Mass and momentum transfer characteristics in 90° elbow under high Reynolds number

Abstract Mass and momentum transfer characteristics in a 90° elbow with a radius to pipe diameter ratio of 1.5 are studied experimentally with the aid of the plaster dissolution method, planar velocity measurement by particle image velocimetry (PIV), and surface flow visualization in the Reynolds number (Re) range of 5 × 10 4 to 20 × 10 4 . The experimental results indicate that the most significant change in mass transfer distribution occurs on the inner wall of the elbow. The mass transfer coefficient increases along the centerline of the first half of the elbow and decreases in the second half with increasing Reynolds number. The near-wall velocity measurements by PIV show that the flow accelerates on the first half of the inner wall and decelerates on the second half, which contributes to the growth of the turbulent intensities on the second half of the inner wall. The surface flow visualization indicates that the secondary flow is weak on the inner wall of the elbow with higher Reynolds number. These results show that the mass transfer characteristics change on the inner wall of the elbow with increase in the Reynolds number, even when it is larger than Re = 5 × 10 4 .