Flow–pressure drop characteristics of perforated plates

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to quantify the relationship between the fluid flow and pressure drop for perforated plates. The homogenization of non-uniform fluid flows is often accomplished by passing the fluid through perforated plates. The underlying principle for the accomplishment of flow homogenization is a tradeoff of pressure drop for flow uniformity. Design/methodology/approach: The investigation, implemented by numerical simulation, is based on turbulent flow in pipes and across perforated plates. The approach is as follows: (a) to devise a model to determine pressure drop’s fluid flow information from a single-aperture, (b) to obtain this information for apertures of different shapes, (c) to determine this type of information for perforated plates situated in a circular pipe, (d) to compare the entire perforated-plate pressure drop with that for a single-aperture modular and (e) to analyze two identical perforated plates in series. Findings: The pressure drop results for the single-aperture modular model agreed very well with those for a whole perforated plate in a round pipe, therefore negating the need to simulate the more complex situation. In addition to the parametric study with aperture shape and Reynolds number, porosities (20-60 per cent) and plate thicknesses were also varied. The results obtained here compared favorably with experimental data. Originality/value: This work demonstrates an efficient method for analyzing and obtaining useful pressure drop information for perforated plates. For the first time, the porous media approach for modeling perforated plates is compared directly to complete, full-scale perforated plate applications and identical plates in series.