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Experimental study of the flow rectification performance of conical diffuser valves

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Abstract

Flow rectification performance of conical diffuser valves has been investigated experimentally. In order to quantify the valving capability of the diffuser, a diffuser performance test cell is designed. The main feature of the test cell is that the volume change of the pumping chamber is independent of the diffuser geometry and actuation frequency. Experiments have been carried out over a range of diffuser angles varying from 10° to 35° and Roshko numbers (based on diffuser throat diameter and actuation frequency) from 25 to 300. Results show that the valving performance of the diffuser is significantly affected by the tapered angle and Roshko number. The diffuser valve with diverging angle of 10° exhibits the best performance. This is consistent with our recent simulations. The maximum flow rectification efficiency that has been attained at condition of zero backpressure is around 48%. In addition, we have simultaneously measured the time-dependent pressure inside the actuation chamber. It is found that the variations of the pressure amplitude with the Roshko number are qualitatively similar to those of the valving efficiency; high rectification efficiencies are always associated with large actuation pressures. However, for a large actuation volume, the valve performance declines, even though the actuation pressure increases. A possible explanation for this phenomenon is also provided.

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Abbreviations

A d :

Cross-sectional area of diffuser throat

A r :

Cross-sectional area of reservoir

d :

Diffuser throat diameter

D c :

Chamber inner diameter

e :

Eccentricity

f :

Actuation frequency

g :

Gravitational acceleration

L :

Diffuser length

\({\Delta \dot {m}}\) :

Mass rate increment of outlet reservoir

ΔP :

Actuation pressure amplitude

P c :

Time-dependent chamber pressure

P 0 :

Reference pressure

\({\dot {Q}}\) :

Volume flow rate

\({\dot {Q}_{\max}}\) :

Maximum volume flow rate

Re :

Reynolds number

Ro :

Roshko number

t :

Time

T :

Actuation period

V d :

Instantaneous volume-average velocity at diffuser neck

\({\overline V _d}\) :

Half-cycle time-average volumetric velocity in diffuser direction

Wo :

Womersley number

ε :

Flow rectification efficiency

Φ d :

Total fluid volume through diffuser direction in one actuation cycle

Φ n :

Total fluid volume through nozzle direction in one actuation cycle

η MFR :

Diffuser efficiency at the condition of the maximum flow rate

μ :

Water dynamic viscosity

θ :

Tapered angle of diffuser

ρ :

Water density

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, 70101, Taiwan

    Yi-Chun Wang, Hung-Yi Chen & Yu-Ying Hsiao

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  1. Yi-Chun Wang
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  2. Hung-Yi Chen
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  3. Yu-Ying Hsiao
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Correspondence to Yi-Chun Wang.

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Wang, YC., Chen, HY. & Hsiao, YY. Experimental study of the flow rectification performance of conical diffuser valves. Acta Mech 219, 15–27 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00707-010-0437-z

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