Premium
Fluid flow in curved ducts
Author(s) -
Jayanti S.,
Hewitt G. F.,
Kightley J. R.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
international journal for numerical methods in fluids
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.938
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1097-0363
pISSN - 0271-2091
DOI - 10.1002/fld.1650100505
Subject(s) - partial differential equation , mathematics , flow (mathematics) , fluid dynamics , mechanics , circumference , centrifugal force , duct (anatomy) , geometry , mathematical analysis , physics , medicine , pathology
The advent of standard algorithms for the numerical solution of partial differential equations has given researchers a new tool for fluid flow calculations. In this paper, single‐phase flow in curved ducts is numerically simulated by imposing a spatially varying centrifugal force on a fluid flowing in a straight tube. The resulting set of partial differential equations is solved using the HARWELL‐FLOW3D computer program. Comparison with other numerical and experimental results shows that this simplified formulation gives accurate results. The model neglects certain geometric terms of the order d / D , the duct‐to‐coil diameter ratio. The effect of these terms is investigated by considering the flow in a 90° bend for large d / D . It is shown that while there may be significant error in the prediction of the local variables for large d / D , the circumference‐averaged quantities are well predicted.