The effects of flow split ratio and flow rate in manifolds

This paper reports a combined experimental and numerical investigation of three-dimensional steady turbulent flows in inlet manifolds of square cross-section. Predictions and measurements of the flows were carried out using computational fluid dynamics and laser Doppler anemometry techniques respectively. The flow structure was characterized in detail and the effects of flow split ratio and inlet flow rate were studied. These were found to cause significant variations in the size and shape of recirculation regions in the branches, and in the turbulence levels. It was then found that there is a significant difference between the flow rates through different branches. The performance of the code was assessed through a comparison between predictions and measurements. The comparison demonstrates that all important features of the flow are well represented by the predictions.     

Laser Doppler anemometry under plasma conditions. Part II. Measurements in an inductively coupled r.f. plasma

Laser Doppler anemometry is used for the measurements of the plasma and particle velocity profiles in the coil region of an inductively coupled r.f. plasma. Results are reported for a 50 mm i.d. induction plasma torch operated at atmospheric pressure with argon as the plasma gas. The oscillator frequency is 3 MHz and the plate power is varied between 4.6 and 10.5 kW. Plasma velocity measurements are obtained using a fine carbon powder as a tracer. Measurements are also given for larger silicon particles ( ) centrally injected into the discharge under different operating conditions.Nomenclature d _p particle diameter - P ₀ plasma power - Q ₁ powder carrier gas flow rate - Q ₂ plasma gas flow rate - Q ₃ sheath gas flow rate - r distance in the radial direction - V axial plasma velocity - V _p axial particle velocity - Z distance in the axial direction - standard deviation     

ON THE STRUCTURE OF STEADY FLOW THROUGH DUAL-INTAKE ENGINE PORTS

The influence of intake port design on the flow field in a dual-intake valve engine was investigated using computational fluid dynamics, in order to study the effect of inlet port design on the in-cylinder flow. A detailed 3D computational grid incorporating all the features of the Ford Zetec production engine inlet ports, valves and cylinder head was initially created and the flow structure modelled at 5 and 10 mm valve lifts under steady flow conditions. Comparisons of computational results with experimental data obtained by laser Doppler anemometry indicate that the flow characteristics have been predicted well in most regions. Flow generated by different intake port designs was also simulated by introducing air into the cylinder at different directions to the inlet valve axes and the effects of port deactivation, throttling and exhaust gas recirculation were examined. The implications of the results for intake port design are discussed.     

On the Decay of Turbulence in the 20-Liter Explosion Sphere

The transient flow field in the standard 20-liter explosion sphere was investigated by means of laser Doppler anemometry. Velocities were measured at various locations within the flow field, and this information was used to quantify the transient behavior of the root-mean-square of the velocity fluctuations and to investigate the spatial homogeneity and the directional isotropy of the turbulence. The investigation involved the transient flow fields generated by the three most widely used dust dispersion systems, namely, the Perforated Dispersion Ring, the Rebound Nozzle, and the Dahoe Nozzle. With all three dispersion dust devices, the decay of turbulence could be correlated by a decay law of the form

Traveling disturbance appearing in boundary layer transition in a Yawed cylinder

Boundary layers that develop over a body in fluid flow are in most cases three-dimensional owing to the spin, yaw, or surface curvature of the body. Therefore, the study of three-dimensional (3D) boundary-layer transition is essential to work in practical aerodynamics. The present investigation is concerned with the problem of 3D boundary layers over a yawed body. A yawed cylinder model that represents the leading edge portion of a swept wing and the mechanism of crossflow instability are investigated in detail using hot-wire velocimetry and a flow visualization technique. As a result, traveling disturbances having frequencies f₁ and f₂, which differ by about one order of magnitude, are detected in the transition region. The phase velocities and directions of travel of those disturbances are measured. Results for the low-frequency disturbance f₁ show qualitative coincidence with results numerically predicted for a crossflow unsteady disturbance. Nameley, F₁ travels nearly spanwise to the yawed cylinder and very close to the cylinder wall. The results for the high-frequency disturbance f₂ good agreement with the existing experimental results. The ₂ disturbance is found to be the high-frequency inflectional secondary instability that appears in 3D boundary layer transition in general. A two-stage transition process, where stationary crossflow vortices appear as the primary instability and a traveling inflectional disturbance is generated as a secondary instability, was observed. Secondary instability seems to play a major role in turbulent transition.     

Characterization of particle-laden, confined swirling flows by phase-doppler anemometry and numerical calculation

The particle dispersion characteristics in a confined swirling flow with a swirl number of approx. 0.5 were studied in detail by performing measurements using phase-Doppler anemometry (PDA) and numerical predictions. A mixture of gas and particles was injected without swirl into the test section, while the swirling airstream was provided through a co-flowing annular inlet. Two cases with different primary jet exit velocities were considered. For these flow conditions, a closed central recirculation bubble was established just downstream of the inlet.

The PDA measurements allowed the correlation between particle size and velocity to be obtained and also the spatial change in the particle size distribution throughout the flow field. For these results, the behaviour of different size classes in the entire particle size spectrum, ranging from about 15 to 80 μm, could be studied, and the response of the particles to the mean flow and the gas turbulence could be characterized. Due to the response characteristics of particles with different diameters to the mean flow and the flow turbulence, a considerable separation of the particles was observed which resulted in a streamwise increase in the particle mean number diameter in the core region of the central recirculation bubble. For the lower particle inlet velocity (i.e. low primary jet exit velocity), this effect is more pronounced, since here the particles have more time to respond to the flow reversal and the swirl velocity component. This also gave a higher mass of recirculating particle material.

The numerical predictions of the gas flow were performed by solving the time-averaged Navier-Stokes equations in connection with the well known kε turbulence model. Although this turbulence model is based on the assumption of isotropic turbulence, the agreement of the calculated mean velocity profiles compared to the measured gas velocities is very good. The gas-phase turbulent kinetic energy, however, is considerably underpredicted in the initial mixing region. The particle dispersion characteristics were calculated by using the Lagrangian approach, where the influence of the particulate phase on the gas flow could be neglected, since only very low mass loadings were considered. The calculated results for the particle mean velocity and the mass flux are also in good agreement with the experiments. Furthermore, the change in the particle mean diameter throughout the flow field was predicted approximately, which shows that the applied simple stochastic dispersion model also gives good results for such very complex flows. The variation of the gas and particle velocity in the primary inlet had a considerable impact on the particle dispersion behaviour in the swirling flow and the particle residence time in the central recirculation bubble, which could be determined from the numerical calculations. For the lower particle inlet velocity, the maximum particle size-dependence residence time within the recirculation region was considerably shifted towards larger particles.     

Instantaneous velocity and pressure measurements in turbulent mixing layers

This paper presents a comprehensive comparison of the mean velocity and turbulence measurements from a four-hole pressure probe, also known as the Cobra probe, and an X-probe in plane mixing layers. The objective is to validate the measurement accuracy of the Cobra probe in a flow where the turbulence reaches high levels, but whose properties are well known. The comparison is made for the mean velocities, Reynolds stresses, triple products, and spectra, and demonstrates that the Cobra probe has reasonable accuracy for some of these quantities, such as the mean streamwise velocity and primary shear stress, but not for others, such as the mean normal velocity. The correlation of the pressure and the streamwise velocity, measured by the Cobra probe, behaves correctly in the potential flow. However, the correlation of the pressure and the cross-stream velocity, which appears in the transport equation for the turbulent kinetic energy, and the pressure redistribution term in the corresponding equation for the streamwise normal stress, are poorly measured.     

The development of an axisymmetric curved turbulent wall jet

An experimental study has been carried out of the low speed Coanda wall jet with both streamwise and axisymmetric curvature. A single component laser Doppler technique was used, and by taking several orientations at a given point, values of the three mean velocities and five of the six Reynolds stresses were obtained. The lateral divergence and convex streamwise curvature both enhanced the turbulence in the outer part of the jet compared with a plane two-dimensional wall jet. The inner layer exhibited a large separation of the positions of maximum velocity and zero shear stress. It was found that the streamwise mean velocity profile became established very rapidly downstream of the slot exit. The profile appeared fairly similar at later downstream positions, but the mean radial velocity and turbulence parameters showed the expected nonself preservation of the flow. Removal of the streamwise curvature resulted in a general return of the jet conditions toward those expected of a plane wall jet. The range and accuracy of the data may be used for developing turbulence models and computational techniques for this type of flow.     

Transport of salts and micron-sized particles entrained from a boiling water pool

The entrainment of soluble (KI, CsI) and non-soluble (Al₂O₃) substances through droplets, which are produced by disintegrating steam bubbles at the surface of a boiling water pool, is determined in a pilot-scale facility. Integral measurements are conducted at steady-state conditions in an atmosphere of either pure steam or an air–steam mixture. The ratio of the entrained liquid mass flow and the gas mass flow through the pool, the entrainment factor, is determined for air–steam ratios between 0 and 0.47 kg/kg in the gas atmosphere and at constant total pressures between 2 and 6 bar. The influence of the vertical temperature profile in the gas atmosphere on the convective velocity field is demonstrated by phase Doppler anemometry and particle image velocimetry measurements at a location 2.1 m above the pool surface. The influences of nucleation and natural convection are demonstrated during slow de-pressurization of the facility at rates below 420 Pa/s.     

Laser Doppler anemometry measurements of laminar flow in helical pipes

Three-dimensional laser Doppler anemometry measurements are performed on developed laminar flow in three helical pipes. The experimental observations are compared to results of numerical calculations employing the fully elliptic numerical method. Good agreement is found between measured data and numerical results. The three helical pipes, with curvature ratios of 0.0734 and 0.1374 and non-dimensional pitches of 0.0793 and 0.193, are adopted to study the effects of curvature and pitch on laminar flow in the experimental approach. The range of Reynolds numbers is 500–2000 to ensure laminar flow in the entire helical pipe. Both the profile shapes of the normal components of the secondary flow and those of the axial flow along the same centerline present not only similar patterns but also similar change when pitch, curvature ratio, and Reynolds number vary. The results demonstrate comprehensive relationships between the axial flow and the secondary flow.