Flow of water in a channel with various obstruction geometries at the entry

The flow characteristics of water (Newtonian fluid) in a test channel with various obstructiongeometries at the channel entry are investigated. The fluid motion in the test channel could be stagnant, forward orreverse depending on the position of the obstruction geometries. The reverse flow phenomenon has attractedattention of the authors due to its practical implication in the process industry. The reverse flow characteristics areinvestigated in details at a fixed Reynolds number of 6000. The obstruction geometries used in the experimentswere circle, semicircle, triangle and flat plate. It was observed that the flat plate obstruction generated themaximum reverse flow, while the triangle obstruction generated the least reverse flow. It was also observed thatthe flat plate obstroction produced the least forward flow, while the circle obstruction produced the highestforward flow. Flow visualisation photographs are presented and discussed here.