The Effect of Spray-Sprinkler Design Parameters on Energy Consumption Using Computational Fluid Dynamics

Abstract

To determine the kinetic energy consumption of various spray-sprinkler structural parameters, the hydraulic performance, including the discharge and initial trajectory velocity, was investigated using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analyses and the particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique. A comparison of the experimental and simulation results showed that a high accuracy was obtained using CFD technology. On this basis, a series of simulations was performed to evaluate the effects of groove length, groove number, and cone angle on jet velocities, and the kinetic energy dissipation was calculated. The results showed that the spray-plate structure had a significant influence on the water fraction patterns, leading to relatively large differences in the initial velocity; the average velocity decreased as the cone angle, groove number, or groove length of the spray plate increased. The wall shear stress results showed that a large amount of kinetic energy was dissipated in the groove, indicating that decreasing the groove number or groove length reduced energy dissipation. In addition, the wall shear stress in the cone area increased as the cone angle increased, resulting in an increase in energy dissipation. The sensitivity analysis indicated that the groove length is the most significant parameter influencing energy consumption.