Numerical and experimental investigation of turbulent flow in a rectangular duct

Details of the turbulent flow in a 1:8 aspect ratio rectangular duct at a Reynolds number of approximately 5800 were investigated both numerically and experimentally. The three-dimensional mean velocity field and the normal stresses were measured at a position 50 hydraulic diameters downstream from the inlet using laser doppler velocimetry (LDV). Numerical simulations were carried out for the same flow case assuming fully developed conditions by imposing cyclic boundary conditions in the main flow direction. The numerical approach was based on the finite volume technique with a non-staggered grid arrangement and the SIMPLEC algorithm. Results have been obtained with a linear and a non-linear (Speziale) k–ε model, combined with the Lam–Bremhorst damping functions for low Reynolds numbers. The secondary flow patterns, as well as the magnitude of the main flow and overall parameters predicted by the non-linear k–ε model, show good agreement with the experimental results. However, the simulations provide less anisotropy in the normal stresses than the measurements. Also, the magnitudes of the secondary velocities close to the duct corners are underestimated. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Magnetohydrodynamic flow in a rectangular duct

The magnetohydrodynamic flow of an incompressible, viscous, electrically conducting fluid in a rectangular duct, with an external magnetic field applied transverse to the flow, has been investigated. One of the duct's boundaries which is perpendicular to the magnetic field is taken partly insulated, partly conducting. An analytical solution has been developed for the velocity field and magnetic field by reducing the problem to the solution of a Fredholm integral equation of the second kind, which has been solved numerically. Solutions have been obtained for Hartmann numbers M up to 100. All the infinite series obtained are transformed to infinite integrals first and then to finite integrals which contain modified Bessel functions of the second kind. In this way, the difficulties associated with the computation of infinite integrals with oscillating integrands and slowly converging infinite series, the convergence of which is further affected for large values of M, have been avoided. It is found that, as M increases, boundary layers are formed near the non-conducting boundaries and in the interface region, and a stagnant region is developed in front of the conducting boundary for velocity field. The maximm value of magnetic field takes place on the conducting part. These behaviours are shown on some graphs.     

An experimental study of oblique transition in a Blasius boundary layer flow

Transition initiated by a pair of oblique waves was investigated experimentally in a Blasius boundary layer flow by using hot-wire measurements and flow visualisation. The oblique waves were generated by periodic blowing and suction through an array of pipes connecting to the flow through a transverse slit in the flat plate model. The structure of the flow field is described and the amplitude of individual frequency-spanwise wave number modes was determined from Fourier transforms of the disturbance velocity. In contrast to results from investigations of oblique transition at subcritical flow conditions, the transition process at the present conditions suggests the combined effect of non-modal growth of streaks and a second stage with exponential growth of oblique waves to initiate the final breakdown stage.     

Fluid flow in a rotating curved rectangular duct

The fluid flowing in a rotating curved duct is subjected to both the Coriolis force due to a rotation and the centrifugal force due to a curvature. In this paper, the combined effects of the two forces on the flows in rotating curved rectangular ducts are examined numerically. According to the aspect ratio of the cross-section, the rectangular ducts are divided into three types: η>1, η=1, η<1, where η is the aspect ratio. The variations of the flow structures with the force ratio F (the ratio of the Corislis force to the centrifugal force) are studied in detail and many hitherto unknown flow patterns are found. The effects of the force ratio and the aspect ratio of the cross-section on the friction factor are also examined. Present results show both the characteristics of the secondary flow, axial flow and the natures of the friction factor.     

An experimental study on unsteady turbulent near wake of a rectangular cylinder in channel flow

 Unsteady turbulent near wake of a rectangular cylinder in channel flow has been studied experimentally with a laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV). The time-averaged and phase-averaged statistics were measured for the cylinders having various width-to-height ratios, b/h. It is shown that the turbulent intensities on the centerline of the channel have their maxima near the rear stagnation point of a recirculation region. The contours of coherent vorticity and streamline reproduce clearly the shed vortices from the cylinder observed by the flow visualization. The characteristics of the flow field, which depends on b/h, are discussed and the significant contribution of the coherent structure to the flow field is clarified. Moreover, the turbulent kinetic energy budget has been examined. Received: 19 January 1998/Accepted: 21 July 1998     

The generation of steady flow in a rectangular duct

The generation of the steady rectilinear flow of an Oldroyd B fluid in a rectangular duct is considered. The Laplace transform is used to separate out the time dependence from the governing equations and a Fourier series is used to solve the resulting Poisson problem in the space variables. It is seen that the presence of elasticity in the fluid gives rise to velocity overshoot. The solution of Waters and King for the planar channel is recovered at large aspect ratios.     

Biomagnetic fluid flow in a 3D rectangular duct

The laminar, incompressible, three‐dimensional, fully developed viscous flow of a non‐conducting biomagnetic fluid in a impermeable rectangular duct is numerically studied in the presence of an applied magnetic field. It is assumed that the magnetic field strength is sufficiently strong to saturate the biofluid and the magnetization is given as a function of the magnetic field intensity. The system of the partial differential equations, resulting after the introduction of appropriate non‐dimensional variables, is solved applying an efficient numerical technique based on a pressure‐linked pseudotransient method on a common grid. Results concerning the existence and the uniqueness of the solution, are also given. The obtained results, for different values for the parameters entering into the problem under consideration, show that the flow is appreciably influenced by the presence of the magnetic field. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Numerical investigation of a laminar pulsating flow in a rectangular duct

A pulsating laminar flow of a viscous, incompressible liquid in a rectangular duct has been studied. The motion is induced under an imposed pulsating pressure difference. The problem is solved numerically. Different flow regimes are characterized by a non‐dimensional parameter based on the frequency (ω) of the imposed pressure gradient oscillations and the width of the duct (h). This, in fact, is the Reynolds number of the problem at hand. The induced velocity has a phase lag (shift) with respect to the imposed pressure oscillations, which varies from zero at very slow oscillations, to 90° at fast oscillations. The influence of the aspect ratio of the rectangular duct and the pulsating pressure gradient frequency on the phase lag, the amplitude of the induced oscillating velocity, and the wall shear were analyzed. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fully developed magneto convection flow in a vertical rectangular duct

An analysis is performed to study the MHD free convection flow in a vertical rectangular duct for laminar and fully developed regime taking into consideration the effects of Ohmic heating and viscous dissipation. Numerical solutions are found using finite difference method of second-order accuracy. The effects of various physical parameters such as Hartmann number, aspect ratio, buoyancy parameter and circuit parameter are presented graphically. It is found that as Hartmann number, buoyancy parameter and aspect ratio increase, the upward and downward flow rates are increased for open circuit but decrease for short circuit.     

Boundary element method solution of MHD flow in a rectangular duct

The magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow of an incompressible, viscous, electrically conducting fluid in a rectangular duct with an external magnetic field applied transverse to the flow has been investigated. The walls parallel to the applied magnetic field are conducting while the other two walls which are perpendicular to the field are insulators. The boundary element method (BEM) with constant elements has been used to cast the problem into the form of an integral equation over the boundary and to obtain a system of algebraic equations for the boundary unknown values only. The solution of this integral equation presents no problem as encountered in the solution of the singular integral equations for interior methods. Computations have been carried out for several values of the Hartmann number (1 ? M ? 10). It is found that as M increases, boundary layers are formed close to the insulated boundaries for both the velocity and the induced magnetic field and in the central part their behaviours are uniform. Selected graphs are given showing the behaviours of the velocity and the induced magnetic field.     

An experimental study of steam injection into a uniform water flow through porous media

An experimental study of steam injection into a porous media was carried out in a 2-dimensional plane porous channel. The steam was injected into a uniform downward water flow in a vertically aligned porous channel. The steam-water interface was carefully observed to understand the underlying physics. Two steam injection rate bounds were found for a given water flow rate and water subcooling. The upper bound is the steam flow rate at which the steam zone grows without limit and the lower bound is the steam flow rate at which a steam zone is just initiated. The bounds were determined experimentally for a porous channel with different permeabilities and thermal conductivities. For large particle size, chaotic oscillation of steam water interface was observed. The oscillation is believed to enhance heat and momentum transfer mechanisms. The steam zone size and shape were measured to evaluate heat transfer characteristics. The average Nusselt number is presented in terms of steam and water Reynolds numbers and the Stefan number.     

Solution of magnetohydrodynamic flow in a rectangular duct by Chebyshev collocation method

In this study, matrix representation of the Chebyshev collocation method for partial differential equation has been represented and applied to solve magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow equations in a rectangular duct in the presence of transverse external oblique magnetic field. Numerical solution of velocity and induced magnetic field is obtained for steady‐state, fully developed, incompressible flow for a conducting fluid inside the duct. The Chebyshev collocation method is used with a reasonable number of collocations points, which gives accurate numerical solutions of the MHD flow problem. The results for velocity and induced magnetic field are visualized in terms of graphics for values of Hartmann number H≤1000. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An experimental investigation of flow boiling in an asymmetrically heated rectangular microchannel

By using unique experimental techniques and carefully constructed experimental apparatus, the characteristics of flow boiling of water in microscale were investigated using a single horizontal rectangular microchannel. A polydimethylsiloxane rectangular microchannel (D_h = 103.5 and 133 μm) was fabricated by using the replica molding technique, a kind of soft lithography. A piecewise serpentine platinum microheater array on a Pyrex substrate was fabricated with the surface micromachining MEMS technique. Real time flow visualization of the phase change phenomena inside the microchannel was performed using a high speed CCD camera with microscope. The experimental local boiling heat transfer coefficients were studied, and single bubble inception, growth, and departure, as well as elongated bubble behavior were analyzed to elucidate the microscale heat transfer mechanisms. Tests were performed for mass fluxes of 77.5, 154.9, and 309.8 kg/m² s and heat fluxes of 180–500 kW/m². The effects of mass flux, heat flux, and vapor qualities on flow boiling heat transfer in a microchannel were studied.     

An experimental study on the coherent structures and chaotic phenomena in the axisymmetric countercurrent shear flow

The coherent structures and the chaotic phenomena in the transition of the axisymmetric countercurrent mixing shear flow were investigated experimentally. Two kinds of self-excited oscillation modes could exist in the axisymmetric countercurrent mixing shear flow. One is the shear layer self-excited oscillation mode corresponding to the high Reynolds number regime and the other is the jet column self-excited oscillation mode corresponding to the low Reynolds number regime in the case of the velocity ratio ranging from 1 to 1.5. Analyzing the auto-power spectrum, self-correlation-function and three dimensional reconstructed phase trajectory, the route to chaos through three Hopf bifurcations intercepted by an intermittence of the dynamical system corresponding to the axisymmetric countercurrent mixing shear flow was discovered when the velocity ratio is equal to 1.32.     

Magnetohydrodynamic flow through a rectangular duct due to a periodic pressure gradient-II

An analysis is made of the flow of an incompressible, viscous, electrically conducting fluid in a long channel of rectangular cross section due to a periodic pressure gradient, in the presence of a uniform transverse magnetic field. Exact solutions are obtained and asymptotic forms valid for large Hartmann numbers in the boundary layers parallel to the field are discussed.     

Magnetohydrodynamic flow through a rectangular duct due to a periodic pressure gradient

Summary The flow of an incompressible, viscous, electrically conducting fluid in a long channel of rectangular cross section due to a periodic pressure gradient, in the presence of a uniform transverse magnetic field is investigated. Exact solutions are obtained and asymptotic forms valid for large Hartmann numbers are discussed.     

An experimental study of 2-d phase separation phenomena

Experiments were performed to study phase separation and distribution phenomena in a 2-D test section. The conditions tested were intended to simulate the “chimney effect” that may occur during reflood in a pressurized water nuclear reactor (PWR) core after a hypothetical loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA). Such flow situations may enhance the cooling of the higher powered assemblies during reflood.The countercurrent two-phase flow conditions expected in a PWR were simulated using air/water in a special 2-D test section having two inlet and two outlet ports. The void fraction distribution across the test section was measured with a γ-ray densitometer for different flow conditions, including various flow rates, flow qualities and flow splits between the four ports. These flow conditions were run for cases with and without vertical rods mounted inside the test section. These rods were intended to simulate the effect of the lateral resistance to the flow due to fuel rods in a PWR core. It was found that the presence of the rods dramatically reduced the degree of recirculation observed. A variety of flow regimes were observed, including regions of single-phase water and air, and bubbly, slug and churn—turbulent flows. It is felt that these data form an excellent basis for the assessment of multidimensional two-fluid models of two-phase flow.     

Numerical solution of oscillatory flow of Maxwell fluid in a rectangular straight duct

A numerical analysis is presented for the oscillatory flow of Maxwell fluid in a rectangular straight duct subjected to a simple harmonic periodic pressure gradient.The numerical solutions are obtained by a finite difference scheme method. The stability of this finite difference scheme method is discussed. The distributions of the velocity and phase difference are given numerically and graphically. The effects of the Reynolds number, relaxation time, and aspect ratio of the cross section on the oscillatory flow are investigated. The results show that when the relaxation time of the Maxwell model and the Reynolds number increase, the resonance phenomena for the distributions of the velocity and phase difference enhance.     

An experimental study of two-phase flow in simulated reduced-gravity condition: dispersed droplet to slug flow transition and slug flow

The results from an experimental study of reduced-gravity two-phase flows are reported in this paper. The experiments were conducted in simulated reduced-gravity conditions in a ground-based test facility with a circular test section of 25 mm inner diameter. The flow conditions for which data were acquired lie in the dispersed droplet to slug flow transition and slug flow regime. Local data were acquired for 17 different flow conditions at three axial locations. The acquired data complement and extend those discussed in an earlier paper by the authors (Vasavada et al. in, Exp Fluids 43: 53–75, 2007). The radial profiles and axial changes in the local data are analyzed and discussed in this paper. The area-averaged data, in conjunction with the local data, are discussed to highlight important interaction mechanisms occurring between fluid particles, i.e., drops. The data clearly show the effect of progressive coalescence leading to formation of slug drops. Furthermore, the shape of slug drops in reduced-gravity conditions was observed to be different from that in normal-gravity case. The analyses presented here show the presence of drop coalescence mechanisms that lead to the formation of slug drops and transition from dispersed droplet flow to the slug flow regime. The most likely causes of the coalescence mechanism are random collision of drops driven by turbulence eddies in the continuous phase and wake entrainment of smaller drops that follow preceding larger drops in the wake region. Data from flow conditions in which the breakup mechanism due to impact of turbulent eddies on drops illustrate the disintegration mechanism.