Effect of Reynolds Number and Curvature Ratio on Single Phase Turbulent Flow in Pipe Bends

Curved pipes are very often used in hydraulic systems facilitating compact, lightweight designs. But they can also be the cause of complex secondary flows as the curvature brings change of velocity profile, generation of vortices and production of hydraulic losses. In the present study, turbulent single phase flows through circular 90˚ curved bend for different curvature ratio (Rc/D = 1 to 5), defined as the bend mean curvature radius (Rc) to pipe diameter (D) is investigated numerically for different Reynolds number (Re) ranging from 1×105 to 10×105. The purpose of this study is to simulate numerically the flow pattern and characterize the swirling secondary flow in 90˚ bends. Flow simulation using CFD techniques are performed to understand these phenomena. The k − " model with SIMPLE method is used for present study. After validation of present model with published experimental data, a detail study has been performed to characterize the flow separation and the dependency of swirl intensity on Reynolds number and curvature ratio in 90˚ pipe bend for single phase turbulent flow.