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Swirl Flow

Swirl flow involves the rotation of a fluid around an axis and can be classified as natural, forced, or mixed. Natural swirl occurs due to conservation of angular momentum without external forces, like tornadoes and whirlpools. Forced swirl involves external forces inducing rotation, like pumps and jets. One characteristic of swirl flow is the formation of a vortex core along the axis of rotation, which can interact to create complex flow structures. Swirl flow is used in applications like combustion chambers, turbines, and mixers due to advantages like enhanced heat transfer and mixing efficiency.

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61 views5 pages

Swirl Flow

Swirl flow involves the rotation of a fluid around an axis and can be classified as natural, forced, or mixed. Natural swirl occurs due to conservation of angular momentum without external forces, like tornadoes and whirlpools. Forced swirl involves external forces inducing rotation, like pumps and jets. One characteristic of swirl flow is the formation of a vortex core along the axis of rotation, which can interact to create complex flow structures. Swirl flow is used in applications like combustion chambers, turbines, and mixers due to advantages like enhanced heat transfer and mixing efficiency.

Uploaded by

ahmedmidoo1595
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Swirl flow is a type of fluid motion that involves rotation of the fluid around an

axis.

Swirl flow can be classified into three categories: Natural, Forced and mixed.

Natural swirl flow occurs when the fluid is driven by the conservation of angular
momentum, without any external forces. Examples of natural swirl flow are
tornadoes, whirlpools, and sink vortices.

Forced swirl flow occurs when the fluid is subjected to external forces that induce
rotation, such as impellers, paddles, or jets. Examples of forced swirl flow are
centrifugal pumps, hydrodynamic separators, and vortex jets.
One of the main characteristics of swirl flow is the formation of a vortex core,
which is a region of low pressure and high axial velocity along the axis of rotation.

The vortex core can have different shapes and sizes, depending on the flow
conditions and the degree of swirl. The vortex core can also interact with other
vortices in the flow field, creating complex flow structures and mixing
phenomena.

Swirl flow is often encountered in engineering applications, such as [7]:

• Combustion chambers
• Turbines
• Pumps
• Mixers
• Vortex tubes
• Hydro-cyclones
• Spray dryers

Swirl flow has many advantages, such as:

• Enhancing heat and mass transfer


• Improving mixing efficiency
• Stabilizing flames
• Reducing emissions

Therefore, studying swirl flow is important for optimizing the performance and
design of various devices and systems.

There are several ways to generate the rotation of a flow. They can be classified
into three main categories [5]:
• Use of fins or adjustable propellers tangentially deflecting the axial flow.
Because of its simplicity, this device is generally used in industrial
systems, in particular in gas turbines. However, this type of device
introduces significant head losses, and the intensity of swirl is limited
(design of fins).
• Rotating mechanical devices which generate a rotational movement to
the fluid passing between them.
• Tangential injection of part or all fluid quantity into a main duct. The
intensity of the swirl is then determined by the ratio between the flow
injected tangentially and that injected axially.

Types of Vortices [2]


1. Free vortex flow
• No external torque or energy required. The fluid rotating under certain
energy previously given to them. In a free vortex mechanics, overall energy
flow remains constant. There is no energy interaction between an external
source and a flow or any dissipation of mechanical energy in the flow.
• Fluid mass rotates due to conservation of angular momentum.
• Velocity inversely proportional to the radius.

𝑉𝑉𝜃𝜃 ∗ 𝑟𝑟 = 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐
At the center (r = 0) of rotation velocity approaches infinite, that point is called
singular point.

• The free vortex flow is irrotational, and therefore, also known as the
irrotational vortex.

• In free vortex flow, Bernoulli’s equation can be applied.

Examples include a whirlpool in a river, water flows out of a bathtub or a sink, flow
in centrifugal pump casing and flow around the circular bend in a pipe.
2. Forced vortex flow.

• To maintain a forced vortex flow, it required a continuous supply of energy


or external torque.

• All fluid particles rotate at the constant angular velocity ω as a solid body.
Therefore, the flow of forced vortex is called solid body rotation.

• Tangential velocity is directly proportional to the radius.

𝑉𝑉𝜃𝜃
= 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐
𝑟𝑟
𝑣𝑣 = 𝑟𝑟 𝜔𝜔
𝜔𝜔 = 𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣.
𝑟𝑟 = 𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 𝑡𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑒 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟.
• The surface profile of vortex flow is parabolic.

• In forced vortex total energy per unit weight increases with an increase in
radius.

• Forced vortex is rotational flow with constant vorticity 2ω.

Examples for forced vortex flow are rotating a vessel containing a liquid with
constant angular velocity, flow inside the centrifugal pump due to impeller.

Fig. 1 Velocity distribution in Free vs Forced vortices flow


3. Compound Vortex (Real Vortex) [4][6]

The vortices observed in nature are usually modelled with


an irrotational (potential or free) vortex. However, in potential vortex, the velocity
becomes infinite at the vortex center. In reality, very close to the origin, the
motion resembles a solid body rotation. These are called Rankine Vortices.

The Rankine vortex model assumes a solid-body rotation inside a cylinder of


radius and a potential vortex outside the cylinder. The radius is referred to as the
vortex-core radius. The velocity components of the Rankine vortex, expressed in
terms of the cylindrical-coordinate system are given by.

Classification of swirl types corresponding


to the three types of swirl generators
• Concentrated Vortex (CV)- rotation
concentrated near the pipe center.
• Solid Body (SB)- almost uniform
rotation
• Wall Jet (WJ)- angular momentum
concentrated near the wall.

Fig. 2 Velocity distribution in Rankine and


Batchelor vortices flow [1]

Fig. 3 Classification of Swirl Types (Steenbergen and


Voskamp, 1998), corresponding to the three types of swirl generators.
References
1. Facciolo, Luca, and Kungliga tekniska högskolan. Institutionen för mekanik. A

Study on Axially Rotating Pipe and Swirling Jet Flows. 2006.


2. Greitzer, E M, et al. Internal Flow. Cambridge University Press, 26 Feb. 2007.

3. Mecholic. “Free and Forced Vortex Flow.” Mecholic, 17 Feb. 2016,

www.mecholic.com/2015/10/free-and-forced-vortex-flow-comparison.html.

4. “Rankine Vortex.” Wikipedia, 18 Oct. 2023,

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rankine_vortex. Accessed 24 Oct. 2023.

5. Toufik Boushaki. Swirling Flows and Flames. BoD – Books on Demand, 26 June

2019.

6. “Vortex.” Wikipedia, 2 Aug. 2023,

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vortex#Irrotational_vortices. Accessed 24 Oct. 2023.

7. White, Frank M. Fluid Mechanics. 1999.

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