Flows in 2D Channels with Bilateral and Unilateral Sudden Expansions
The both channel geometries are shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2. At the 10 cm inlet height of the bilateral-sudden-expansion channels a uniform water stream at 293.2 K and 1 m/s is specified. The Reynolds number is based on the inlet height and is equal to Re = 105, therefore (since Re > 104) the flow is turbulent. At the 30 mm height inlet of the unilateral-sudden-expansion channel an experimentally measured water stream at 293.2 K and 8.25 mm/s mean velocity is specified, so the Reynolds number based on the inlet height is equal to Re = 250, therefore the flow is laminar. In both channels, the sudden expansion generates a vortex, which is considered in this validation from the viewpoint of hydraulic loss in the bilateral-expansion channel (compared to Ref. 14) and from the viewpoint of the flow velocity field in the unilateral-expansion channel (compared to Ref. 9).
