Pressure losses at bends and junctions

The addition of this equation to an existing equation, used to calculate the pressure drop due to friction, gives the total pressure drop in an elbow bend.<br><br>The experimental pressure measurements were used to provide boundary conditions for the CFD simulations. The k −, realizable k −, k −ω and Reynolds stress turbulence models were studied. The simulations predicted accurate pressure loss data for the bends with a moderate radius of curvature, where no flow separation occurred, and the combining flow configurations of the junctions, where favourable pressure gradients were present.

However, for the bend with the tightest radius of curvature and for the dividing flow junction configurations, flow separation and strong adverse pressure gradients conspired to have a detrimental effect on the accuracy of the predicted pressure losses. The Reynolds stress turbulence model (RSM) yielded the most accurate<br>correlation with the experimental pressure loss data.