Modeling pressure losses for Newtonian and non-Newtonian laminar and turbulent flow in long square edged orifices

• Published in: Chemical engineering research & design Vol. 90; no. 7; pp. 863 - 869
• Main Authors: Chowdhury, M.R., Fester, V.G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.07.2012; Elsevier
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Chemical engineering; Computational fluid dynamics; Correlation; Exact sciences and technology; Fluid flow; Hydrodynamics of contact apparatus; Laminar; Long orifice; Loss coefficient; Mathematical models; Pressure loss; Turbulence; Turbulent; Turbulent flow; Long orifice; Loss coefficient; Turbulent; Laminar; Non Newtonian fluid; Correlation; Turbulent flow; Prediction; Hydrodynamics; Forecast model; Modeling; Design; Flow regime; Correlation analysis; Pressure drop
• ISSN: 0263-8762
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cherd.2011.11.001

A lack of experimental data and predictive models prompted the determination of loss characteristics of four sharp square-edged orifices for laminar to turbulent flow regime (1≤Re≤100,000). Novel experimental data for β ratios of 0.36, 0.4, 0.5 and 0.7 obtained with Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids and an empirical correlation for predicting pressure losses through long square edged orifice plates is presented. For turbulent flow, new experimental results compared well with existing predictive models, thus validating the experimental results. Comparison of existing correlations as well as the new correlation shows that, although with some shortcomings, good progress is made toward a design correlation that spans a wide range of laminar to turbulent flow conditions for long orifices.