Xiaoming Luo

Investigation on Transient Oscillation of Droplet Deformation before Conical Breakup under Alternating Current Electric Field.

In this paper, the conical breakup of a water droplet suspended in oil under the alternating current (ac) electric field was experimentally studied with the help of a high-speed video camera. We observed three stages of transient oscillation of deformation characterized by deformation degree l* before the conical breakup that were described in detail. Then a theoretical model was developed to find out the dynamic mechanisms of that behavior. Despite a very small discrepancy, good agreement between model predictions and experimental observations of the evolution of the droplet deformation was observed, and the possible reasons for the discrepancy were discussed as well. Finally, the stresses on the interface were calculated with the theoretical model and their influence on the dynamic behavior before the breakup was obtained. The differences between the droplet breakup mode of ac and direct current electric field are also discussed in our paper.

An experimental study on the coalescence process of binary droplets in oil under ultrasonic standing waves

The coalescence process of binary droplets in oil under ultrasonic standing waves was investigated with high-speed photography. Three motion models of binary droplets in coalescence process were illustrated: (1) slight translational oscillation; (2) sinusoidal translational oscillation; (3) migration along with acoustic streaming. To reveal the droplets coalescence mechanisms, the influence of main factors (such as acoustic intensity, droplet size, viscosity and interfacial tension, etc) on the motion and coalescence of binary droplets was studied under ultrasonic standing waves. Results indicate that the shortest coalescence time is achieved when binary droplets show sinusoidal translational oscillation. The corresponding acoustic intensity in this case is the optimum acoustic intensity. Under the optimum acoustic intensity, drop size decrease will bring about coalescence time decrease by enhancing the binary droplets oscillation. Moreover, there is an optimum interfacial tension to achieve the shortest coalescence time.

An experimental study on the motion of water droplets in oil under ultrasonic irradiation.

The motion of a single water droplet in oil under ultrasonic irradiation is investigated with high-speed photography in this paper. First, we described the trajectory of water droplet in oil under ultrasonic irradiation. Results indicate that in acoustic field the motion of water droplet subjected to intermittent positive and negative ultrasonic pressure shows obvious quasi-sinusoidal oscillation. Afterwards, the influence of major parameters on the motion characteristics of water droplet was studied, such as acoustic intensity, ultrasonic frequency, continuous phase viscosity, interfacial tension, and droplet diameter, etc. It is found that when the acoustic intensity and frequency are 4.89 W cm(-2) and 20 kHz respectively, which are the critical conditions, the droplet varying from 250 to 300 μm in lower viscous oil has the largest oscillation amplitude and highest oscillation frequency.

An investigation into the deformation, movement and coalescence characteristics of water-in-oil droplets in an AC electric field

Drop-drop coalescence is important in electric dehydrators used for oil-water separation in the oil industry. The deformation degree, angle between the electric field and the center line of two drops, effects of intensities and frequencies of the electric field have been studied by analyzing droplet images. However, seldom have people investigated the movement and the relative velocity in the process of drop-drop coalescence. In this paper forces acting on a single droplet and horizontal water droplets in an AC electric field were analyzed, and experiments were carried out to investigate the deformation, movement and coalescence characteristics of droplets with white oil and water. With a micro high-speed camera system and image processing technology, the droplet images were collected and analyzed. The results indicate that the deformation is mainly affected by the electric field intensity, frequency, droplet diameter and the oil viscosity. High field strength and large diameter facilitate deformation of drops in the electric field. The effect of frequency and oil viscosity is not obvious. Higher frequency and higher oil viscosity will lead to smaller oscillation amplitude. The effect of electric field intensity and droplet diameter on oscillation amplitude is not obvious. When the center-to-center distance between droplets is large, the forces acting on droplets in the horizontal direction are mainly dipole-dipole attraction and drag forces. There is also the film-thinning force when droplets get closer. The forces are simplified and derived. Based on force analysis and Newton’s second law, the relative movement is analyzed in different parts, and the relationship of center-to-center distance and time is in accordance with an explinear function at different stages. According to experimental data, the movement of 145 μm double droplets before coalescence can be fitted well with an explinear function at two stages. In addition, the whole movement process is investigated and can be estimated with a fourth order polynomial curve, from which the relative velocity of droplet movement can also be obtained. With an increases in electric field intensity and droplet diameter and a decrease in oil viscosity, the relative velocity increases. Only when the oil-water interfacial tension is obviously high, can it influence the relative movement significantly. The coalescence is mainly dipole coalescence and chain coalescence under influence of the AC electric field.

Suspension characteristics of water droplet in oil under ultrasonic standing waves

The suspension characteristics of water droplet in oil were investigated under ultrasonic standing waves with high-speed photography in this paper. Firstly, the suspension position of droplet was predicted by theoretical derivation. The motion trajectory of droplet was captured and a kinetic analysis was applied to characterize the suspension position of droplet. The effects of droplet size, acoustic pressure, frequency, as well as density ratio of water and oil on the suspension position of droplet were analyzed in details. It was proved that the droplet size had little effect on the suspension position at different frequencies. The suspension zone approached minimum at 39.4kHz, and the suspension position of droplet was insensitive to acoustic pressure amplitude and density ratio at this frequency. These would be advantageous to maintain the stability of droplet banding and shorten the width of banding. In addition, it was proved that the suspension position of droplet is approximately linear with the density ratio at different frequencies.

Droplets banding characteristics of water-in-oil emulsion under ultrasonic standing waves

Droplets banding is critical to emulsion separation under ultrasonic irradiation as it can greatly improve the separation efficiency. In this paper, the formation process of droplets banding under ultrasonic standing waves was precisely captured by high-speed microscopic photography; by processing the images, the droplets banding characteristics, including the banding formation time and banding interval, were extracted. Then the effects of acoustic intensity, frequency, droplet size, and physical properties of oil and water on the droplets banding characteristics were discussed in details. The results show that the range of acoustic intensities, within which the droplets banding can form, increases with the increase of the frequency; a maximum allowable acoustic intensity exists for banding formation, which also increases with the frequency. The banding formation time, which increases with increasing oil viscosity but decreases with droplet size, is found to be hardly affected by the oil-water interfacial tension. In addition, the banding interval is only related to the frequency, which closely corresponds to the half wavelength.

Several surfaces with special wettability: Influence on spreading and motion of W/O emulsion droplets

ABSTRACT Physical and chemical modifications were made on the surface of the aluminum sheet to change the surface properties and superhydrophobic–hydrophilic wettability gradient surface was made on the perspex surface by using microstructure-pattering technique and self-assembled-monolayer method. By using high-speed video camera system and optical tensiometer, this paper discusses the influence of special surfaces with different wettability on spreading and motion of water, oil, and W/O emulsion droplets both experimentally and theoretically. In addition, the paper also discusses the influence of the superhydrophobic–hydrophilic wettability gradient on fluidity of W/O emulsion droplets and the coalescence process of droplets. The results showed that the contact angle of W/O emulsion droplets on the modified surfaces was related to the water and oil distribution at the three-phase line. On the wettability gradient surface, the droplet moved spontaneously when the droplet was located at the junction of the gradient. A quasi-steady theoretical model was used to analyze the driving and resistant forces acting on a droplet to improve the understanding of the self-transport behavior of the droplets. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

Influence of separator control on the characteristics of severe slugging flow

Due to the special structure of offshore multiphase pipes, it is easy for severe slugging to occur in the riser at low gas-liquid velocity. Violent pressure fluctuations and dramatic changes of flow rate are the main characteristics of severe slugging, leading to the risk of serious damage. In this paper, the separator control is adopted to accurately control the separator liquid level and pressure under severe slugging flow conditions. This indicates that the separator liquid level control alone does not have a significant impact on the upstream flow, but it is beneficial for normal operation and pressure control of the separator. As the separator pressure increases, the peak pressure in the riser apparently diminishes, and the amplitude of pressure fluctuation gradually decreases, which means that severe slugging is inhibited. During the slug blowing out, the gas/liquid slipping in the riser intensifies. The long gas plug quickly flows through the riser, and then tends to morph into short and slowly flowing gas bubbles. The elimination effect of the pressure control strategy on severe slugging is related to the relative rate of the superficial gas/liquid flow.

Phase separation technology based on ultrasonic standing waves: A review

The current understanding and developments of phase separation technology based on ultrasonic standing waves (USWs) are reviewed. Most previous reviews have focused on microscale applications of this technology in the fields of biological materials and food processing. This review covers different applications of ultrasonic separation technology, especially in petrochemical industry. The kinetic mechanism of ultrasonic, design of reactors, separation principles, and related applications are discussed in detail. We lay special stress on the motion characteristics of particles in USWs. According to the particle numbers, particle properties, and frequency characteristics, the separation principles are reasonably categorized as: (1) Bands effect; (2) Acoustophoretic coefficient; (3) Particle density; (4) Sweep frequency. Diverse separation principles improve the universality of ultrasonic separation technology. However, acoustic streaming and acoustic cavitation are two of the main challenges in the application of ultrasonic separation. Based on the current research, the future research can focus on the following aspects: (1) Explore the mechanism of ultrasonic demulsification; (2) Establish unified evaluation criteria for acoustic separation systems; (3) Develop the basis for determination of acoustic cavitation and non-cavitation.

Breakup Characteristics of Aqueous Droplet with Surfactant in Oil under Direct Current Electric Field

The breakup process of aqueous droplet with surfactant suspended in oil under direct current (DC) electric field is investigated in this paper. The characteristics of the breakup process, stretching, necking and breakup, are discussed quantitatively with the electric capillary number Ca and the dimensionless surfactant concentration C∗ which is the ratio of surfactant concentration to the critical micelle concentration. The results show that the presence of surfactant reduces the steady deformation of droplet and significantly decelerates the stretching process, resulting from the redistribution of surfactant molecules within the oil/water interface. The law of droplet stretching process when C∗≥1 indicates that the exchange of surfactant molecules between the bulk phase and the interface could not catch up with the increase of oil/water interfacial area. Ca and C∗ count a great deal to the necking position and the daughter droplet size. The daughter droplet size decreases with the increase of surfactant concentration. These results provide a mechanistic framework to promote the electrocoalescence efficiency of oil/water emulsion and to the application of electric emulsification.