Analysis and Experimental Visualization of the Flow Behavior Between Parallel Separated Cross-Corrugated Plates
The experimental visualization of the flow patterns developed in a channel formed by parallel separated cross-corrugated plates is presented in this work. The flow visualization was carried out by seeding reflective micro-particles in water. The cross-corrugated plates were characterized by corrugations with sinusoidal profile, 0.083 m wavelength and 0.075 m amplitude, placed at ±45° relative to the main flow direction. While the wavelength-amplitude aspect ratio was kept fixed, both the uniform spacing between plates and Reynolds number were varied. The essential feature of the flow is the secondary swirling motion developed by the furrow flows because of the crossing among streams. Three flow regimes were found: steady, unsteady and chaotic mixing. At some critical Reynolds numbers, depending upon the separation between plates, the flow becomes unsteady and chaotic mixing appears first in the outlet of the channel. Chaotic mixing moves closer to the inlet of the channel as the Reynolds number is increased. The results show that the onset of chaotic mixing occurs at larger Reynolds numbers as the spacing is increased. The flow pattern of this channel configuration is compared to that reported for the chevron arrangement.