On the prediction of pressure drop across banks of inclined cylinders

This paper proposes a new way to predict the pressure drop across banks of inclined cylinders as a function of the inclination angle β relative to the mainstream. With the inclination chosen as the only variable, the flow orientation (due to anisotropy), open flow area ratio and porosity of the cylinder banks are maintained to be constant. An empirical correlation for the pressure loss behavior in the banks of inclined cylinders is made based on a characteristic length which varies in a sinusoidal manner as the inclination, combined with the principle of independence. This selection of the characteristic length is introduced to satisfy the constant porosity condition for the cylinder bank. It is shown that by including this characteristic length, the principle of independence applies: all non-dimensional pressure drop data collapse onto a single master curve regardless of the inclination angle for the Reynolds numbers (based on the characteristic length) ranging from 103 to 104. Consequently, this correlation allows the pressure drop for the inclination from 0° to 45° to be predicted for a given flow velocity.