TURBULENT FLOW STRUCTURE IN A VARIABLE AREA DUCT

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Associate professor, Mechanical Power Dept, Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt.

Abstract

Turbulent structure of air flow field in a multi-convergent divergent duct is examined experimentally using a hot wire anemometer having an x-probe. The lateral profiles of the normalized mean axial and traverse velocities and the kinetic energy of the mean flow at selected axial stations are presented. The distributions of turbulence root mean square, shear stress, skewness and flatness are also presented. The present results improve the understanding of the interaction between the mean flow and turbulent quantities with periodic changes of flow cross-sectional area. This understanding is quite essential for the optimum engineering use of multi-convergent divergent ducts in either MHD or enhancement of heat transfer applications. The experimental data are also useful for developing suitable turbulence and numerical sub-models for prediction of the flow fields in variable area ducts.

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