Influence of bed geometry on its frictional resistance under turbulent flow conditions

The paper presents both experimental and numerical investigations of air tu rbulent flow through six model packings composed of spheres in cubic arrang ement and of different turbulence promoters inserted between the spheres. T he object of the study was to determine the influence of the bed geometry o n its frictional resistance. It has been confirmed that the bed porosity an d the hydraulic diameter are not sufficient to describe properly the hydrod ynamic properties of an arbitrary designed packing geometry. The CFD approa ch appears to be more universal. However, the uncertainty of determination of the bed frictional resistance is similar to that in rough pressure drop/ flow rate measurements. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.