Assessment of theoretical correlations for prediction of pressure drop across spacer

Abstract

Paper presented at the 9th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Malta, 16-18 July, 2012.The present paper discusses the prediction of pressure drop across spacer both by employing a set of correlations proposed by Rehme (1973) and a theoretical model. The theoretical model considers the sum of expansion, contraction and friction losses at the spacer. The results obtained by the theoretical model indicate that the pressure drop is strongly dependent on the flow area ratio and the length of the spacer as well. In addition, the pressure loss coefficient is found to decrease with the Reynolds number. It is observed that the pressure drop correlation does not take into account the length of the spacer and predicts a lower value of pressure loss coefficient compared to the theoretical model.