A note on the flow coefficients of capillary tube and small orifice restrictors exposed to very low Reynolds number flow

2005 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 116-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suat Canbazoğlu ◽  
Fazıl Canbulut

PurposeThe main objective of this study was to obtain the flow restricting capacity by determining their flow coefficients and to investigate the unsteady flow with low Reynolds number in the flow‐restricting devices such as orifices and capillary tubes having small diameters.Design/methodology/approachThere is an enormous literature on the flow of Newtonian fluids through capillaries and orifices particularly in many application fields of the mechanical and chemical engineering. But most of the experimental results in literature are given for steady flows at moderate and high Reynolds numbers (Re>500). In this study, the unsteady flow at low Reynolds number (10<Re<650) through flow‐restricting devices such as orifices and capillary tubes having very small diameters between 0.35 and 0.70 mm were experimentally investigated.FindingsThe capillary tubes have much more capillarity property with respect to equal diameter orifices. Increasing the ratio of capillary tube length to tube diameter and decreasing the ratio of orifice diameter to pipe diameter before orifice increase the throttling or restricting property of the orifices and the capillary tubes. The orifices can be preferred to the capillary tubes having the same diameter at the same system pressure for the hydraulic systems or circuits requiring small velocity variations. The capillary tubes provide higher pressure losses and they can be also used as hydraulic accumulators in hydraulic control devices to attenuate flow‐induced vibrations because of their large pressure coefficients. An important feature of the results obtained for capillary tubes and small orifices is that as the d/D for orifices increases and the L/d reduces for capillary tubes, higher values C are obtained and the transition from viscous to inertia‐controlled flow appears to take place at lower Reynolds numbers. This may be explained by the fact that for small orifices with high d/D ratios and for capillary tubes with small L/d ratios, the losses due to viscous shear are small. Another important feature of the results is that the least variations in C for small orifices and the higher variations in C for capillary tubes occur when the d/D and L/d ratios are smallest. This has favourable implications in hydraulic control devices since a constant value for the C may be assumed even at relatively low values of Re.Originality/valueTo the authors' knowledge, there is not enough information in the literature about the flow coefficients of unsteady flows through capillary tubes and small orifices at low Reynolds numbers. This paper fulfils this gap.

2005 ◽  
Vol 2005 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takayuki Matsunuma ◽  
Yasukata Tsutsui

The unsteady flow field downstream of axial-flow turbine rotors at low Reynolds numbers was investigated experimentally using hot-wire probes. Reynolds number, based on rotor exit velocity and rotor chord lengthReout,RT, was varied from3.2×104to12.8×104at intervals of1.0×104by changing the flow velocity of the wind tunnel. The time-averaged and time-dependent distributions of velocity and turbulence intensity were analyzed to determine the effect of Reynolds number. The reduction of Reynolds number had a marked influence on the turbine flow field. The regions of high turbulence intensity due to the wake and the secondary vortices were increased dramatically with the decreasing Reynolds number. The periodic fluctuation of the flow due to rotor-stator interaction also increased with the decreasing Reynolds number. The energy-dissipation thickness of the rotor midspan wake at the low Reynolds numberReout,RT=3.2×104was1.5times larger than that at the high Reynolds numberReout,RT=12.8×104. The curve of the−0.2power of the Reynolds number agreed with the measured energy-dissipation thickness at higher Reynolds numbers. However, the curve of the−0.4power law fitted more closely than the curve of the−0.2power law at lower Reynolds numbers below6.4×104.


2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miles Greiner ◽  
Paul F. Fischer ◽  
Henry Tufo

Abstract The effect of flow rate modulation on low Reynolds number heat transfer enhancement in a transversely grooved passage was numerically simulated using a two-dimensional spectral element technique. Simulations were performed at subcritical Reynolds numbers of Rem = 133 and 267, with 20% and 40% flow rate oscillations. The net pumping power required to modulate the flow was minimized as the forcing frequency approached the predicted natural frequency. However, mixing and heat transfer levels both increased as the natural frequency was approached. Oscillatory forcing in a grooved passage requires two orders of magnitude less pumping power than flat passage systems for the same heat transfer level. Hydrodynamic resonance appears to be an effective method of increasing heat transfer in low Reynolds number systems where pumping power is at a premium, such as micro heat transfer applications.


2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ajit Pal Singh ◽  
S. H. Winoto ◽  
D. A. Shah ◽  
K. G. Lim ◽  
Robert E. K. Goh

Abstract Performance characteristics of some low Reynolds number airfoils for the use in micro air vehicles (MAVs) are computationally studied using XFOIL at a Reynolds number of 80,000. XFOIL, which is based on linear-vorticity stream function panel method coupled with a viscous integral formulation, is used for the analysis. In the first part of the study, results obtained from the XFOIL have been compared with available experimental data at low Reynolds numbers. XFOIL is then used to study relative aerodynamic performance of nine different airfoils. The computational analysis has shown that the S1223 airfoil has a relatively better performance than other airfoils considered for the analysis.


2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 273-285
Author(s):  
Katsuya Hirata ◽  
◽  
Ryo Nozawa ◽  
Shogo Kondo ◽  
Kazuki Onishi ◽  
...  

[abstFig src='/00280003/02.jpg' width=""300"" text='Iso-Q surfaces of very-slow flow past an iNACA0015' ] The airfoil is often used as the elemental device for flying/swimming robots, determining its basic performances. However, most of the aerodynamic characteristics of the airfoil have been investigated at Reynolds numbers Re’s more than 106. On the other hand, our knowledge is not enough in low Reynolds-number ranges, in spite of the recent miniaturisation of robots. In the present study, referring to our previous findings (Hirata et al., 2011), we numerically examine three kinds of high-performance airfoils proposed for very-low Reynolds numbers; namely, an iNACA0015 (the NACA0015 placed back to front), an FPBi (a flat plate blended with iNACA0015 as its upper half) and an FPBN (a flat plate blended with the NACA0015 as its upper half), in comparison with such basic airfoils as a NACA0015 and an FP (a flat plate), at a Reynolds number Re = 1.0 × 102 using two- and three-dimensional computations. As a result, the FPBi shows the best performance among the five kinds of airfoils.


1966 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Odus R. Burggraf

The viscous structure of a separated eddy is investigated for two cases of simplified geometry. In § 1, an analytical solution, based on a linearized model, is obtained for an eddy bounded by a circular streamline. This solution reveals the flow development from a completely viscous eddy at low Reynolds number to an inviscid rotational core at high Reynolds number, in the manner envisaged by Batchelor. Quantitatively, the solution shows that a significant inviscid core exists for a Reynolds number greater than 100. At low Reynolds number the vortex centre shifts in the direction of the boundary velocity until the inviscid core develops; at large Reynolds number, the inviscid vortex core is symmetric about the centre of the circle, except for the effect of the boundary-layer displacement-thickness. Special results are obtained for velocity profiles, skin-friction distribution, and total power dissipation in the eddy. In addition, results of the method of inner and outer expansions are compared with the complete solution, indicating that expansions of this type give valid results for separated eddies at Reynolds numbers greater than about 25 to 50. The validity of the linear analysis as a description of separated eddies is confirmed to a surprising degree by numerical solutions of the full Navier–Stokes equations for an eddy in a square cavity driven by a moving boundary at the top. These solutions were carried out by a relaxation procedure on a high-speed digital computer, and are described in § 2. Results are presented for Reynolds numbers from 0 to 400 in the form of contour plots of stream function, vorticity, and total pressure. At the higher values of Reynolds number, an inviscid core develops, but secondary eddies are present in the bottom corners of the square at all Reynolds numbers. Solutions of the energy equation were obtained also, and isotherms and wall heat-flux distributions are presented graphically.


Author(s):  
Arun Kaushal ◽  
Gurpreet Singh ◽  
Subhash Chander ◽  
Anjan Ray

An experimental study has been conducted to determine the heat transfer characteristics for low Reynolds number turbulent swirling LPG/Air flames impinging on a flat surface. Effect of variation of Reynolds number (3000–7000), dimensionless separation distance (H/d = 1 to 6) and equivalence ratio (φ = 0.8 to 2) on heat transfer characteristics has been determined at constant swirl number of 4. Further, experiments were also conducted to investigate the effect of swirl number on heat transfer characteristics at Re = 7000, φ = 1.0 and H/d = 5. It has been concluded that the major drawback of flame impingement i.e., non-uniformity in the heating can be resolved by using swirling flames in place of non-swirling flames. With increase in Reynolds number the flame becomes longer and broader. Also, at higher Re the flame becomes noisy and violent because of the enhanced turbulences in the flame. A dip in the temperature was observed at the stagnation point at all Re and this dip was more significant at higher Re. At small separation distances (H/d = 1 and 2) and at large Reynolds numbers (Re = 7000) heating is comparatively more non-uniform because of close proximity of the visible reaction zone to the plate resulting in intense heating in the stagnation region. High average heat fluxes were obtained at low separation distances and at larger Reynolds numbers.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. D. DWIVEDI ◽  
Vasishta BHARGAVA ◽  
P. M. V. RAO ◽  
Donepudi JAGADEESH

Corrugations are folds on a surface as found on wings of dragon fly insects. Although they fly at relatively lower altitudes its wings are adapted for better aerodynamic and aero-elastic characteristics. In the present work, three airfoil geometries were studied using the 2-D panel method to evaluate the aerodynamic performance for low Reynolds number. The experiments were conducted in wind tunnel for incompressible flow regime to demonstrate the coefficients of lift drag and glide ratio at two Reynolds numbers 1.9x104 and 1.5x105 and for angles of attack ranging between 00 and 160. The panel method results have been validated using the current and existing experiment data as well as with the computational work from cited literature. A good agreement between the experimental and the panel methods were found for low angles of attack. The results showed that till 80 angle of attack higher lift coefficient and lower drag coefficient are obtainable for corrugated airfoils as compared to NACA 0010. The validation of surface pressure coefficients for all three airfoils using the panel method at 40 angles of attack was done. The contours of the non-dimensional pressure and velocity are illustrated from -100 to 200 angles of attack. A good correlation between the experiment data and the computational methods revealed that the corrugated airfoils exhibit better aerodynamic performance than NACA 0010.


Author(s):  
Toyotaka Sonoda ◽  
Rainer Schnell ◽  
Toshiyuki Arima ◽  
Giles Endicott ◽  
Eberhard Nicke

In this paper, Reynolds effects on a modern transonic low-aspect-ratio fan rotor (Baseline) and the re-designed (optimized) rotor performance are presented with application to a small turbofan engine. The re-design has been done using an in-house numerical optimization system in Honda and the confirmation of the performance was carried out using DLR’s TRACE RANS stage code, assessed with respect to experimental data obtained from a small scale compressor rig in Honda. The baseline rotor performance is evaluated at two Reynolds number conditions, a high Reynolds condition (corresponding to a full engine scale size) and a low Reynolds number condition (corresponding to the small scale compressor rig size), using standard ISA conditions. The performance of the optimized rotor was evaluated at the low Reynolds number condition. The CFD results show significant discrepancies in the rotor efficiency (about 1% at cruise) between these two points due to the different Reynolds numbers. The optimized rotor’s efficiency is increased compared to the baseline. A unique negative curvature region close to the leading edge on the pressure surface of the optimized rotor is one of the reasons why the optimized rotor is superior to the baseline.


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