Tracer visualization of vortex breakdown patterns in confined and unconfined flows

Abstract

Abstract Current work deals with the study of swirling laminar flows in confined and unconfined flows in order to identify common patterns considering the phenomenon of vortex breakdown. Two types of vortex breakdown patterns are created: spiral and bubble. To catch the main flow features the modern tracer visualization technique adapted to experimental conditions is used. Measurements of velocity distributions are conducted via two-component LDA system. This work also confirms some ideas proposed by (Jones et al. 2015) about generalization of vortex breakdown conditions in different geometries.