Measurement of falling film thickness around a horizontal tube using laser-induced fluorescence technique

Abstract

An optical method for the non-intrusive measurement of falling film thickness on the perimeter of the horizontal tube is described. This non-intrusive measurement method is based on the visualization of the falling film flowing around the horizontal tube and uses the laser induced fluorescence and image processing techniques. The falling film thickness around a Turbo-CII horizontal tube and a plain horizontal tube was measured when water flushed the tube vertically with a stable velocity. The results for the Turbo-CII tube are compared with those for the plain tube, and show that the film thickness around the Turbo-CII tube varies with the same trend as that around the plain tube, and the minimal values of the film thickness tend to locate at different angular position of 95°-120° under different conditions. The film thickness around the enhanced tube changes within a smaller range with time than that around the plain tube. The corresponding effects on flow uniformity have also been discussed.