On the existence of adverse pressure gradient in decelerated swirling flow and its suppression by water jet injection

Abstract

Abstract The paper revisits the theory originally published by Hall that explains the presence of adverse pressure gradient at the axis of a diffuser with swirling flow. It presents the fields of the axial pressure derivative obtained by CFD simulations of flow in a swirl generator, which support the theory. The last part brings cautionary results regarding the suppression of the backflow caused by this adverse pressure gradient by water jet injection. On a case with a strong swirl intensity leading to a strong vortex rope, it is shown that the injected jet may be deflected to the outer walls and rotate with the outer swirling flow, eventually leading to stronger pressure pulsations than in the original state. Further investigation shows that high enough diameter of the jet is needed to ensure its stability.