A Computational Study on Horizontal Pipe Flows with Multiple Crossflow Inlets

Computational fluid dynamics was used to investigate the flow in pipes with multiple crossflow inlets as several geometric and boundary condition parameters were varied. The varied parameters included the spacing between inlets, angular phasing of inlets, inlet size, and the pressure boundary condition applied at the crossflow inlets. All simulations were restricted to single phase, laminar, incompressible, and isothermal flows. The changes in the total flow rate contributed from all inlets as well as the relative contribution of each inlet are the key results that are presented. Trends relating the varied parameters to flow rates were established and discussed. The cumulative flow rate increased as the inlet size and inlet pressure increased. The flow also transitioned from the blocked to trickle flow regimes as these parameters were varied. Inlet phasing affected the total cumulative flow rate for cases with small phasing between inlets.