Vortex breakdown mechanics of a laminar confined swirling flow with large expansion ratio using a non-uniform finite difference approximation

Abrupt expansions are a very frequent geometry in mechanical engineering systems, i.e. in combustion chambers, valves, heat exchangers or impinging cooling devices. However, despite the large number of devices that use this geometry, the expanded flow behaviour still needs further research to understand and predict the full system performance. This paper presents the application of the non-uniform finite difference approximation method developed in Sanmiguel et al. for the numerical characterisation of a confined swirling laminar jet discharging with a large expansion ratio. This investigation can be considered an extension of previous work by Revuelta, but now a swirling flow is generated by a rotating pipe upstream the expansion. The structures found when a fully-developed rotating Hagen-Poiseuille flow discharges into a much larger pipe section are summarised in a bifurcation diagram, whose coordinates are the Reynolds number of the jet ( Rej) and the swirl parameter ( L), for which the time-dependent, axisymmetric and incompressible Navier-Stokes equations are integrated numerically. For values of the jet Reynolds number below 200, there is a critical value of the swirl parameter above which stable vortex breakdown appears. For values of the Reynolds number above 200, three different behaviours are observed, and each performance appears for a critical value of the swirl parameter. When increasing the swirl parameter from zero, the flow becomes axisymmetrically unstable, showing an oscillatory behaviour. If further increasing the swirl intensity, the oscillatory flow coexists with a vortex breakdown bubble and, finally, a steady vortex breakdown is reached. The expansion ratio ε considered in all the simulations is 1[Formula: see text]. In previous literature, the exactness of the limiting critical Rej and L values that define these behaviours has been found to be influenced by the variability in the inlet profile conditions, which affects the expanded flow. This enhances the importance in the present investigation to accurately simulate the discharge pipe inlet profiles.