PRESSURE-DRIVEN LAMINAR PULSATING FLOW IN A PIPE: EFFECT OF THE AMPLITUDE

Abstract

In this study, pressure-driven laminar pulsating flow in a pipe is examined numerically. Both the hydrodynamically developing flow and fully developed conditions are considered. A commercially available CFD package, FLUENT, is used in the simulations. A constant value of the time-averaged Reynolds number is considered, Re=1000. Six different values of the dimensionless frequency (F=0.01, 0.1, 1, 10, 100, 1000) and three different values of the dimensionless amplitude (A=0.1, 0.5 and 0.95) are considered. Both the hydrodynamically developing and fully developed flows are analyzed. Effects of the amplitude and frequency of the pulsating inlet velocity on the friction coefficient as well as velocity field are predicted.