Computational analysis of turbulent flow through an eccentric annulus under different temperature conditions

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to solve Navier–Stokes equations including the effects of temperature and inner pipe rotation for fully developed turbulent flow in eccentric annuli by using finite difference scheme with fixing non-linear terms.

Design/methodology/approach

A mathematical model is proposed for fully developed turbulent flow including the effects of temperature and inner pipe rotation in eccentric annuli. Obtained equation is solved numerically via central difference approximation. In this process, the non-linear term is frozen. In so doing, the non-linear equation can be considered as a linear one.

Findings

The convergence analysis is studied before using the method to the proposed momentum equation. It reflects that the method approaches to the exact solution of the equation. The numerical solution of the mathematical model shows that pressure gradient can be predicted with a good accuracy when it is compared with experimental data collected from experiments conducted at Izmir Katip Celebi University Flow Loop.

Originality/value

The originality of this work is that Navier–Stokes equations including temperature and inner pipe rotation effects for fully developed turbulent flow in eccentric annuli are solved numerically by a finite difference method with frozen non-linear terms.

Citation

Ulker, E., Korkut, S.O. and Sorgun, M. (2018), "Computational analysis of turbulent flow through an eccentric annulus under different temperature conditions", International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, Vol. 28 No. 9, pp. 2189-2207. https://doi.org/10.1108/HFF-01-2018-0040