Numerical simulations to evaluate basic geometrical shapes as headers for equal liquid flow distribution

ABSTRACT The study presents computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations for evaluation of basic geometrical shapes as headers for equal liquid flow distribution. The headers that have been evaluated are conical header, cylindrical header, pyramidal header, rectangular header and spherical header. The computational approach used in the study has been validated by comparing predictions of numerical simulations with experimental results for a cylindrical header. The effects of volume of header, flow rate, diameter of outlets and pressure imbalance at outlets on flow distribution have been studied. At low flow rates, there is no significant difference in the performance of the headers of different geometrical shapes. At higher flow rates, spherical header is found to be better. The possibility of ensuring equal flow distribution by having outlets of varying cross‐sectional area is discussed. The results reported in the study provide useful insights relevant for header design problems. © 2014 Curtin University of Technology and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.