Laminar/Turbulent Oscillating Flow in Circular Pipes

A two-dimensional oscillating flow analysis was conducted simulating the gas flow inside Stirling engine heat exchangers. Both laminar and turbulent oscillating pipe flow were investigated numerically for Re _max = 1,920 (Va = 80), 10,800 (Va = 272), 19,300 (Va = 272), and 60,800 (Va = 126). The results are here compared with experimental results of previous investigators. Predictions of the flow regime on present oscillating flow conditions are also checked by comparing velocity amplitudes and phase difference with those from laminar theory and quasi-steady profile. A high Reynolds number k-ε turbulence model was used for turbulent oscillating pipe flow. Finally, the performance of the k-ε model was evaluated to explore the applicability of quasi-steady turbulent models to unsteady oscillating flow analysis.