Effect of area ratio and Reynolds number on the distribution of discharge in dividing manifold

Abstract

Abstract The goal of this study is to determine the role of the area ratio (AR) and the Reynolds number on the distribution of flow and pressure in the dividing manifold. For this purpose, five different models have been used to be analyzed under the test conditions. The first physical model is of 101.6 mm (4 in) in diameter for the master manifold in a regular longitudinal section and five sidelong of 50.8 (2 in) in diameter with a spacing of 220 mm. This model has been utilized to determine the magnitude of maldistribution inflow that usually takes place in such a design. Four other models have employed with different diameters of the header of 101.6, 76.2 and 50.8 mm and lateral of 50.8, 38.1 and 25.4 mm. These models used for the purpose of testing the stream and pressure allocation based on the AR. Three different values of 625, 790 and 950 l/min from of inlet flows examined with the employed models. The outcomes show that the AR parameter has a notable impact on the consistency of the stream from the manifold in which the uniformity of the flow distribution improves by 76% when the AR decreases from 0.48 to 0.13. It is found that the degree of uniformity of the mass discharge from the laterals is unaffected within tested Reynolds numbers of 50,000–200,000.