The Effects of Reynolds Number on the Aerodynamic Performance of Geometrically Similar Fans

Author(s):  
K. Hanly ◽  
R. Grimes ◽  
P. Walsh

The cooling of portable electronic devices has become paramount in the last number of years due to the simultaneous increase in power consumption and reduction in package size. This has lead to an increase in the amount of heat that needs to be dissipated by these devices. Passive cooling techniques will no longer provide an adequate solution and therefore active cooling solutions need to be implemented. The use of miniature radial fans in conjunction with heatsinks is a possible solution. These types of fans are especially suited as they can be deployed in a low profile format. However, little is known about the aerodynamic effects of reducing the fan scale and therefore Reynolds number to the extent necessary for use in portable electronic device cooling. This paper looks to quantify deviation of aerodynamic performance with Reynolds number from that predicted by the fan laws. Before tests were carried out experimental facilities were calibrated. Four radial fans with diameters of 80, 40, 18.3 and 10mm were then tested at a number of different rotational speeds with measurements of pressure rise and flow rates recorded for each of these speeds. The measurements presented show the need for a homogonous experimental setup with the exact conditions replicated each time a test is carried out. Results also show that there is good correlation between the experimental results for pressure rise and flow rate at high Reynolds numbers in accordance with trends from high Reynolds number theory. However at the lower Reynolds numbers a fundamental change in flow phenomena emerges which alters the maximum pressure and flow characteristics.

Author(s):  
R. Grimes ◽  
P. Walsh ◽  
E. Walsh ◽  
V. Egan

Space constraints in many emerging electronic systems mean that there is a growing demand for heat sinks which are low in profile. As a result, small, low profile fans are necessary. In many instances Radial flow fans are best suited. An understanding of the design and performance of these fans is therefore necessary. For radial flow fans little work has been done to quantify the deviation of aerodynamic performance from that predicted by conventional fan laws. This paper aims to address this situation, by performing measurements of pressure rise, flow rate and power consumption for 3.5mm high radial flow fan rotors ranging in diameter from 20 to 35mm over a range of speeds. Measurements presented show variations of pressure rise and flow rate with Reynolds number to be largely in accordance with trends predicted by high Reynolds number theory, with the exception of flow rates at the lower range of Reynolds numbers which fell below the predicted values. Variations in power consumption show a similar trend to those of flow rate, with power consumption obeying the fan laws for the higher Reynolds numbers investigated, but showing a large increase at the lower Reynolds numbers.


Author(s):  
Mário Caruso Neto ◽  
Juan B. V. Wanderley

Flow around a pipeline near the seabed still remains relatively unknown in spite of the efforts of many researchers to understand the complicated flow around bluff bodies. The present study contributes to this discussion numerically investigating two-dimensional fluid flow around a circular cylinder near a flat plate. The investigation contemplates Reynolds numbers of 100, 180 and 7000 and a gap ratio (G/D) of 3, 0.6, 0.3 and 0.125. The flow is simulated considering a finite difference and total variation diminishing (TVD) conservative scheme with a Chimera domain division method to solve RANS equations. The k-e turbulence model is used to simulate the turbulent flow in the high Reynolds number case. Results are obtained for force coefficients and flow visualization. The results show a significant variation of flow characteristics with gap ratio and Reynolds number variation.


2014 ◽  
Vol 699 ◽  
pp. 416-421
Author(s):  
Mohd Noor Asril Saadun ◽  
Muhammad Zulhakim Sharudin ◽  
Nor Azwadi Che Sidik ◽  
Mohd Hafidzal Mohd Hanafi

A preliminary study of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) on the effect of high Reynolds numbers in the cavity has been carried out. Two dimensional model analysis of the flow characteristics were conducted using the numerical solution of Navier-Stokes equations based on the finite difference method. The flow characteristics in the cavity and the driven flow were modeled via turbulence equation modelling. This paper focuses on the effects of different high Reynolds number on the flow pattern of contaminant removal in the cavity. Different types of geometry and aspect ratio of the geometry were used as the parameters of the cavity in this study. Based on visualization of flows between each model with the different parameters used, the results of a comparison analysis focusing on the behavior of the flow were reported.


1997 ◽  
Vol 119 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shigeru Sunada ◽  
Akitoshi Sakaguchi ◽  
Keiji Kawachi

The aerodynamic characteristics of airfoils operating at Re = 4 × 103 were examined, varying the parameters related to the airfoil shape such as thickness, camber, and roughness. Airfoils with good aerodynamic performance at this Re have the following shape characteristics: (1) they are thinner than airfoils for higher Re numbers, (2) they have a sharp leading edge, and (3) they have a camber of about five percent with its maximum camber at about mid-chord. The characteristics of airfoils are strongly affected by leading edge vortices. The measured two-dimensional airfoil characteristics indicate that the planform, which greatly affects the flight performance of the three-dimensional wing at high Reynolds numbers, has little effect on the flight performance at this Reynolds number.


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):  
Jian Pu ◽  
Zhaoqing Ke ◽  
Jianhua Wang ◽  
Lei Wang ◽  
Hongde You

This paper presents an experimental investigation on the characteristics of the fluid flow within an entire coolant channel of a low pressure (LP) turbine blade. The serpentine channel, which keeps realistic blade geometry, consists of three passes connected by a 180° sharp bend and a semi-round bend, 2 tip exits and 25 trailing edge exits. The mean velocity fields within several typical cross sections were captured using a particle image velocimetry (PIV) system. Pressure and flow rate at each exit were determined through the measurements of local static pressure and volume flow rate. To optimize the design of LP turbine blade coolant channels, the effect of tip ejection ratio (ER) from 180° sharp bend on the flow characteristics in the coolant channel were experimentally investigated at a series of inlet Reynolds numbers from 25,000 to 50,000. A complex flow pattern, which is different from the previous investigations conducted by a simplified square or rectangular two-pass U-channel, is exhibited from the PIV results. This experimental investigation indicated that: a) in the main flow direction, the regions of separation bubble and flow impingement increase in size with a decrease of the ER; b) the shape, intensity and position of the secondary vortices are changed by the ER; c) the mass flow ratio of each exit to inlet is not sensitive to the inlet Reynolds number; d) the increase of the ER reduces the mass flow ratio through each trailing edge exit to the extent of about 23–28% of the ER = 0 reference under the condition that the tip exit located at 180° bend is full open; e) the pressure drop through the entire coolant channel decreases with an increase in the ER and inlet Reynolds number, and a reduction about 35–40% of the non-dimensional pressure drop is observed at different inlet Reynolds numbers, under the condition that the tip exit located at 180° bend is full open.


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.


Author(s):  
N Kockmann

Convective static micromixers operate with high Reynolds numbers ( Re from 100 to 1000) in relatively large microchannels (100–1000 μm) for high flowrates and low risk of fouling and blocking. Typical flow characteristics of symmetrical mixing in T-shaped micromixers are presented with transient flow for Re number larger than 240. The simulation results are assisted by experimental data. Parallel mixing elements increase the mass flowrate up to 25 kg/h with 100 kPa pressure loss. The typical flow characteristics are described, which are essential for successful mixing devices. Three dimensionless parameters are introduced to describe the mixing performance and effectiveness of such devices. Particle generation are critical in microchannels due to fouling issues. The gas phase particle generation from homogeneous condensation of vitamin E acetate is described, reaching to particle diameters of 20 nm from temporal temperature gradients of about 1.6×106 K/s. In liquid phase, the reactive precipitation of BaSO4 is investigated, leading to particle diameters below 100 nm.


Author(s):  
Brian Dincau ◽  
Arian Aghilinejad ◽  
Jong-Hoon Kim ◽  
Xiaolin Chen

Deterministic lateral displacement (DLD) is a common name given to a class of continuous microfluidic separation devices that use a repeating array of pillars to selectively displace particles having a mean diameter greater than the critical diameter (Dc). This Dc is an emergent property influenced by pillar shape, size, and spacing, in addition to the suspending fluid and target particle properties. The majority of previous research in DLD applications has focused on the utilization of laminar flow in low Reynolds number (Re) regimes. While laminar flow exhibits uniform streamlines and predictable separation characteristics, this low-Re regime is dependent on relatively low fluid velocities, and may not hold true at higher processing speeds. Through numerical modeling and experimentation, we investigated high-Re flow characteristics and potential separation enhancements resulting from vortex generation within a DLD array. We used an analytical model and computational software to simulate DLD performance spanning a Re range of 1–100 at flow rates of 2–170 μL/s (0.15–10 mL/min). Each simulated DLD array configuration was composed of 60 μm cylindrical pillars with a 45 μm gap size. The experimental DLD device was fabricated using conventional soft lithography, and injected with 20 μm particles at varying flow rates to observe particle trajectories. The simulated results predict a shift in Dc at Re > 50, while the experimental results indicate a breakdown of typical DLD operation at Re > 70.


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