Flow impingement on a perforated plate at an angle of attack

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to provide both directly applicable fluid-flow results and fluid-mechanic fundamentals for flow impinging at an angle of attack on a perforated plate. Design/methodology/approach - A physical situation was modeled with high fidelity, and the model was implemented by numerical simulation. The simulations spanned all possible flow regimes including laminar, intermittent (transitional) and turbulent, and the Reynolds numbers that defined each flow regime were definitively determined. The Reynolds numbers ranged from 0.1 to 30,000, the angles of attack included 0, 5, 15 and 22.5° and the host duct dimensions varied appropriately. Findings - It was found that the perforated-plate pressure drop decreased moderately with an increasing angle of attack, an outcome directly relevant to design. The pattern of fluid flow caused by the presence of the plate was dominated by a large recirculation zone situated downstream of the plate in a corner between the plate and an adjacent wall. The recirculation zone played the role of a blockage which deflected the flow emerging from the apertures in the plate toward the opposite wall. Originality/value - (a) Pressure drop information directly applicable to design, (b) downstream distance from the plate at which the plate-created flow disturbance disappears, (c) account taken of the intermittent flow regime between laminar and turbulent, (d) implementation of a new metric to characterize the strength of turbulence.