Estimation of Leak Flow Rates Through Narrow Cracks

Abstract

The estimation of the gaseous leak flow rates through a narrow crack is important for a leak-before-break analysis as a method of nondestructive testing. Therefore, the methodology to estimate the gaseous leak flow rates in a narrow crack for a wide range of flow conditions, from no-slip to slip flow and from unchoked to choked flow, by using f⋅Re (the product of friction factor and Reynolds number) correlations obtained for a microchannel, was developed and presented. The correlations applied here were proposed by the previous study (, , 2007, “ Friction Factor Correlations for Gas Flow in Slip Flow Regime,” ASME J. Fluids Eng., 129, pp. 1268–1276). The detail of the calculation procedure was appropriately documented. The fourth-order Runge–Kutta method was employed to integrate the nonlinear ordinary differential equation for the pressure, and the regular-Falsi method was employed to find the inlet Mach number. An idealized crack, whose opening displacement ranges from 2 μm to 50 μm, with the crack aspect ratio of 200, 1000, and 2000, was chosen for sample estimation. The present results were compared with both numerical simulations and available experimental measurements. The results were in excellent agreement. Therefore, the gaseous leak flow rates can be correctly predicted by using the proposed methodology.