A Tesla valve is a fluidic dioide that may be used in a variety of mini/micro channel applications for passive flow rectification and/or control. The valve’s effectiveness is quantified by the diodicity, which is primarily governed by the incoming flow speed, its design and direction-dependent minor losses throughout its structure during forward and reverse flows. It has been previously shown that the Reynolds number at the valve inlet is not representative of the entire flow regime throughout the Tesla structure. Therefore, pure-laminar solving methods are not necessarily accurate. Local flow instabilities exist and exhibit both transitional and turbulent characteristics. Therefore, the current investigation seeks to identify a suitable RANS-based flow modeling approach to predict Tesla valve diodicity via three-dimensional (3D) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) for inlet Reynolds numbers up to Re = 2,000. Using ANSYS FLUENT (v. 14), a variety of models were employed, including: the Realizable k-ε, k-kL-ω and SST k-ω models. All numerical simulations were validated against available experimental data obtained from an identically-shaped Tesla valve structure. It was found that the k-ε model drastically under-predicts experimental data for the entire range of Reynolds numbers investigated and cannot accurately model the Tesla valve flow. The k-kL-ω and SST k-ω models approach the experimentally-measured diodicity better than regular 2D CFD. The k-kL-ω demonstrates exceptional agreement with experimental data for Reynolds numbers up to approximately 1,500. However, both the k-kL-ω and k-ω SST models over-predict experimental data for Re = 2,000.
Skip Nav Destination
ASME 2013 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition
November 15–21, 2013
San Diego, California, USA
Conference Sponsors:
- ASME
ISBN:
978-0-7918-5632-1
PROCEEDINGS PAPER
Transitional and Turbulent Flow Modeling in a Tesla Valve
Scott M. Thompson,
Scott M. Thompson
Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS
Search for other works by this author on:
Tausif Jamal,
Tausif Jamal
Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS
Search for other works by this author on:
Basil J. Paudel,
Basil J. Paudel
Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS
Search for other works by this author on:
D. Keith Walters
D. Keith Walters
Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS
Search for other works by this author on:
Scott M. Thompson
Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS
Tausif Jamal
Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS
Basil J. Paudel
Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS
D. Keith Walters
Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS
Paper No:
IMECE2013-65526, V07BT08A027; 7 pages
Published Online:
April 2, 2014
Citation
Thompson, SM, Jamal, T, Paudel, BJ, & Walters, DK. "Transitional and Turbulent Flow Modeling in a Tesla Valve." Proceedings of the ASME 2013 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition. Volume 7B: Fluids Engineering Systems and Technologies. San Diego, California, USA. November 15–21, 2013. V07BT08A027. ASME. https://doi.org/10.1115/IMECE2013-65526
Download citation file:
150
Views
Related Proceedings Papers
Related Articles
Flow in a Mechanical Bileaflet Heart Valve at Laminar and Near-Peak Systole Flow Rates: CFD Simulations and Experiments
J Biomech Eng (October,2005)
Extending Classical Friction Loss Modeling to Predict the Viscous Performance of Pumping Devices
J. Fluids Eng (October,2019)
Numerical Simulation and Evaluation of Velocity Fluctuations During Rotating Stall of a Centrifugal Pump
J. Fluids Eng (August,2011)
Related Chapters
Two Advanced Methods
Applications of Mathematical Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow Models in Engineering and Medicine
Computational Modeling of Dynamic Planing Forces
Proceedings of the 10th International Symposium on Cavitation (CAV2018)
Cavitating Structures at Inception in Turbulent Shear Flow
Proceedings of the 10th International Symposium on Cavitation (CAV2018)