Visualization study on the flow pattern of gas-solid-liquid three-phase flow in upriser airlift pump

Airlift pump has a several flow pattern in lifting mixtures liquids and solid through a vertical pipe. The flow pattern in airlift pump have been investigated in previous studies, the study focus on two-phase flow and performance of air lift pump. For this reason, the purpose of experiment was to known the flow pattern of gas-solid-liquid three-phase flow in airlift pump during the solid particles lifting in the upriser. In the present experimental study, we have modified the conventional airlift pump system by used swirl injector in the system. Here, experimental study on the flow pattern of gas- solid-liquid three-phase flow in upriser airlift pump to lift the solid particles with the vertical pipe as the transporting medium was conducted. The upriser pipe was an acrylic pipe with an inner diameter at 56 mm, and the total height of 340 cm. The type of gas injector in the system was swirl with 2 injectors in suction head of air lift pump. The solid particle of the present experiment was sand with particle diameters 0.774 mm and 1.43 mm, and the supplied air flow rate ranged from (60-80 LPM). The solid lifting particles were capture by using a high speed camera of the frame speed of 3000 fps. As a result, it was obtained that (1) the optimum of solid lifting particle was found in the slug flow pattern, (2) the particle diameters and volumetric flow rate of the lifted particles affect the ability of the air lift pump.