Browsing by Author "van de Ven, Fons"

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Citation - Scopus: 1
Air Gun With Water Bullet
(Eindhoven University of Technology, 2023) Bozkuş, Zafer; Dinçer, A. Ersin; Tijsseling, A. S.; van de Ven, Alphons A.F.; van de Ven, Fons
The gun is a 12 m long inclined pipe of 0.1 m diameter which is connected to a charge of compressed air contained in a 0.5 m3 vessel. The bullet is a slug of water sitting in the upstream lower end of the pipe. The trigger is a hand-operated valve. The target is an elbow at the upstream higher end of the pipe. The smoking gun effect is created by a mist of water coming out of the pipe after each shot. The apparatus is not a toy but meant for serious research. When steam lines are out of operation and/or lack thermal insulation, liquid water collects in the lower parts of the system. System restart may accelerate the water slugs to velocities as high as 50 m/s, and subsequent slug impacts on elbows and orifices may cause pressure peaks with magnitudes only encountered in water-hammer events. The experimental programme consists of water slugs fired towards an elbow with an open end, a closed end, and an orifice end. The varied parameters are air pressure, water mass, outlet condition (open, closed, orifice). Upstream driving pressure and downstream impact pressure are measured in each experimental run. Pressure peaks up to 50 bar have been observed. Experimental results are compared with preliminary predictions from basic one-dimensional models. © 2024 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
Shooting a Water Slug Into an Air Column with and without Vent
(Amer Soc Mechanical Engineers, 2025) Bozkus, Zafer; Dincer, Ali Ersin; Tijsseling, Arris S.; van de Ven, Fons
Compressed air is used to shoot a single water slug into an upward sloping pipe with elbow and orifice at its upper end. The experiment concerns a 12 m long pipe of 0.1 m diameter connected to a 0.5 m3 air vessel. The 10 to 50 kg heavy slugs are initially at rest in the lower part of the system. Because the upper end is closed by a flange with orifice, the water slug is expected not to hit the upstream elbow. It causes - like a piston - a fast compression of the air column ahead of it. Sometimes the slug bounces back and forth, which results in a pressure oscillation of serious amplitude. Numerical simulations based on an elementary mathematical model are normally used to interpret the pressure measurements, not all of which are fully understood. Lessons learned are summarised, and suggestions for improved experiments and enhanced simulations are given. The research is of importance, for example, for steam lines where liquid condensates may collect in lower parts after power failure. Start-up of the system will then lead to rapid slug acceleration and potentially damaging impact on elbows, orifices, and machinery.