AFT Blog

Non-Newtonian fluids are something almost every elementary school student is familiar with. Mixing cornstarch and water to create a liquid that acts as a solid is an experiment which has captured the attention of children (and adults) for generations. The Discovery Channel show Mythbusters even showed Adam Savage walking across a tub of cornstarch ...

If you have worked with Non-Newtonian fluids or low velocity systems in AFT Fathom or AFT Impulse before, then it is likely that you have worked with the Adjusted Turbulent K Factor (ATKF) method before. The ATKF method can be used to adjust K factor data developed for turbulent flow conditions to better predict loss in the laminar f...

Well, it turns out lots of people. My first experience with "funny fluids" was in graduate school. One of my fluids professors had recently completed his doctoral thesis on funny fluids also known as non-Newtonian fluids. I got to see some of his graduate students do some crazy experiments with polymer additives to otherwise boring Newtonian fluids.

AFT Fathom 8 has a new and improved method for predicting system pressures that involve laminar flow or non-Newtonian fluids.  The Adjusted Turbulent K Factor (ATKF) method is used to apply corrections to pipes and components involving these special flows.  The ATKF method can be enabled on the System Data tab in the System Properties window. Clicking on the question mark next to the ATKF method will access the AFT Fathom 8 Help Content that discusses the ATKF method in detail. In September 2012, Applied Flow Technology and DuPont published a technical article for the International Pump Users Symposium that discusses...