Analysis of the Effect of 90° Pipe Elbow Design Variations and Inlet Flow Velocity on Pressure Drop Using Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulation

Abstract

Most industrial processes utilize fluids as a medium for as a medium for transporting materials, both liquid and gas. Pipes as one of the channel components for fluid distribution are often difficult to avoid in their placement. Pressure drop often occurs in pipe bends which can reduce system efficiency. This study aims to examine the effect of variations in 90⁰ pipe elbow design and velocity inlet on pressure drop. The method in this research is the Computational Fluid Dynamics method on Ansys Fluent 2024 R2 Student version software. In this study, 3 elbow pipe designs with the same pipe diameter and connection position dimensions were compared. The connection process is carried out at the same height so that gravity is treated in the same position. The results of this study show that elbow design 1 has the smallest pressure drop value compared to the other two elbow designs. This is clearly seen in the simulation results of pressure drop values, velocity magnitude vectors profiles, visualization of contours statics pressure and velocity magnitude. The conclusion of this research is that the pressure drop value is strongly influenced by elbow design and velocity inlet. If the velocity inlet increases, the pressure drop value also increases. While in the elbow design if the sharper the turn angle, the greater the pressure drop value will be. Based on the resulting pressure drop value, elbow 1 design is more efficient than the other two elbow designs because it has a lower pressure drop value.