Experimental study of the pressure drop after fractal-shaped orifices in turbulent pipe flows

Fractal-shaped orifices are thought to have a significant effect on the flow mixing properties downstream a pipe owing to their edge self-similarity shape. Here, we investigate the pressure drop after such fractal orifices and measure the pressure recovery at different stations downstream the orifice. A direct comparison is made with the pressure drop measured after regular circular orifices with the same flow area. Our results show that the fractal-shaped orifices have a significant effect on the pressure drop. Furthermore, the pressure drop measured across the fractal-shaped orifices is found to be lower than that from regular circular orifices of the same flow areas. This result could be important in designing piping systems from the point of view of losses. It looks promising to use the fractal-shaped orifices as flowmeters as they can sense the pressure drop across them accurately with lower losses than the regular circular-shaped ones.