A Study of the Transient Response of Duct Junctions: Measurements and Gas-Dynamic Modeling with a Staggered Mesh Finite Volume Approach

Abstract

Duct junctions play a major role in the operation and design of most piping systems. The objective of this paper is to establish the potential of a staggered mesh finite volume model as a way to improve the description of the effect of simple duct junctions on an otherwise one-dimensional flow system, such as the intake or exhaust of an internal combustion engine. Specific experiments have been performed in which different junctions have been characterized as a multi-port, and that have provided precise and reliable results on the propagation of pressure pulses across junctions. The results obtained have been compared to simulations performed with a staggered mesh finite volume method with different flux limiters and different meshes and, as a reference, have also been compared with the results of a more conventional pressure loss-based model. The results indicate that the staggered mesh finite volume model provides a closer description of wave dynamics, even if further work is needed to establish the optimal calculation settings.