Evaluation of s-shaped diffuser performance with emulsion flow (oil in water)

Experimental and numerical studies of emulsion (oil-in-water) flow in rectangular cross-sectional area S-shaped dif- fusers have been carried out. The effects of different parameters, including area ratio, curvature ratio, turning angle, flow path, inflow Reynolds number, oil concentration, and emulsion status (stable/unstable), on the static pressure distributions and energy-loss coefficient are considered. The numerical study is carried out using ANSYS R-15.0 software Fluid Flow Fluent (FFF) 3D with different turbulence models. The comparisons between the numerical results and experimental data show good agreement. The results indicate that the S-diffuser energy-loss coefficient is affected by the geometrical parameters of the S-diffuser and the flow parameters. The energy-loss coefficient for the case of stable emulsion is found to be greater than that of the unstable emulsion flow. A general new correlation of energy-loss coefficient, including geometrical and flow parameters for the validated studied cases of S-diffusers, is extracted from the measurements. © 2017 by Begell House, Inc.