DEAN VORTICES IN CURVED TUBE FLOW .5. 3-D MRI AND NUMERICAL-ANALYSIS OF THE VELOCITY-FIELD

The velocity contour profiles within Dean vortices produced by flowing water in a solid-walled curved tube are quantitatively measured. Magnetic resonance flow imaging using flow encoding with spin warp imaging is used in two and three dimensions to obtain these velocities. These experimental measurements are then compared with simulations obtained from solutions of the Navier-Stokes and continuity equations for three axial flow rates. Numerical solutions were obtained with a finite volume method for curved tube Poiseuille flow.