Effects of flow rate ratio on loss reduction of T-junction pipe

Abstract

T-junction pipes are frequently used in industrial facilities to split one flow into two flows or to merge two flows into one flow. In the counter-flow type of confluence in this type of pipe, separated vortex flow regions are formed near the junction corners and these regions cause a large flow resistance. The corners of a T-junction pipe are generally made round to avoid flow separation and to reduce the flow resistance or loss, but this method requires a junction corner removal process. In this study, we mount small weir-shaped obstacles on the walls of pipes upstream of the junction corner to reduce the loss. We examine the effect of the flow rate ratio on the loss and clarify the obstacle height and position conditions that reduce the loss for a wide range of flow rate ratio.