Evaluation of transient effects in the pressure-time method

Abstract

The pressure-time is a method for measuring the flow rate in closed conduits and is typically used in hydropower applications. The scope of the present paper is to examine the physics of flow during a pressure-time measurement using experimental data and two-dimensional numerical simulations. The Unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (URANS) equations coupled with the low-Re k-ω SST turbulence model are employed for the simulations. The contributions of inertia, pressure gradient, viscous and turbulent shear stress terms are investigated in the flow during a pressure-time measurement. It is shown that away from the wall and in the initial moments of time, the turbulent shear stress is comparable with the pressure gradient. With increasing time, the contribution of the inertia term becomes progressively significant and comparable with the pressure gradient and turbulent shear stress terms. Close to the wall, both viscous and turbulent shear stresses are the dominant terms which are diminished by increasing the time.