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To investigate the influence of the flow channel’s width-to-narrow ratio on the Tesla valve’s flow characteristics, this paper establishes five Tesla valve models with different width-to-narrow ratios. Employing the laminar flow model, CFD methods were used to numerically simulate both the forward and reverse flows through the Tesla valve across a spectrum of width-to-narrow ratios, ranging from 0.2 to 1. The results reveal the flow trends in the straight or arc channels show opposite variation patterns when flowing in forward and reverse directions. The flow rate passing through straight channel is more sensitive to the response of a small width-to-narrow ratio. Irrespective of the flow direction, as the width-to-narrow ratio increases, the fluid flow within the valve demonstrates increasingly pronounced stratification. The pressure curve of the diversion section assumes an “∞” shape in forward flow, whereas in reverse flow, it assumes a “flat plate” shape.

Abstract To study the effect of the width-to-narrow ratio on the forward and reverse flow characteristics of the Tesla valve, five different models of the Tesla valve with different width-to-narrow ratios are established in this paper. The numerical calculations of forward and reverse flow under different working conditions are carried out by the CFD method in the laminar flow regime, and the reliability of the numerical calculation method is verified by comparing it with the experimental results. The results show that: in forward flow, the main flow-through channel is not related to the width-to-narrow ratio, the flow rate of the straight channel increases with the increase of the width-to-narrow ratio, and the static pressure in the diversion section is in the shape of “∞”; while in reverse flow, the main flow-through channel is weakly related to the width-to-narrow ratio, the flow rate of the arc channel is not increased with the increase of the width-to-narrow ratio, and the static pressure in the diversion section is in the shape of “bench”. As the width-to-narrow ratio decreases, the pressure drop during forward and reverse flow becomes more significant.