CFD analysis of the effect of elbow radius on pressure drop in multiphase flow

Abstract

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis was performed in four different 90 degree elbows with air-water two-phase flows. The inside diameters of the elbows were 6.35 mm and 12.7 mm with radius to diameter ratios (r / D) of 1.5 to 3. The pressure drops at two different upstream and downstream locations were investigated using empirical, experimental, and computational methods. The combination of three different air velocities, ranging from 15.24 to 45.72 m/sec, and nine different water velocities, in the range of 0.1-10.0 m/s, was used in this study. CFD analysis was performed using the mixture model and a commercial code, FLUENT. The comparison of CFD predictions with experimental data and empirical model outputs showed good agreement. © 2012 Quamrul H. Mazumder.