Frequency characteristics of the noise of R600a refrigerant flowing in a pipe with intermittent flow pattern

The acoustic characteristics of a long-shaped cylindrical bubble for slug or churn flow in a pipe are different from those of a freely rising spherical bubble in infinite liquid. In this research, the theoretical estimation of the natural frequency of the long-shaped cylindrical bubble was derived using the energy conservation law for a single bubble in a pipe. The acoustic characteristics of bubbles in a pipe were also investigated with the R600a refrigerant, which is widely used in refrigerators when the flow pattern in a pipe is slug or churn flow. In order to make slug and churn flow artificially, refrigerant-supplying equipment was designed and developed. Using this test equipment, the frequency characteristics of the long-shaped cylindrical bubble in 2-phase flow were investigated experimentally.