UTK twin jet water facility computational fluid dynamics validation data set

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has become an integral part of the engineering design process, and with it the need for verification and validation as a means of building and quantifying confidence in the solution. Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) is responsible for most field data used to validate CFD simulations. The present work represents a full data set for CFD validation - including a description of the experimental setup, characterization of the boundary conditions, PIV test parameters, and the resulting aggregate data and analysis. All data were collected at room temperature and pressure using the UTK Twin Jet Water Facility (TJWF), in which two submerged jets impinge vertically into a 760 liter water-filled acrylic tank. Polyethylene microspheres seeded flow for PIV measurements, and the camera and laser components were mounted on an XY table and hydraulic liftcart to allow for data collection in different regions of the tank while keeping the separation distance fixed. Overflows at the top of the tank recirculated the water back through the jets to provide a steady-state condition and maintained the microsphere concentration at a constant value. Spatially averaged velocity vectors are inferred, along with the statistics and analytics relevant to computational validation, including experimental uncertainties. Suggestions for future work are presented, along with a plan to separate the random experimental error from the bias or systematic error.