Carbon Dioxide Multiphase Flows in Microfluidic Devices

Authors

Ruopeng Sun

Type

Text

Type

Thesis

Advisor

Krainer, Adrian R. | Jon Longtin | John Kincaid.

Date

2010-12-01

Keywords

Mechanical Engineering | Carbon Dioxide, Microfluidics, Multiphase flow

Department

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Language

en_US

Source

This work is sponsored by the Stony Brook University Graduate School in compliance with the requirements for completion of degree.

Identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/11401/72684

Publisher

The Graduate School, Stony Brook University: Stony Brook, NY.

Format

application/pdf

Abstract

In this thesis, we experimentally studied the mass transfer during CO₂ absorption into water, ethanol, methanol and silicone oil under slug flow in microchannels. We showed that the initial bubble size is determined by the liquid fraction and channel geometry, while the CO₂ diffusion rate is determined by the gas pressure and liquid properties, such as the Henry's constant and the diffusion coefficient. The reduction of the gas void fractionΑ_G along the flow direction and the transformation of segmented flows into dilute bubbly flows was observed and predicted. In high viscosity liquids, we showed the liquid film thickness is related to the capillary number and the gas pressure. We also constructed experimental setup for investigating CO₂ cavitation in microchannels. A linear time dependence of bubble growth from depressurization is observed. In addition, we proposed the fabrication procedure of co-flowing capillary tip and listed its current limitations.

Recommended Citation

Sun, Ruopeng, "Carbon Dioxide Multiphase Flows in Microfluidic Devices" (2010). Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions). 1887.
https://commons.library.stonybrook.edu/stony-brook-theses-and-dissertations-collection/1887