Influencing factors of CFD simulation precision for the emitter channel

CFD simulation can largely reduce the workload for molding, processing and measuring in the emitter development. However, as the emitter flow typically sits between conventional-scale flow and micro-scale flow, the influencing factors of CFD simulation precision are not clear yet. To address this issue, six types of emitter labyrinth channels were made for this study. By comparing the measuring results with the simulation results generated by Fluent®, the influence factors of simulation precision were analyzed. The study showed that near wall treatment does not affect simulation precision under the standard model. For emitters with small flow rate, where the ratio of mesh size to minimum channel size is less than 1/6, simulation results are irrelevant to mesh size.