Characterization and validation of a vertical water tunnel for studies in low Reynolds numbers
Phillype de Lima Massari1; Alessandra Maciel dos Santos2; Maria Helena Farias2; Douglas de Almeida Garcia3; Lucas Factor Marchesini3; José Luiz Zanon Zotin4
1 Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro - PUC-RJ; 2 National Institute of Metrology, Quality and Technology - Inmetro); 3 National Institute of Metrology, Quality and Technology - Inmetro; 4 Celso Suckow da Fonseca Federal Center for Technical Education - CEFET-RJ
doi:10.20906/CPS/COB-2015-1191
Resumo
The present work describes the assembling process and characterization of the flow in a bench designed by the Fluid Dynamics Metrology Division from the Brazilian National Institute of Metrology - Inmetro -, to study the flow around submerged bodies. The apparatus is a vertical water tunnel in which a steady flow in low Reynolds number (Re) up to 5540 can be run. The operating limits of the system were identified and the flow characterization was performed without a model inserted in the test section. The velocity field was acquired using the optical technique Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) and it was found that at the test section entrance the velocity profile is uniform as expected. After that, in order to validate the apparatus applicability, the flow around a small sphere was analyzed and the results were compared with available data in the literature. This work discusses metrological aspects which must be considered when using the bench in order to ensure reliability of the results.
Palavras-chave: vertical water tunnel; PIV; low Reynolds number; flow around sphere