An X-ray system for visualizing fluid flows

Abstract

A unique flow visualization facility, based on X-ray imaging, has been developed to study, characterize, and measure various flow characteristics in large vertical systems that have internal diameters of up to 32 cm and are as tall as 4 m. This facility provides digital X-ray radiography and stereography imaging to visualize and time-resolve 3D flow structures in multiphase and opaque fluid flows at up to 60 frames/s. In addition, X-ray computed tomography (CT) imaging records local time-averaged phase distributions in multiphase flows with a spatial resolution of less than 0.5 mm (∼0.15% of a 32-cm-diameter object). The X-ray hardware and image processing software for this facility are described. Selected imaging results are then presented for various single and multiphase fluid flows.