Affiliation:
1. Department of Mechanical Engineering , National Institute of Technology , Tiruchirappalli , Tamilnadu , India
Abstract
Abstract
The effect of aspect ratio (AS = 0.5, 1.0, 2.0) and Reynolds number (Re = 1, 2, 4, 8 × 105) on the flow and performance characteristics of a 90° curved rectangular diffuser was examined with the aid of the commercial CFD code ANSYS FLUENT. The results from computational analysis revealed the presence of stream vorticity indicative of secondary flow brought about by the curvature of the diffusing duct. As the fluid flow developed, the inertial core flow was pushed to the outer concave wall by overbearing centrifugal forces. The fluid flow sustained marginal changes with increasing aspect ratio and Reynolds number. However, the flow uniformity at the exit was enhanced. The rise in coefficient of static pressure (Cp) recovery and the drop in coefficient of total pressure loss (Closs) with increasing Reynolds number suggested improved diffuser performance. The flow uniformity index was found to be the highest for the diffuser of aspect ratio 1.