Experimental Investigation of the Fluid Motion in a Cylinder Driven by a Flat-Plate Impeller

2006 ◽  
Vol 129 (6) ◽  
pp. 737-746 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas Bohl

The flow field in a cylindrical container driven by a flat-bladed impeller was investigated using particle image velocimetry (PIV). A range of Reynolds numbers (0.005–7200), based on the container radius rw, were investigated using four Newtonian fluids: water (Re=7200,6800), 85/15 glycerin/water mixture (Re=108), pure glycerin (Re=8), and corn syrup (Re=0.02,0.005). Two impellers with a radius of 0.43rw and 0.95rw were used to drive the flow. The 0.43rw impeller was shown to generate a vortex near the tip of the blades. The peak magnitude of the vortices and the size of the vortices in the radial direction decreased with increasing Reynolds number. Additionally, the vortex generated at the high Reynolds number was unsteady with a trailing shear layer that periodically shed vorticity into the flow field. The structure of the flow in the region between the blade and the cylinder wall showed a Reynolds number dependence, though the two lowest Reynolds number (0.02 and 8) flows investigated had quantitatively similar flow structures. These cases were found to have a closed region of reverse flow between the blade tip and the cylinder wall. No recirculating flow was indicated for the Re=108 and 7200 cases. These data indicate that there may be a critical condition below which there is little dependence in the flow structure on the Reynolds number.

1989 ◽  
Vol 111 (3) ◽  
pp. 301-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Moore ◽  
J. G. Moore ◽  
G. S. Henry ◽  
U. Chaudhry

The effects of Reynolds number on flow through a tip gap are investigated by performing laminar flow calculations for an idealized two-dimensional tip gap geometry. The results of the calculations aid in understanding and reconciliation of low Much number turbine tip gap measurements, which range in tip gap Reynolds number from 100 to 10,000. For the higher Reynolds numbers, both the calculations and the measurements show a large separation off the sharp edge of the blade tip corner. For a high Reynolds number, fully turbulent flow calculations were also made. These also show a large separation and the results are compared with heat transfer measurements. At high Mach numbers, there are complex shock structures in the tip gap. These are modeled experimentally using a water table.


If U is the velocity of the mean motion the following main results are obtained: 1. The region where U = c , c being the wave velocity, is the source where vibrations are generated; i.e. the slowly varying vibrations give rise to large rapidly varying vibrations in passing through the critical point. 2. Curved profiles admit a periodic motion at sufficiently high Reynolds numbers. 3. Parabolic flow is unstable at high Reynolds numbers; i.e. an infinitely small disturbance is sufficient to break up such flow. The critical Reynolds number is equal to R = U 0 h/v =6700, and the corresponding wavelength is about three times the width of the channel ( U 0 is the mean velocity at the axis, and h is the half-width of the channel).


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (20) ◽  
pp. 9510
Author(s):  
Yiyang Chen ◽  
Jianxin Li ◽  
Ziwen Wang ◽  
Yan Yan ◽  
Jiahuan Cui

Piezoelectric fans have started to play an essential role in small-scale heat removal applications in recent years due to their high reliability and efficiency. In this study, an experimental study on the flow field characteristics produced by an oscillating piezoelectric fan at various Reynolds numbers (140 < Re < 550) in a quiescent air environment is investigated. Time resolved particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements are performed for the flow field visualization. The flow pattern generated by the oscillating fan blade in the longitudinal plane changes as the Reynolds number increases. The ratio between the trailing edge velocity and side edge velocity increases as the Reynolds number increases. As a result, the trailing edge plays a more important role in driving fluid at a higher Reynolds number. Multiple vortexes are shed from the trailing edge during one oscillation cycle and is observed only at a high Reynolds number. This vortex shedding increases the unsteadiness of velocity field significantly, resulting in a turbulence intensity level beyond 100%. This result implies that turbulence models used in numerical studies need to be carefully validated as some might struggle at this highly turbulent flow regime.


2021 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nils Paul van Hinsberg

Abstract The aerodynamics of smooth and slightly rough prisms with square cross-sections and sharp edges is investigated through wind tunnel experiments. Mean and fluctuating forces, the mean pitch moment, Strouhal numbers, the mean surface pressures and the mean wake profiles in the mid-span cross-section of the prism are recorded simultaneously for Reynolds numbers between 1$$\times$$ × 10$$^{5}$$ 5 $$\le$$ ≤ Re$$_{D}$$ D $$\le$$ ≤ 1$$\times$$ × 10$$^{7}$$ 7 . For the smooth prism with $$k_s$$ k s /D = 4$$\times$$ × 10$$^{-5}$$ - 5 , tests were performed at three angles of incidence, i.e. $$\alpha$$ α = 0$$^{\circ }$$ ∘ , −22.5$$^{\circ }$$ ∘ and −45$$^{\circ }$$ ∘ , whereas only both “symmetric” angles were studied for its slightly rough counterpart with $$k_s$$ k s /D = 1$$\times$$ × 10$$^{-3}$$ - 3 . First-time experimental proof is given that, within the accuracy of the data, no significant variation with Reynolds number occurs for all mean and fluctuating aerodynamic coefficients of smooth square prisms up to Reynolds numbers as high as $$\mathcal {O}$$ O (10$$^{7}$$ 7 ). This Reynolds-number independent behaviour applies to the Strouhal number and the wake profile as well. In contrast to what is known from square prisms with rounded edges and circular cylinders, an increase in surface roughness height by a factor 25 on the current sharp-edged square prism does not lead to any notable effects on the surface boundary layer and thus on the prism’s aerodynamics. For both prisms, distinct changes in the aerostatics between the various angles of incidence are seen to take place though. Graphic abstract


Author(s):  
Angela O. Nieckele ◽  
Luis Fernando Figueira da Silva ◽  
Joa˜o Carlos R. Pla´cido

Thermal spallation is a possible drilling technique which consists of using hot supersonic jets as heat source to perforate hard rocks at high rates. This work presents a numerical analysis of a typical spallation drilling configuration, by the finite volume method. The time-averaged conservation equations of mass, momentum and energy are solved to determine the turbulent compressible gas phase flow field. Turbulence is predicted by the classical high Reynolds number κ-ε model, as well as with a low Reynolds number κ-ε model. The influence of the jet Reynolds number is investigated. Special attention is given to the rock surface temperature, since its accurate determination is required to predict spallation rates under field-drilling conditions.


1995 ◽  
Vol 117 (4) ◽  
pp. 522-532 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. C. Zierke ◽  
K. J. Farrell ◽  
W. A. Straka

A high-Reynolds-number pump (HIREP) facility has been used to acquire flow measurements in the rotor blade tip clearance region, with blade chord Reynolds numbers of 3,900,000 and 5,500,000. The initial experiment involved rotor blades with varying tip clearances, while a second experiment involved a more detailed investigation of a rotor blade row with a single tip clearance. The flow visualization on the blade surface and within the flow field indicate the existence of a trailing-edge separation vortex, a vortex that migrates radially upward along the trailing edge and then turns in the circumferential direction near the casing, moving in the opposite direction of blade rotation. Flow visualization also helps in establishing the trajectory of the tip leakage vortex core and shows the unsteadiness of the vortex. Detailed measurements show the effects of tip clearance size and downstream distance on the structure of the rotor tip leakage vortex. The character of the velocity profile along the vortex core changes from a jetlike profile to a wakelike profile as the tip clearance becomes smaller. Also, for small clearances, the presence and proximity of the casing endwall affects the roll-up, shape, dissipation, and unsteadiness of the tip leakage vortex. Measurements also show how much circulation is retained by the blade tip and how much is shed into the vortex, a vortex associated with high losses.


1988 ◽  
Vol 110 (3) ◽  
pp. 289-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Durst ◽  
J. C. F. Pereira

This paper presents results of numerical studies of the impulsively starting backward-facing step flow with the step being mounted in a plane, two-dimensional duct. Results are presented for Reynolds numbers of Re = 10; 368 and 648 and for the last two Reynolds numbers comparisons are given between experimental and numerical results obtained for the final steady state flow conditions. In the computational scheme, the convective terms in the momentum equations are approximated by a 13-point quadratic upstream weighted finite-difference scheme and a fully implicit first order forward differencing scheme is used to discretize the temporal derivatives. The computations show that for the higher Reynolds numbers, the flow starts to separate on the lower and upper corners of the step yielding two disconnected recirculating flow regions for some time after the flow has been impulsively started. As time progresses, these two separated flow regions connect up and a single recirculating flow region emerges. This separated flow region stays attached to the step, grows in size and approaches, for the time t → ∞, the dimensions measured and predicted for the separation region for steady laminar backward-facing flow. For the Reynolds number Re = 10 the separation starts at the bottom of the backward-facing step and the separation region enlarges with time until the steady state flow pattern is reached. At the channel wall opposite to the step and for Reynolds number Re = 368, a separated flow region is observed and it is shown to occur for some finite time period of the developing, impulsively started backward-facing step flow. Its dimensions change with time and reduce to zero before the steady state flow pattern is reached. For the higher Reynolds number Re = 648, the secondary separated flow region opposite to the wall is also present and it is shown to remain present for t → ∞. Two kinds of the inlet conditions were considered; the inlet mean flow was assumed to be constant in a first study and was assumed to increase with time in a second one. The predicted flow field for t → ∞ turned out to be identical for both cases. They were also identical to the flow field predicted for steady, backward-facing step flow using the same numerical grid as for the time-dependent predictions.


Author(s):  
Gongnan Xie ◽  
Bengt Sunde´n ◽  
Weihong Zhang

The blade tip region encounters high thermal loads because of the hot gas leakage flows, and it must therefore be cooled to ensure a long durability and safe operation. A common way to cool a blade tip is to design serpentine passages with 180° turn under the blade tip-cap inside the turbine blade. Improved internal convective cooling is therefore required to increase blade tip lifetime. Pins, dimples and protrusions are well recognized as effective devices to augment heat transfer in various applications. In this paper, enhanced heat transfer of an internal blade tip-wall has been predicted numerically. The computational models consist of a two-pass channel with 180° turn and arrays of circular pins or hemispherical dimples or protrusions internally mounted on the tip-wall. Inlet Reynolds numbers are ranging from 100,000 to 600,000. The overall performance of the two-pass channels is evaluated. Numerical results show that the heat transfer enhancement of the pinned tip is up to a factor of 3.0 higher than that of a smooth tip while the dimpled-tip and protruded-tip provide about 2.0 times higher heat transfer. These augmentations are achieved at the cost of an increase of pressure drop by less than 10%. By comparing the present cooling concepts with pins, dimples and protrusions, it is shown that the pinned-tip exhibit best performance to improve the blade tip cooling. However, when disregarding the added active area and considering the added mechanical stress, it is suggested that the usage of dimples is more suitable to enhance blade tip cooling, especially at low Reynolds numbers.


1956 ◽  
Vol 60 (541) ◽  
pp. 67-70
Author(s):  
T. A. Thomson

The blow-down type of intermittent, supersonic tunnel is attractive because of its simplicity and because relatively high Reynolds numbers can be obtained for a given size of test section. An adverse characteristic, however, is the fall of stagnation temperature during runs, which can affect experiments in several ways. The Reynolds number varies and the absolute velocity is not constant, even if the Mach number and pressure are; heat-transfer cannot be studied under controlled conditions and the experimental errors arising from the effect of heat-transfer on the boundary layer vary in time. These effects can become significant in quantitative experiments if the tunnel is large and the variation of temperature very rapid; the expense required to eliminate them might then be justified.


Author(s):  
Amir Hossein Birjandi ◽  
Eric Bibeau

A four-bladed, squirrel-cage, and scaled vertical kinetic turbine was designed, instrumented and tested in the water tunnel facilities at the University of Manitoba. With a solidity of 1.3 and NACA0021 blade profile, the turbine is classified as a high solidity model. Results were obtained for conditions during freewheeling at various Reynolds numbers. In this study, the freewheeling tip speed ratio, which relates the ratio of maximum blade speed to the free stream velocity at no load, was divided into three regions based on the Reynolds number. At low Reynolds numbers, the tip speed ratio was lower than unity and blades were in a stall condition. At the end of the first region, there was a sharp increase of the tip speed ratio so the second region has a tip speed ratio significantly higher than unity. In this region, the tip speed ratio increases almost linearly with Reynolds number. At high Reynolds numbers, the tip speed ratio is almost independent of Reynolds number in the third region. It should be noted that the transition between these three regions is a function of the blade profile and solidity. However, the three-region behavior is applicable to turbines with different profiles and solidities.


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