Determination of Mechanical Energy Loss in Steady Flow by Means of Dissipation Power

Abstract

Abstract When systems of simple geometry like pipes or regular channels are considered, the mechanical energy loss of the fluid flow can be expressed by local and longitudinal empirical energy loss coefficients. However, in the case of large spatially distributed objects, there are no simple approaches to this task. In practice, general recommendations addressing different types of objects are used, but they usually provide very coarse estimates of energy loss. In this work, a new methodology for determination of mechanical energy loss in steady flowis proposed. This methodology is based on the observation that the magnitude of the power of energy dissipation in turbulent flow can be determined using the averaged flow velocity and turbulent viscosity coefficient. To highlight this possibility, an analysis of the magnitudes of the power of the main and fluctuating components of turbulent flow is presented. The correctness of the method is verified using an example of laminar and turbulent flows in a circular pipe. The results obtained show clearly that the proposed methodology can be used for mechanical energy loss determination in flow objects. This methodology can be used as a basis for mechanical energy loss determination in different types of flow objects.