The present study investigates in detail the combined effects of the Coriolis and centrifugal farce on the development of laminar flows in a square-sectioned U-bend rotating about an axis parallel to the center of bend curvature. When a viscous fluid ...
The present study investigates in detail the combined effects of the Coriolis and centrifugal farce on the development of laminar flows in a square-sectioned U-bend rotating about an axis parallel to the center of bend curvature. When a viscous fluid flows through a rotating curved region, two types of secondary flow occur. One is caused by the Coriolis force due to the rotation of U-bend and the other by the centrifugal farce due to the curvature of U-bend. When the values of Rossby number and curvature ratio are large, the flow field in a rotating U-bend can be represented by two dimensionless parameters ; the Dean number K$\_$LC/=Re/√λ and a body ratio F=λ/Po. For positive rotation, where the rotation is in the same direction as that of the main flow, both the Coriolis force and the centrifugal force act radially outwards, the directions of the two secondary flows are the same. Therefore, the flow structure is qualitatively similar to that observed in a stationary curved duct with a larger f7c. On the other hand, in case of negative rotation, where two farces act in opposite direction, more complex flow fields can be observed depending on the relative magnitudes of the forces.