Experimental study of the turbulent field behind a perforated vortex generator

International audience

<p>The influence of the wake vortex arising behind a perforated tab on the mixing process<br />in heat exchangers and chemical reactors is analyzed. The preliminary step of this study, i.e., investigation of the turbulent field generated by a single perforated tab, is presented here. For this aim, laser Doppler velocimetry measurements are conducted downstream from a perforated trapezoidal vortex generator placed in a wind tunnel. It is shown that two shear layers are generated by the tab. The first shear layer is located at the upper edge of the tab, and the other is ejected from the perforation edges. These shear layers are characterized by high turbulent kinetic energy levels, which are profitable for meso-mixing enhancement. Finally, a spectral study shows that the turbulent macro-scale is nearly the same for typical locations in the shear layers shed from the taband perforation edges.</p>