Gas state equation and flow mechanism of gas–liquid two-phase flow in airlift pump system

Airlift pumps (ALPs) have a simple structure and significant application potential. However, previous studies on ALPs have generally assumed that the gas density remains constant. In this paper, the gas state equation (GSE) for ALP is established based on the van der Waals formula, which explicitly considers the density of gas. An electrical resistance tomography system is used to collect the gas void fractions at different heights under different gas flow rates, and an empirical formula for the gas void fraction is established. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed model, high-precision pressure sensors and a high-speed camera are used alongside an electrical resistance tomography system to determine the realistic ALP flow parameters. The results of 409 sets of experiments show that: (1) the gas in ALP cannot be regarded as ideal gas, because the ideal GSE cannot distinguish between different gas flow rates; (2) the state change of gas in ALP is a quasi-equilibrium process, whereby the GSE of ALP can be obtained from the pressures under several locations; (3) the axial pressures predicted by the proposed GSE for ALP are in good agreement with experimental data; and (4) a single parameter of the GSE uniquely determines the state process. The proposed model and the experimental data provide a new methodology and comprehensive references for studying the working mechanism and efficiency of ALPs.