GENERAL CORRELATIONS AND SELECTION PROCEDURES FOR FLOW IN POLYETHYLENE TUBES WITH UNIFORMLY SPACED WALL ORIFICES

A previously described experimentally based numerical procedure is used to characterize the flow in thin walled polyethylene tubes with uniformly spaced wall orifices (polytubes). The procedure evaluates the required supply pressure for specified geometry, supply flow, and supply swirl angle; and then predicts the pressure and discharge profiles along the polytube. The predicted values are in good agreement with reported experimental results and are used to develop a data base of the most significant ranges of polytube and supply parameters. Then, explicit design correlations and recommendations are obtained for satisfactory and economical performance.