Secondary flow characteristics and prediction of Dean vortices in fluid flow through a curved duct

This paper presents an investigation on the unique flow characteristics associated with fluid flow through curved ducts, which are fundamentally different to those in straight fluid passages. In curved ducts, the flow is subjected to centrifugal forces that induce counter-rotating vortices in the ma...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Chandratilleke, Tilak, Nadim, Nima, Narayanaswamy, Ramesh
Other Authors: Kian Teh
Format: Conference Paper
Published: Engineers Australia 2010
Online Access:http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=018963660164734;res=IELENG
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/14379
_version_ 1848748607489966080
author Chandratilleke, Tilak
Nadim, Nima
Narayanaswamy, Ramesh
author2 Kian Teh
author_facet Kian Teh
Chandratilleke, Tilak
Nadim, Nima
Narayanaswamy, Ramesh
author_sort Chandratilleke, Tilak
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description This paper presents an investigation on the unique flow characteristics associated with fluid flow through curved ducts, which are fundamentally different to those in straight fluid passages. In curved ducts, the flow is subjected to centrifugal forces that induce counter-rotating vortices in the main axial fluid stream and give rise to spiralling fluid motion, commonly known as secondary flow. The study carries out an extensive computational fluid dynamics analysis whereby the laminar developing fluid flow in a curved rectangular duct is modelled and the flow characteristics are identified for a range of flow rates and duct aspect ratios at a chosen duct curvature. The contours of secondary flow and axial velocities are obtained recognising the influence of flow/geometrical parameters on the secondary flow. Comparisons are made between the numerical predictions and the available experimental data. It is observed that, with increased duct flow rate, the secondary flow intensifies and beyond a certain critical flow condition, leads to hydrodynamic instability. The fluid flow structure is then significantly altered with the appearance of additional pair (or pairs) of vortices, termed as Dean Vortices, at the outer wall of the curved duct. This flow behaviour is also highly influenced by the duct aspect (height to width) ratio. The paper develops and presents a novel hypothesis for predicting the onset of Dean vortex generation.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T07:07:44Z
format Conference Paper
id curtin-20.500.11937-14379
institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T07:07:44Z
publishDate 2010
publisher Engineers Australia
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling curtin-20.500.11937-143792023-01-13T07:56:28Z Secondary flow characteristics and prediction of Dean vortices in fluid flow through a curved duct Chandratilleke, Tilak Nadim, Nima Narayanaswamy, Ramesh Kian Teh Ian Davies Ian Howard This paper presents an investigation on the unique flow characteristics associated with fluid flow through curved ducts, which are fundamentally different to those in straight fluid passages. In curved ducts, the flow is subjected to centrifugal forces that induce counter-rotating vortices in the main axial fluid stream and give rise to spiralling fluid motion, commonly known as secondary flow. The study carries out an extensive computational fluid dynamics analysis whereby the laminar developing fluid flow in a curved rectangular duct is modelled and the flow characteristics are identified for a range of flow rates and duct aspect ratios at a chosen duct curvature. The contours of secondary flow and axial velocities are obtained recognising the influence of flow/geometrical parameters on the secondary flow. Comparisons are made between the numerical predictions and the available experimental data. It is observed that, with increased duct flow rate, the secondary flow intensifies and beyond a certain critical flow condition, leads to hydrodynamic instability. The fluid flow structure is then significantly altered with the appearance of additional pair (or pairs) of vortices, termed as Dean Vortices, at the outer wall of the curved duct. This flow behaviour is also highly influenced by the duct aspect (height to width) ratio. The paper develops and presents a novel hypothesis for predicting the onset of Dean vortex generation. 2010 Conference Paper http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/14379 http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=018963660164734;res=IELENG Engineers Australia restricted
spellingShingle Chandratilleke, Tilak
Nadim, Nima
Narayanaswamy, Ramesh
Secondary flow characteristics and prediction of Dean vortices in fluid flow through a curved duct
title Secondary flow characteristics and prediction of Dean vortices in fluid flow through a curved duct
title_full Secondary flow characteristics and prediction of Dean vortices in fluid flow through a curved duct
title_fullStr Secondary flow characteristics and prediction of Dean vortices in fluid flow through a curved duct
title_full_unstemmed Secondary flow characteristics and prediction of Dean vortices in fluid flow through a curved duct
title_short Secondary flow characteristics and prediction of Dean vortices in fluid flow through a curved duct
title_sort secondary flow characteristics and prediction of dean vortices in fluid flow through a curved duct
url http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=018963660164734;res=IELENG
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/14379