A case study of thermal mixing behavior of hot and cold fluid in T-junction with/without mixing jets

Abstract

Three-dimensional numerical simulations are performed to study the turbulent mixing of hot and cold fluids at a T-junction with unique branch pipe extended mixing jets. The major aim of the current research is to compare the performance of two distinct designs for thermal mixing and flow characteristics of a T-junction. We investigate the effects of the momentum ratio and temperature difference of mixing fluids on temperature gradients for proposed configurations of T-junctions. The finding demonstrated that a T-junction with jets appears to mix hot and cold fluids more homogeneously. The addition of the mixing jets significantly lessens the internal wall's temperature gradients and improves the efficacy of thermal mixing. The thermal mixing efficiency for T-junctions with mixing jets increased by 25%, 42%, and 50%, respectively. At the same momentum ratio, the length of the thermal mixing in the T-junction with mixing jets is dramatically reduced by 77%, 79%, and 83%. The stress distribution is also determined using thermo-mechanical coupled analysis. The result shows the reduction in peak stresses substantially with the mixing jet T-junction. The current study will help the researcher to evaluate safety issues in high-temperature applications and better understand thermal mixing, flow characteristics, and thermal cracks.

Keywords

• Thermal mixing degree
• Turbulence
• Thermal gradient
• Mixing jets
• T-junction