Air Flow Monitoring in a Bubble Column Using Ultrasonic Spectrometry

Abstract

This work demonstrates the use of an ultrasonic methodology to monitor bubble density in a water column. A flow regime with droplet size distribution between 0.2 and 2 mm was studied. This range is of particular interest because it frequently appears in industrial flows. Ultrasound is typically used when the size of the bubbles is much larger than the wavelength (low frequency limit). In this study, the radius of the bubbles ranges between 0.6 and 6.8 times the wavelength, where wave propagation becomes a complex phenomenon, making existing analytical methods difficult to apply. Measurements in transmission–reception mode with ultrasonic transducers operating at frequencies of 2.25 and 5.0 MHz were carried out for different superficial velocities. The results showed that a time-averaging scheme is necessary and that wave parameters such as propagation velocity and the slope of the phase spectrum are related to the number of bubbles in the column. The proposed methodology has the potential for application in industrial environments.