Laser Measurements and Computations of Viscous Flows Through Cylinders

Abstract

The hydrodynamic characteristics of viscous flow through periodic arrays of cylinders are studied by different methods: (1) Nonintrusive laser Doppler anemometry (LDA) to measure local velocity distributions; and (2) numerical solutions of the Navier‐Stokes equations using both finite differences (FD) and finite elements (FE). The Reynolds number based on average distance between the cylinders and average fluid velocity ranges between 1 and 300. Streamlines, velocity, and pressure distributions are presented for various Reynolds numbers. The simulated velocity profiles obtained by the two numerical methods are compared and found to be in agreement with the LDA measurements. Applicability of the results to flow through porous media is discussed.