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The inlet effects of multiple tubes on the adiabatic pressure drop of smooth horizontal tubes in the transitional flow regime

Dissertation (MEng)--University of Pretoria, 2015.

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Other Authors: Meyer, Josua P.
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: University of Pretoria 2016
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access_status_str Open Access
author2 Meyer, Josua P.
author_browse Meyer, Josua P.
author_facet Meyer, Josua P.
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv © 2016 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.
description Dissertation (MEng)--University of Pretoria, 2015.
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institution University of Pretoria (South Africa)
language English
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:40:26.265Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
publishDate 2016
publishDateRange 2016
publishDateSort 2016
publisher University of Pretoria
publisherStr University of Pretoria
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spelling oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/56121 The inlet effects of multiple tubes on the adiabatic pressure drop of smooth horizontal tubes in the transitional flow regime Meyer, Josua P. u10198904@tuks.co.za Vause, Erin Sarah UCTD Engineering, built environment and information technology theses SDG-07 Engineering, built environment and information technology theses SDG-09 Engineering, built environment and information technology theses SDG-12 Dissertation (MEng)--University of Pretoria, 2015. There exists many investigations in the field of pressure drop inside smooth tubes; however, there is a research gap where this flow is in the transitional flow regime. All work in the transitional flow regime thus far has been concerned with a single tube and in limited cases the effect of different types of inlets were investigated. Many heat exchangers such as shell-and-tube heat exchangers consist of a number of closely packed tubes leading from a common header and in some cases may operate in or close to the transitional flow regime. However, it is not known what effect adjacent tubes will have on pressure drop and the flow distribution in the transitional flow regime. The purpose of this study is therefore to investigate the effect that the presence of adjacent tubes will have on the pressure drop in the transitional flow regime. The study is limited to smooth and circular, horizontal tubes in the fully developed, transitional flow regime and adiabatic pressure drops. The transition effects were investigated experimentally by developing and building an experimental set-up on which, firstly, the pressure drops could be measured of one tube to be used as a reference and then secondly, the pressure drop of three tubes in parallel, equally spaced, 1.4 diameters apart. The internal tube diameters of all tubes were 3.97 mm and the tube lengths were 6 m. The pressure drops were measured over a length of 1.97 m, at the end of the tubes where the flow was fully developed. The pressure drops were measured with pressure transducers while the inlet and outlet temperatures of the water were measured with PT100 probes. All the tubes were connected to a calming section to ensure a square-edge inlet. Experiments were conducted with water at Reynolds numbers from 700 to 5 100 to ensure that the pressure drops and thus friction factors could be determined for fully developed flow throughout the laminar, transitional and turbulent flow regimes. The uncertainty of the friction factors were all less than 1%. It was found that the centre tube experienced an earlier onset of transition than that previously seen in single tube tests, at a Reynolds number of 1 840. In the outer tubes, transitional flow was delayed well beyond that previously seen in literature. The flow in all three tubes underwent transition into fully developed turbulent flow by the maximum Reynolds number of 3 340. The effect of having multiple, adjacent inlets caused a maldistribution in the mass flow rate, with a 5.8% difference in the flow rates of the outer tubes in the transitional flow regime. New correlations were developed to predict the friction factor for transitional flow in each of three adjacent tubes at an inlet pitch distance of 1.4 times the inner tube diameter. Overall, it can be concluded that multiple tube entrances have an effect on the transitional flow in all of the tubes and should be further investigated for other pitch distance and tube arrangements. tm2016 mi2026 Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering MEng Unrestricted SDG-07: Affordable and clean energy SDG-09: Industry, innovation and infrastructure SDG-12: Responsible consumption and production 2016-07-29T11:02:14Z 2016-07-29T11:02:14Z 2016-04-15 2015 Dissertation Vause, ES 2015, The inlet effects of multiple tubes on the adiabatic pressure drop of smooth horizontal tubes in the transitional flow regime, MEng Dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd <http://hdl.handle.net/2263/56121> A2016 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/56121 en © 2016 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria
spellingShingle UCTD
Engineering, built environment and information technology theses SDG-07
Engineering, built environment and information technology theses SDG-09
Engineering, built environment and information technology theses SDG-12
The inlet effects of multiple tubes on the adiabatic pressure drop of smooth horizontal tubes in the transitional flow regime
title The inlet effects of multiple tubes on the adiabatic pressure drop of smooth horizontal tubes in the transitional flow regime
title_full The inlet effects of multiple tubes on the adiabatic pressure drop of smooth horizontal tubes in the transitional flow regime
title_fullStr The inlet effects of multiple tubes on the adiabatic pressure drop of smooth horizontal tubes in the transitional flow regime
title_full_unstemmed The inlet effects of multiple tubes on the adiabatic pressure drop of smooth horizontal tubes in the transitional flow regime
title_short The inlet effects of multiple tubes on the adiabatic pressure drop of smooth horizontal tubes in the transitional flow regime
title_sort inlet effects of multiple tubes on the adiabatic pressure drop of smooth horizontal tubes in the transitional flow regime
topic UCTD
Engineering, built environment and information technology theses SDG-07
Engineering, built environment and information technology theses SDG-09
Engineering, built environment and information technology theses SDG-12
url http://hdl.handle.net/2263/56121