Turbulence-driven secondary flows in a curved pipe (Q1182716)

A numerical investigation of the flow in a curved pipe at high Reynolds numbers is performed using several turbulence models in order to investigate the form of the induced secondary flow. It is found that the secondary flow is primarily induced by the anisotropies in the cross- stream turbulent normal stresses near the outer bend of the pipe. Computations are performed at two different grid sizes for a pipe with a \(U\)-bend, and the flow is examined at various angles around the bend. Apart from the dominant Dean-type vortex pair, two other vortex pairs are found in the flow fields, one near the pipe centre, due to a local pressure imbalance, and the other near the outer bend. The third vortex pair is not observed in laminar-flow calculations, lending support to the conclusion that it is induced by turbulent stresses.