Flow phenomena in swirl chambers

Results are presented from two different swirl chambers. One of the practical directions for this study is simulation of cooling passages located near the leading edges of turbine blades where screw-shaped, swirling flows are generated to enhance heat transfer. Flow visualization results are given at Reynolds numbers ranging from 900 to 19,000, along with example surveys of mean velocity components, static pressure, and total pressure. Arrays of Carder vortices are evident along the concave surface of the chamber, in addition to a second array in the shear layer located a short distance from the wall. As Reynolds number increases, vortex pair unsteadiness increases, the number of vortex pairs across the span increases, and interactions between adjacent vortex pairs becomes more intense, chaotic, and frequent. With axial flow components in the swirl chambers, skewness, unsteadiness, and three-dimensionality of the larger Gortler vortices become even more pronounced as they continuously intermingle with smaller Gortler vortex pairs.