This study experimentally investigates the effect of ultrasonic field on the flow mode transition and thickness distribution of the liquid film on the horizontal tube. The water-calcium chloride (CaCl2/water) was selected as the working fluid. The effects of the factors, such as the tube diameter, tube spacing, solution concentration, ultrasonic power, sound source distance and ultrasonic incidence angle, on the hydrodynamics of the liquid flow were analyzed. The results show that the mode transition Reynolds number increases with the increasing ultrasonic power, but reduces comparing to that without ultrasound. Moreover, in the column mode, the fluctuation range of the film thickness decreases with the increase of the ultrasound power; and the ultrasonic field help increase the average film thickness outside the tube and enhance the uniformity of liquid film.

Automated summary

The study investigated the effect of ultrasonic field on the flow characteristics of the falling-film flow in the horizontal tube absorber. The experiments found that ultrasonic power increased the mode transition Reynolds number and improved the uniformity of the liquid film thickness. In addition, the ultrasonic field helped increase the average film thickness outside the tube.