Turbulent flow through screens

Abstract

A detailed experimental investigation has been carried out on the effects of different types of screens on turbulent flow, in particular turbulent boundary layers. The effect of a screen on a turbulent boundary layer is to give it a 'new lease of life'. The boundary layer turbulence is reorganized and the thickness reduced, thus making it less susceptible to separation. The aerodynamic properties of plastic screens are found to differ significantly from those of the conventional metal screens, evidently because of differences in the weaving properties. The 'overshoot' in mean velocity profile near the boudnary layer edge is shown to be a result of the effect of screen inclination on pressure drop coefficient. A more accurate formulation for the deflection coefficient of a screen is also proposed.