Effects of multi-orifice plate with different geometric parameters on flow distribution of plenum chamber for ventilation duct systems

Abstract

Plenum chambers are common devices used for flow and pressure equalization in ventilation and air conditioning systems. Aiming for reducing energy consumption and improving ventilation performance, the optimal cross-sectional aspect ratio (W/H) and length (L) of the single-path unlined rectangular plenum chamber is obtained through the authors’ preliminary research. In this study, based on the analysis of interior flow characteristics of single-path plenum chamber, it is shown that the traditional chamber configuration commonly used in engineering is not an ideal structure that can achieve uniform flow distribution. The multi-orifice plate is proposed to add inside chamber to improve flow uniformity. Under the two typical design schemes of W/H=1/1 and 5/1, the effect of multi-orifice plate with different geometric parameters on flow distribution of plenum chamber is investigated, and the optimal installation position and aperture rate of orifice plate is proposed. The optimized aperture ratio is designed to be 30% for both the two typical chamber configurations. When W/H=1/1, it is recommended to install the multi-orifice plate at the position of y/L=0.1, as for W/H=5/1, the y/L=0.3 is preferred. Besides, the fluid equalizing effect of the plenum chamber with multi-orifice plate is verified under four commonly used air ducts specifications in engineering.