Pipe flow

About: Pipe flow is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 13826 publications have been published within this topic receiving 351605 citations.

Biomimetic structures for fluid drag reduction in laminar and turbulent flows

Abstract: Biomimetics allows one to mimic nature to develop materials and devices of commercial interest for engineers. Drag reduction in fluid flow is one of the examples found in nature. In this study, nano, micro, and hierarchical structures found in lotus plant surfaces, as well as shark skin replica and a rib patterned surface to simulate shark skin structure were fabricated. Drag reduction efficiency studies on the surfaces were systematically carried out using water flow. An experimental flow channel was used to measure the pressure drop in laminar and turbulent flows, and the trends were explained in terms of the measured and predicted values by using fluid dynamics models. The slip length for various surfaces in laminar flow was also investigated based on the measured pressure drop. For comparison, the pressure drop for various surfaces was also measured using air flow.

Drag reduction by polymer additives in a turbulent channel flow

Abstract: Turbulent drag reduction by polymer additives in a channel is investigated using direct numerical simulation. The dilute polymer solution is expressed with an Oldroyd-B model that shows a linear elastic behaviour. Simulations are carried out by changing the Weissenberg number at the Reynolds numbers of 4000 and 20 000 based on the bulk velocity and channel height. The onset criterion for drag reduction predicted in the present study shows a good agreement with previous theoretical and experimental studies. In addition, the flow statistics such as the r.m.s. velocity fluctuations are also in good agreement with previous experimental observations. The onset mechanism of drag reduction is interpreted based on elastic theory, which is one of the most plausible hypotheses suggested in the past. The transport equations for the kinetic and elastic energy are derived for the first time. It is observed that the polymer stores the elastic energy from the flow very near the wall and then releases it there when the relaxation time is short, showing no drag reduction. However, when the relaxation time is long enough, the elastic energy stored in the very near-wall region is transported to and released in the buffer and log layers, showing a significant amount of drag reduction.

Fluid flow in nanopores: accurate boundary conditions for carbon nanotubes

Abstract: Steady-state Poiseuille flow of a simple fluid in carbon nanopores under a gravitylike force is simulated using a realistic empirical many-body potential model for carbon. Building on our previous study of slit carbon nanopores we show that fluid flow in a nanotube is also characterized by a large slip length. By analyzing temporal profiles of the velocity components of particles colliding with the wall we obtain values of the Maxwell coefficient defining the fraction of molecules thermalized by the wall and, for the first time, propose slip boundary conditions for smooth continuum surfaces such that they are equivalent in adsorption, diffusion, and fluid flow properties to fully dynamic atomistic models.

Dense, vertical gas‐solid flow in a pipe

Abstract: The hydrodynamics of gas-solid flow, usually referred to as circulating fluidizedbed flow, was studied in a 7.5-cm clear acrylic riser with 75-μm FCC catalyst particles. Data were obtained for three central sections as a function of gas and solids flow rates. Fluxes were measured by means of an extraction probe. Particle concentrations were measured with an X-ray densitometer. In agreement with previous investigators, these data showed the flow to be in the core-annular regime, with a dilute rising core and a dense descending annular region. However, unlike the previous studies conducted worldwide, the data obtained in this investigation allowed us to determine the viscosity of the suspension. The viscosity was a linear function of the volume fraction of solids. It extrapolates to the high bubbling-bed viscosities.

The Effect of Periodic Ribs on the Local Aerodynamic and Heat Transfer Performance of a Straight Cooling Channel

Abstract: The local aerodynamic and heat transfer performance were measured in a rib-roughened square duct as a function of the rib pitch to height ratio. The blockage ratio of these square obstacles was 10 or 20 percent depending on whether they were placed on one single (1s) or on two opposite walls (2s). The Reynolds number, based on the channel mean velocity and hydraulic diameter, was fixed at 30,000. The aerodynamic description of the flow field was based on local pressure distributions along the ribbed and adjacent smooth walls as well as on two-dimensional LDV explorations in the channel symmetry plane and in two planes parallel to the ribbed wall(s). Local heat transfer distributions were obtained on the floor, between the ribs, and on the adjacent smooth side wall. Averaged parameters, such as friction factor and averaged heat transfer enhancement factor, were calculated from the local results and compared to correlations given in literature. This contribution showed that simple correlations derived from the law of the wall similarity and from the Reynolds analogy could not be applied for the present rib height-to-channel hydraulic diameter ratio (e/D h = 0.1). The strong secondary flows resulted in a three-dimensional flow field with high gradients in the local heat transfer distributions on the smooth side walls.