Experimental research on distribution characteristics of biphasic fluids in the shell side of LNG spiral-wound heat exchangers under sloshing conditions

•A large-scale sloshing and visualization experimental system is built.•Flow patterns at the inlet of spiral-wound heat exchangers are obtained.•Raised sloshing angles or periods will augment fluid radial migration, thus reducing fluid distribution uniformity. Flow maldistribution on the shell side of LNG spiral-wound heat exchangers (SWHEs) can deteriorate their performance, especially in the presence of sloshing motions. Nevertheless, the distribution properties of biphasic fluids on the shell side of SWHEs under various sloshing conditions are still unclear. To address this issue, a large-scale sloshing and visualization experimental system is built, utilizing both experimental measurements and visualization technology to clarify the distribution properties of biphasic fluids on the shell side of SWHEs. The flow patterns at the inlet of SWHEs are obtained. The flow patterns and distribution properties of biphasic fluids are examined by analyzing the impact of total mass flow rate, vapor quality, and sloshing parameters. The experimental results suggest that the distribution uniformity improves as the total mass flow rate or vapor quality increases under static conditions. The distribution uniformity improves at most 60.77 % as the total mass flow rate rises from 735 kg·h−1 to 1550 kg·h−1, and by a maximum of 45.23 % when the vapor quality increases from 0.05 to 0.15. The distribution uniformity deteriorates as the total mass flow rate increases during roll situations, whereas it improves as the total mass flow rate increases during pitch and heave conditions. The distribution uniformity deteriorates as the sloshing angle or sloshing period rises, due to more biphasic fluids on the shell side of the tubes migrating from the inner side to the outer side. A correlation of dispersion coefficient was developed based on the experimental data, which has good accuracy.