Numerical computation of turbulent flow in pipes

Abstract

Developing turbulent flow in pipes of circular cross-section with length-to-diameter ratio of 100 has been computed at eight Reynolds numbers ranging from 3.8 X10 "SUP 4" to 3.88 X10 "SUP 5" . Numerical solutions of the elliptic differential equations, which incorporate standard k-epsilon turbulence model closure, are obtained using control-volume-based iterative finite-difference technique. Near the solid boundary, a wall-functions method has been employed. Numerical computations for axial velocity, turbulence kinetic energy, and wall-shear stress distributions are presented and compared with available experimental data in the literature. The results of computations are generally in good agreement with experimental measurements. (Author)