Sloshing effect on gas-liquid distribution performance at entrance of a plate-fin heat exchanger

The maldistribuiton of gas-liquid mixtures has serious influences on the heat-transfer characteristics of plate-fin heat exchangers (PFHEs) and restricts the development of PFHEs in the floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) field. To efficiently use PFHEs for FLNG, it is necessary to investigate the gas-liquid distribution at the entrance of PFHEs under sloshing conditions. In this study, an experimental gas-liquid distribution system was built, and the distribution characteristics of a PFHE distributor were investigated under sloshing conditions using air and water as mediums. The influence of sloshing form, sloshing amplitude, and sloshing period on the gas-liquid distribution is discussed with flow ratio m∗k and standard deviation STDk as the distribution index. The results showed that in the experimental condition the non-uniformity of two-phase mixture under sloshing conditions increase by 1.25-18.03% on the basis of steady condition with the increase of sloshing amplitudes and decrease with the increasing sloshing periods. The variation range of two-phase uniformity under mixed sloshing conditions is 14.8-27.9% on the basis of steady condition. These results provide constructive instructions for the design and safe operation of PFHEs in the FLNG field.