Numerical Investigation of Unsteady Incompressible 3D Turbulent Flow and Torque Transmission in Fluid Couplings

The adequate understanding of the flow structure in fluid couplings is necessary for the optimized design of such devices. Up to now, empiricism plays an important role in design. Detailed studies of the unsteady 3D flow and torque transmission in fluid couplings were rarely carried out. In this paper the unsteady Reynolds time-averaged Navier-Stokes equations coupled with the k-ε model have been solved by a finite-volume method. The calculations were done by using boundary-fitted grids with non-staggered variable arrangement for a rotating frame of reference. Flow structures in fluid couplings were obtained. The results give insights into the physical process of torque transmission. A comparsion of the calculated torque transimission with the experimental measurements in the literature shows good agreement for low slip.