Investigation of unsteady three-dimensional flow fields in a turbine flow meter

Abstract

Three-dimensional internal flow in a complete stage of a modern turbine flow meter was numerically simulated in order to investigate the flow field in general, and possibilities of improving the accuracy of the meter in particular. The governing equations of the three-dimensional, compressible, viscous ideal gas flow were solved numerically using two simulation programs, the commercially available Fluent and the academic code ACHIEVE. The resulting flow fields, including the details of various flow effects, are discussed. By close consideration of the flow fields, the so-called pressure shift can be explained as an effect depending on the Reynolds number. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2005.