Bubble Size and Velocity Measurement in Gas-Liquid Systems:

Application of Fiber Optic Technique to Pilot Plant Scale

S. SABERI, K. SHAKOURZADEH*, D. BASTOUL and J. MILIlZER
Universitt! de Technologie de Compitgne, BP 649, 60206 Comp2gne Cedex, France
Institut National des Sciences Applquhes, 31 077 Toulouse Ceder, France
Technical University of Nova Scotia, PO Box lO00, HalUar, NS B3J 2x4, Canada
A new fiber optic probewas developed for thedetection and measurement of bubblesizes andvelocities in a gas-
liquid column. Theprobeis madeof a single 1 mm plastic fiber with a sharp wedgetip. The calibration was carried
out on a laboratory scaleunit using a cine-photographic techniqueto verify themeasurements. Bubblevelocities were
calculated using two identical parallel fibers and thecross-correlation technique. With thevelocities andthepassage
timedetermined, it was then possibleto determinethebubble diameter. Bubblediameters werewithin 10% of themeas-
urements obtained with thecine-photographic technique. After calibration, measurements werecarried out on a pilot
scale unit.
Ona mis au point une nouvellesonde?i fibres optiques pour la detection et lamesuredes tailles debulles et des
vitesses dans unecolonnegaz-liquide. LA sondesecomposedunesimplefibre plastiquede 1 mmmuni dun bout
pointu et en biseau. On a effectu6 la calibration dans uneunit6 il I&helle du laboratoire enrecourant ?i la technique
cinhatographique afin de verifier les mesures. Les vitesses debulles ont 6t6 calcul&s au moyen de deux fibres parallkles
identiques et par la techniquedecorrblations croiskes. Apr& avoir d6termin6 les vitesses et le temps de passage, on
a pu determiner lediamktre des bulles. Les diambtres debulles concordent il 10% p&s aux mesures obtenues par la
techniquecinhatographique. Des mesures ont 6t6 prises sur uneunit6 ?i I6chellepiloteaprks lacalibration.
Keywords: measurement, bubblevelocity, bubblesize, fiber optic probe.
hedesign of industrial scale columns with two and three
T phase flows, such as bubble columns, gas-solid and
gas-liquid-solid fluidized beds, usually depends on the
accuracy of available information on the gas bubble flow
characteristics obtained in a pilot unit. Bubble velocity, size
and frequency are parameters of major importance in the
determination of mass transfer characteristics in bubble
columns. Numerous investigations have shown the influence
of the magnitude of gas-liquid or gas-solid interfacial area
on the mass transfer rates, and the effect of bubble rise
velocity, average bubble size and bubble size distribution on
the overall conversion in multiphase reactors (Akita and
Yoshida, 1990; Malshelkar et al., 1970; Gianetto et al.,
1973). In recent years, the measurement of bubble proper-
ties is usually carried out by various types of optical probes;
for example, Moujaes (1990) and Chabot et al. (1992) used
a probe made of two small glass fibers fused at the end, with
one connected to a light source and the other to a pho-
todetector. Depending on the refraction index of the medium
in which these were placed, more or less of the emitted light
returned to the receiving fiber. When placed in water, most
of the light leaves the fibers and is dispersed in the water,
while when immersed in air most of the light is refracted
back into the receiving fiber. There are numerous researchers
who have made use of the same or similar techniques for
bubble measurements, for example: Leeand de Lasa (1987);
Saxena et al., (1990); Glicksmann et al., (1987); Gyure and
Clough (1987); Werther et al. (1991); Matsuura and Fan
(1984); Jean and Fan (1991), and de Lasa et al. (1984). In
spite of these many examples, fiber optic techniques have
mostly been restricted to laboratory size experiments (Fer-
dinand, 1992), where bubble frequency, velocity and size
are more easily controlled and determined.
The object of the present contribution is to present the
application of the bubble size and bubble velocity measure-
ment technique in multi-phase flows to a pilot plant scale
*Author to whom correspondence may be addressed.
unit. The instrumentation used is described in Militzer et.
al. (1992). It incorporates several improvements over existing
measurement techniques. For the bubble size measurements,
the technique presented here also introduces some improve-
ments, such as the use of a single fiber to send and receive
the light, as well as novel techniques for data acquisition and
analysis. The validity of the technique is established by com-
paring the results with those obtained form a simultaneously
performed photo-cine flow visualization technique.
Characteristics of the pilot and laboratory scale
columns and their instrumentation
THE BUBBLE COLUMNS
Figure lb presents a diagram of the pilot-plant and its
instrumentation. The pilot scale unit is described elsewhere
(Bigot et al., 1991; it has a cylindrical column with a diameter
of 0.15 m and is 2.3 m high. Gas (air) and liquid (water)
flows are measured by two rotameters. Both pressure drop
and voidage in the column are measured. A perforated plate
is used as thegas distribution grid. Operating conditions cor-
responding to the results presented here, were fixed to no
water flow with air flow rates ranging from 1 0 - ~ to
3.3 x m3/s. The laboratory scale unit had a diameter
of 0.08 m and a porous plate gas distributor. The air flow
rate was set at 9.5 x 1 0 - ~ m3/s.
THE FIBER OPTIC PROBE
The fiber optic probe consists of two parallel optic fibers
which are inserted into the columns aligned with the direc-
tion of flow (Figure la). Each fiber sends the emitted light
and receives the refracted and reflected light; this feature
significantly simplifies the construction and operation of the
probe. It eliminates the need for having one fiber to send
and another to receive the light. In some similar single fiber
THE CANADIAN JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, VOLUME 73, APRIL, 1995 253
Figure 1 - Diagram of the pilot plant installation. (a): Optical
probe system. (b): Pilot-plant. (c): Video system: 1. column; 2.
turbulence box; 3. air distributor; 4. disengagement section; 5. pres-
sure taps; 6. rotameter; 7. air inlet; 8. fiber optic probe and PC;
9. Proxitronic camera; 10. Nikon 125 mmlens; 11. command box;
12. black and white TV monitor; 13. S-VHS video system.
probes, Werther et al. (1991) use a beam splitter to divert
the returned light to the photodetector. To simplify the con-
struction of our instrument, we do not use a beam splitter,
sending only part of the reflected light to the photodetector.
The light produced by two LEDS, placed in a circuit box,
is shone on the flow through the fibers. For gas-liquid bubble
flows, the tip of the fiber is cut into a wedge form with a
30 angle. Its flat polished surface is aligned with the flow.
According to Snells Law, at the interface of two
homogeneous, isotropic media of different indexes of refrac-
tion mlsinOl =m2sin02, where ml and m2 are the indexes
of refraction of the fiber and the medium, respectively, while
8, and e2 are the angles of incidence and refraction of the
light measured from the normal to the surface. In our case,
ml =1.5 (plastic) and sin BI =0.87; thus, all incident light
with m2 larger than 1.5 X 0.87 =1.3 (water, for example)
is refracted, while when m2 is less than 1.3 (air, for
example) the light is reflected back into the fiber. This means
that the light is reflected only if a bubble contacts the tip of
the fiber. The reflected light is then retransmitted by the fiber
to a photocell located in the circuit box, where it is converted
into a voltage versus time signal. According to the varia-
tions in the flow properties, the intensity of the reflected light
changes with time, so the voltage signals have variable ampli-
tudes proportional to the intensity variations of the reflected
light. Since thetwo fibers are aligned with the flow, a similar
signal is obtained in the second fiber. The signals are sam-
pled by an analog-to-digital (A/D) data acquisition card and
the results are stored on a data file in the PC. A specially
written computer program for IBMcompatible personal com-
puters was developed to control the data acquisition, to ana-
lyse it and to display the results. Figure 2 shows a simple
block diagram of the computer program. The program directs
the AID board to acquire a certain number of series of
samples at a given frequency. It then calculates the cross-
correlation for every series of samples. The maximum cross
correlation in each series corresponds to a time delay. The
velocity is obtained by dividing the distance between the
fibers by the time delay. Once the velocities are known, a
statistical analysis of the voltage vs. time signal produced
by the bubbles that intercept the tip of the first fiber is car-
ried out. As a result, the bubble size distribution is obtained.
Figure 2 - Block diagram of the bubble velocity and size data
acquisition and treatment.
Once the calculations are completed the program presents
a graphical summary of the data and results obtained. This
includes volts versus time plots, as well as bubble size and
velocity histograms.
This type of probe is simple to use and presents the advan-
tage of allowing the measurement of bubble size and velocity
in an opaque medium enclosed by a non-transparent vessel.
Furthermore, the probe can be placed almost anywhere in
the bed, thus allowing for the measurement of the bubble
structures at different locations in the bed. Its only disad-
vantage is that, like any intrusive instrument, by contacting
the bubbles, it can modify their shape or velocity. This,
however, will be taken into consideration during the interpre-
tation of the results.
DIRECT VIDEO MODE BUBBLE VISUALIZATION TECHNIQUE
Figure l c presents a view of the cine-photographic equip-
ment. This system is composed of a high-scan Proxitronics
video camera, a TV monitor and a VHS video recorder con-
nected to an electronic command box for image monitoring
and analysis. The inspection of successive images allows the
determination of bubble velocity, shape and size. Further-
more, the use of this technique in combination with the fiber
optic probe allowed us to analyse thevehaviour of the bubbles
in contact with the optical fibers, and to determine how the
presence of the fibers disturbed their size and velocity. By
synchronizing the pictures with the electronic signal produced
by the fiber optic probes, it is possible to explain the partic-
ular shape of the voltage versus time signal produced by
the fiber optic probe during the passage of a bubble.
Mathematical treatment of the data obtained
The optical fibers are aligned with the flow; thus, the
velocity of the bubbles is calculated by dividing the distance
between the fibers (approximately 3 mm) by the time a bubble
takes to move from one fiber to the other. The time is calcu-
lated from the cross-correlation between the voltage signals
from the fibers, namely, Vl(r) and V2(t), according to the
following equation (Press et al., 1989):
C(T) =- Vl ( t ) V2(T +7)dt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1)
T s:
where T is the total data acquisition time. The maximum of
the cross correlation curve corresponds to the time interval
by which either VI or V2 have to be displaced so that it
superposes the other. This is considered to be the time
needed for the bubble to traverse the distance between the
two fibers (At).
Knowing the bubble velocity, bubble sizes can be calcu-
lated from the duration of the signal generated by the con-
tact between the bubble and the probe tip. The size of the
254 THE CANADIAN J OURNAL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, VOLUME 73, APRIL, 1995
bubble is then calculated by multiplying this time by the
velocity of the bubble. As a bubble may contact the fiber
at different positions (the tip of the fiber may pass through
different portions of the bubble), a statistical correction factor
must be used. Furthermore, bubbles are not spherical, they
rather have the shape of an ellipsoid with its minor axis
aligned with the flow. This also has to be taken into con-
sideration when calculating the correction factor.
Figure 3 shows schematically the relative position of a
bubble and the probe tip. The bottom view shows a circular
cross section, while the side view shows a deformed sphere
with a elliptical cross section whose smaller axis is aligned
with the direction of flow. From the bottom view wecan
say that the probability of the probe tip to be at a distance
x from the center is given by &/A =2a x &/a a, where
a is the radius of the circle and also the larger semi axis of
the elliptical vertical cross section. When the probe is at a
distance x from the center, the distance determined by the
probe will be y (side view). From the side view, we can thus
see that the bubble mean diameter detected by the probe is:
..........................
Db,opp =2 y dAIA (2)
j A
Introducing the value of &/ A above, and recalling that for
an ellipse y =b [ 1 - x 2/ u2] 0. 5, Equation (2) becomes:
Db.opp - - 2 J j i 1 -(x2/u2)10.5 (h/a2)&
..................................
=4b/3 (3)
These results suggest that for the present study the apparent
diameter, Db,opp determined by the probe, gives a good
approximation of the bubble vertical diameter. Meanwhile,
a correction factor C, =312 should be used to obtain the
maximumvertical diameter of the bubble. As the results to
be presented confirm, use of this simple correction factor
significantly improved the comparison of the results from
both columns with those obtained from the cine-photographic
technique, bringing themtypically within 10% of each other.
In both experiments, the bubble diameters (as seen by the
probe) presented a non-uniform diameter distribution. For
presentation purposes, they were grouped into intervals
whose diameters are given by:
N N
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Dbm =c,* c ni Dbi/ c ni (4)
where ni represents the number of bubbles in the range
defined by a local diameter Dbi.
i = I i = I
Results and discussion
INTERPRETATION OF THE SIGNAL SHAPE
Figure 4 presents an example of the signals obtained with
a 2 kHz sampling frequency. These signals are produced by
the passage of bubbles through the fiber optic probes. It is
characterized by a sudden voltage rise, followed after a short
time by a sudden drop to a level below the initial undisturbued
level and, finally, a more gradual raise to the initial signal
level. An analysis of the video images synchronized with the
probe shows that the first rise corresponds to the head
of the bubble (point A on Figbure 4), while the sudden
decrease is caused by the passage of the tail of the bubble
(point B on Figure 4). The sudden rise is attributed to the
n
PROBE
BOTTOM
VIEW
ELLIPSE
PROBE
X
SIDE VIEW u
Figure3 - Relativeposition of a bubbleand probe tip.
Figure4 - Typical voltageversus timesignal produced by thepas-
sageof a bubble. Points A and B correspond to the head and
tail of thebubble, respectively.
decrease in refraction index due to the contact of the probe
tip with the air contained in the bubble. Point B corresponds
to a sudden increase in the index of refraction due to the pas-
sage of the tail of the bubble and the return of the water.
The inverted spikes observed when the tail of the bubble
leaves the probe tip are due to the high gain AC coupled
amplifier, which forms RC networks that act as a differen-
tiating circuit when subjected to a step like waveform. The
diameter of the bubble is thus proportional to the duration
of the high intensity signal (segment AB on Figure 4).
EFFECT OF THE SAMPLING PARAMETERS
Different parameters can be set for the data acquisition and
treatment. These are data acquisition frequency, number of
samples per sampling burst and, finally, the number of series
of measurements at each location necessary to produce a
statistically meaningful average. The effect of some of these
parameters has already been discussed elsewhere (Militzer
et al., 1992). For the particular case of the bubbles, the fol-
lowing considerations apply.
Data acquisition frequency
Several tests with data acquisition frequencies between 1
and 8 kHz were carried out. For the flow under considera-
tion, the velocities are relatively low (< 0.5 m / s ) ; thus, with
a very high sampling frequency only a few bubbles would
bedetected leading to low correlation coefficients. Since the
bubble size is a direct function of the bubble velocity, the
sampling frequency affects its determination in an analogous
THE CANADIAN JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, VOLUME 73, APRIL, 1995 255
manner. For the present case, a sampling frequency of 2 kHz
was thus adopted.
25 1 I - PbDIO0aDhv
Number of samples
The ideal number of samples was determined using 256,
512 and 1024 samples for a fixed sampling frequency of 2
kHz. The highest correlation coefficient was obtained with
1024 samples; thus, 1024 samples were taken in all sam-
pling runs.
Number of series of measurements
Again for a sampling frequency of 2 kHz and 1024
samples, 20,50 and 100 series of measurements were taken
for fixed flow conditions. To ensure that the results were
statistically valid under all flow conditions, 100 series were
taken.
MEASUREMENTS ON THE LABORATORY SCALE COLUMN
Table 1 summarizes the average velocities and bubble
diameters measured by the fiber optical probe. The six values
were each obtained using a sampling frequency of 2 kHz and
100 series of 1024 samples. The velocity results are within
the range of 0.13 to 0.20 m/s and compare well with the
average bubble velocity of 0.172 m/s calculated from the
expansion ratio of the columns using the formula Ub =
Q/Acb, where Q is the air flow rate, A is the cross sectional
area and Eb is the fractional gas holdup calculated from the
column expansion ratio. For calibration purposes, the bubble
sizes were also observed under different flow conditions with
the photographic system illustrated in Figure lc. In each case
400 exposures were taken by a Proxitronic camera and
recorded by a S-VHS video recorder. In each series 200
bubbles were counted and measured with a Kappa video scale
on a TV monitor. Figure 5 shows a comparison of the results
obtained by the two methods. Again, both methods produce
similar results with an average bubble size obtained in the
photographic method of 4.2 mmcompared with the fiber
optic probe result of 4.1 mm. It must be observed that the
fiber optic result of 4.1 mmwas obtained after the applica-
tion of the correction factor Cf
The velocities were obtained using the cross-correlation
defined in Equation (1). Most cross-correlation distributions
obtained had the expected shape, that is, a clearly defined
maximum value near 1. However, some of the cross-
correlations distributions had a poorly defined maximum,
and were rejected. Poor correlations can be caused, for
example, by bubbles that follow a non-vertical trajectory,
touching only one of the fibers.
TABLE 1
TheResults of thePreliminary Experiments
Averagebubble
Average bubblevelocity diameter (m)
Run No. (mls) Channel 1 Channel 2
0.15-0.19 0.0021 0.0021
0.15-0.19 0.0021 0.0018
0.16-0.19 0.0034 0.0027
0.15-0.19 0.0029 0.0017
0.13-0.17 0.0024 0.0025
0.17-0.20 0.0024 0.0025
20
..
Figure5 - Comparison of thebubblediameter distribution meas-
ured by theoptical probeand thecine-photographic method.
7 n
II I
Figure 6 - Bubble size distribution obtained in the pilot scale
column by the optical probe.
MEASUREMENTS ON THE PILOT SCALE COLUMN
Velocities were obtained for 100 series of 1024 samples,
with a sampling rate of 2 kHz for an air flow rate of 3.33
m3/s. Unlike in the laboratory scale column, the velocities
vary significantly around the average. Figures 6 presents the
average bubble size distribution obtained with the optical
probe. Under the same conditions the bubble average
diameter obtained by the cine-photographic method was
between 3.5 and 4 mm, while the corrected fiber optical
average diameter was 3.7 mm. Again, they compare quite
well, mainly considering that the flow is highly variable.
Conclusion
This investigation introduces a novel approach for the
measurement of bubble velocity and size in a column. It was
calibrated in a laboratory scale unit using a cine-photographic
technique. The video-photographic system allowed the clear
establishment of the correspondence between the voltage
signal produced by the optical probe and the passage of the
bubble. Thus, once the bubble velocities were determined
it was relatively simple to develop and use an algorithm to
calculate the bubble diameters from the voltage vs. time
signal. The cine-photographic technique also allowed for the
observation of the different relative positions of the probe
tip and the bubble. This clearly showed the need for a cor-
rection factor to take into account the non-sphericity of the
bubbles and the fact that the probe tip doesnt intercept the
centre of the bubble. This correction factor turned out to be
a simple multiplication factor of 3/2 and when applied to the
fiber optic results produced bubble size distributions within
10% of the ones observed with the cine-photographic tech-
nique. This correction factor is controversial and more pilot
scale studies, with variable size bubbles must beundertaken
to generate a correction factor that can take into account
256 THE CANADIAN JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, VOLUME 73, APRIL, 1995
different operating conditions. Nevertheless, this crude tech-
nique produced results that are of acceptable accuracy for
practical calculations.
Nomenclature
a
A
b
C,
C(t) =cross-correlation, -
Dbi
Dbm
m
ni
N
t =time, s
trmu =maximumtime, s
T
b ,
V,
X
y
Greek letters
=horizontal half diameter of elliptic bubble, m
=vertical cross sectional area of bubble, m2
=vertical half diameter of elliptic bubble, m
=bubble diameter correction factor, -
=vertical diameter of the i th bubble, m
=mean vertical diameter of bubble, m
=index of refraction, -
=number of bubbles detected per measurement, -
=division number of bubble distribution, -
=total acquisition time per series, s
=voltage si gd fromfirst channel, v
=voltage signal fromsecond channel, V
=horizontal coordinate of the bubble, m
=vertical coordinate of the bubble, m
6 =angle of incidence of light at the fiber-fluid
interface -
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THE CANADIAN JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, VOLUME 73, APRIL, 1995 251