Flowfield Investigation of the Effect of Rib Open Area Ratio in a Rectangular Duct

Abstract

The spatially periodic turbulent fluid flows and friction in a rectangular passage of width-to-height ratio of 4:1 with perforated rectangular ribs mounted on one wall have been studied using laser Doppler velocimetry and pressure probing. The parameters fixed were rib height to duct hydraulic diameter ratio of 0.106, rib width-to-height ratio of 0.76, rib pitch-to-height ratio of 10, and Reynolds number of 2 × 104, while the main parameter investigated was the rib open-area ratio (β) with values of 0%, 10%, 22%, 38%, and 44%. Two critical ranges of β and three characteristic flow regimes were identified, which provides useful references of practical tests of computational models. The results also showed that the dominant fluid dynamic factors responsible for the reported peak values of local Nusselt number distribution could be recognized. Moreover, the secondary-flow mean velocity components were found to be one to two orders of magnitude smaller than the bulk mean velocity.