DYNAMICS OF FLUID MIXING INDUCED AT A T-JUNCTION .3. EXPERIMENTAL CHARACTERIZATION AND FLUID DYNAMIC COMPUTATION OF TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTION IN-SPACE

Gas mixing was experimentally characterized by measuring the temperatu re distributions in space downstream of a T-junction under turbulent f low conditions. Fluid dynamic computations were also performed for T-m ixing using FLUENT based on the two-equation kappa-epsilon turbulence model, the ''wall function'' approach, the assumption of isotropic tur bulence, and a set of six parameters assuming prescribed values. Quali tative agreement emerged from the comparison between experiment and pr ediction without adjusting any parameter values. To enhance the quanti tative capability of computational fluid dynamics as a generic tool fo r simulating mixing involving turbulent flows, several areas amenable to improvement are suggested for future research.