Measurement of local heat transfer coefficient during gas-liquid Taylor bubble train flow by infra-red thermography

In mini/micro confined internal flow systems, Taylor bubble train flow takes place within specific range of respective volume flow ratios, wherein the liquid slugs get separated by elongated Taylor bubbles, resulting in an intermittent flow situation. This unique flow characteristic requires understanding of transport phenomena on global, as well as on local spatio-temporal scales. In this context, an experimental design methodology and its validation are presented in this work, with an aim of measuring the local heat transfer coefficient by employing high-resolution InfraRed Thermography. The effect of conjugate heat transfer on the true estimate of local transport coefficients, and subsequent data reduction technique, is discerned. Local heat transfer coefficient for (i) hydrodynamically fully developed and thermally developing single-phase flow in three-side heated channel and, (ii) non-boiling, air-water Taylor bubble train flow is measured and compared in a mini-channel of square cross-section (5 mm × 5 mm; Dh = 5 mm, Bo ≈ 3.4) machined on a stainless steel substrate (300 mm × 25 mm × 11 mm). The design of the setup ensures near uniform heat flux condition at the solid-fluid interface; the conjugate effects arising from the axial back conduction in the substrate are thus minimized. For benchmarking, the data from single-phase flow is also compared with three-dimensional computational simulations. Depending on the employed volume flow ratio, it is concluded that enhancement of nearly 1.2-2.0 times in time-averaged local streamwise Nusselt number can be obtained by Taylor bubble train flow, as compared to fully developed single-phase flow. This enhancement is attributed to the intermittent intrusion of Taylor bubbles in the liquid flow which drastically changes the local fluid temperature profiles. It is important to maintain proper boundary conditions during the experiment while estimating local heat transfer coefficient, especially in mini-micro systems.