Local Resistance Characteristics of T-Type Tee Based on Chamfering Treatment

Abstract

The T-type tee is a crucial part of liquid distribution systems and is widely used in irrigation, drainage, water delivery, and agricultural fertilizer injection, among other areas. Confluence angle, pipe diameter ratio, and flow rate ratio have been the main focus of previous research. Research on the hydraulic characteristics and resistance optimization brought about by the main-side pipe intersection’s chamfering treatment is, nevertheless, incredibly rare. Optimizing the structure of the T-type tee could improve its sustainability in many aspects, such as its energy consumption, durability, and production process. In order to fill this void in the literature, the current investigation concentrated on the resistance reduction and flow properties of T-type tees by means of chamfering treatment. Using a newly proposed coefficient called the integrated local resistance coefficient, the integral flow characteristics and resistance reduction effects of T-type tees were addressed. Through the use of the verified computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method, the crossed effects of five chamfer ratios (R = 0D, 0.5D, 1D, 2D, and 3D), nine flow rate ratios (0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, and 0.9), and two pipe diameter ratios were examined. When the Reynolds number exceeded 3 × 105, the flow remained in the quadratic drag region, meaning that the local resistance coefficient of T-type tees was no longer dependent on the flow velocity. In both confluence and shunt conditions for equal tees, chamfering treatment was proven to be an efficient method for reducing local resistance under these conditions. For instance, following a 1D chamfering treatment on the T-type confluence tee, at a flow ratio of 0.5, the local resistance coefficients ζ1 and ζ2 dropped by 68% and 82%, respectively, in comparison to the 0D condition. The effects of resistance reduction were improved by a wider chamfer radius and a higher side pipe flow rate ratio. The highest overall performance was obtained by chamfering a T-type tee with a curvature radius of 1D, taking into account flow characteristics, sustainability, processing technology, economic cost, and promotion difficulties. The chamfering procedure produced a more noticeable reduction in resistance for unequal tees with comparable velocities in the main and side pipes when the pipe diameter ratio was greater than 0.5.