Edge Effects on the Flow Characteristics in a 90deg Tee Junction

Abstract

Measurements of pressure drop were carried out for the flow of a Newtonian fluid in 90deg tee junctions with sharp and round corners. Rounding the corners reduced the energy losses by between 10 and 20%, depending on the flow rate ratio, due to the reduction in the branching flow loss coefficient, whereas the straight flow basically remained unaffected. The corresponding detailed measurements of mean and turbulent velocities for a Reynolds number of 31,000 and flowrate ratio of 50% showed that rounding the corner lead to an increase in turbulence in the branch pipe. The increased turbulence diffused momentum more efficiently thus reducing the length of the recirculation by 25% with its width and strength also decreasing in magnitude. The overall effect of the increased dissipation due to turbulence and reduced dissipation due to mean flow irreversibilities in the recirculation was a decrease in the corresponding loss coefficient.