Particle Tracking Velocimetry Technique Development for Laboratory Measurement of Fracture Flow Inside a Pressure Vessel Using Neutron Imaging

Abstract

This paper will describe recent progress made in developing neutron imaging based particle tracking velocimetry techniques for visualizing and quantifying flow structure through a high pressure flow cell with high temperature capability (up to 350 degrees C). This experimental capability has great potential for improving the understanding of flow through fractured systems in applications such as enhanced geothermal systems (EGS). For example, flow structure measurement can be used to develop and validate single phase flow models used for simulation, experimentally identify critical transition regions and their dependence on fracture features such as surface roughness, and study multiphase fluid behavior within fractured systems. The developed method involves the controlled injection of a high contrast fluid into a water flow stream to produce bubbles that can be tracked using neutron radiography. A description of the experimental setup will be provided along with an overview of the algorithms used to automatically track bubbles and relate them to the velocity gradient in the flow stream. Experimental results will be reported along with volume of fluids based simulation techniques used to model observed flow.