Large eddy simulation of fully developed turbulent flow in a rotating pipe

Large eddy simulation (LES) has been applied to study the fully developed turbulent pipe flow, in particular, to examine the effects of swirl driven by the rotating wall of the pipe. Experimental observations have shown that the intensity of turbulence in the rotating pipe decreases gradually with an increase in rotation rate due to the stabilizing effect of the centrifugal force. These experimentally observed phenomena are confirmed numerically using LES by comparing not only mean velocity profiles but also turbulent intensity and Reynolds stresses at two different rotation rates. The performance of two different subgrid scale models, a dynamical model and the usual Smagorinsky model, has also been assessed for the case of fully developed turbulent swirling flow. A brief description of the numerical methods used with an efficient hybrid Fourier multigrid pressure solver is presented. Particular attention has been paid to the numerical treatment of boundary conditions at the centreline.

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