Effect of Upstream Flow Processes on Hydrodynamic Development in a Duct

Abstract

Consideration is given to the developing laminar flow in a parallel plate channel, with the fluid being drawn from a large upstream space. The flow fields upstream and downstream of the channel inlet were solved simultaneously. A finite-difference technique was employed which was facilitated by a coordinate transformation that telescoped the broadly extended flow domain into a more compact size. For the solutions, the Reynolds number was assigned values from 1 to 1000, covering the range from viscous-dominated flows to those where both viscous and inertia effects are relevant. Streamline maps indicate that whereas a low Reynolds number flow glides smoothly into the channel, a high Reynolds number flow has to turn sharply to enter the channel, with the result that the sharply turning fluid tends to overshoot at first and then readjust. A significant amount of upstream predevelopment occurs at low and intermediate Reynolds numbers. Thus, for example, at Re = 1 and 100, the center-line velocities at inlet are, respectively, 1.37 and 1.13 times the mean velocity (the fully developed center-line velocity is 1.5 times the mean). The upstream pressure drop, measured in terms of the velocity head, is substantially increased by viscous effects at low and intermediate Reynolds numbers.