3D CFD SIMULATION AND EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF A WATER JET IMPINGEMENT

Abstract

To investigate the reaction forces produced by the change in momentum of a water jet, an experimental and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) study are carried out. In the experiment, the water jet forces on a test horizontal hemispherical cup are measured. ANSYS CFX simulation code is used to provide a 3D CFD simulation of a circular cross section water jet released from a nozzle and moves upward in the air before striking a horizontal hemispherical cup and a flat plate. The progress in the CFD simulation within the last decade make it possible to analyze and visualize the flow pattern of complex multiphase free surface fluid flow. The simulated forces of the vertical water jet against a horizontal hemispherical cup using ANSYS CFX code are compared with the experimental forces generated by the water jet as it strikes a hemispherical cup. A good agreement is found in the CFD results compared with the experimental results. 21.649 % was the maximum percent difference recorded at 0.245 kg/sec flowrate and 0.484 % was the minimum percent difference at 0.368 kg/sec flowrate.