Determination of separated region in a curved tube

The formation of atherosclerosis in a curved aorta is closely related to the existence of separated vortex region. This paper deals with the steady laminar motion of an incompressible Newtonian fluid through a curved tube with circular cross-section whose curvature is small and whose curvature gradient is not too large. Using the momentum integral method and the approximation of quasi-constant curvature, an equation which determines the location of separation and reattachment is derived. From this equation the earliest point of separation and the corresponding critical Reynolds number are obtained, and the relation between the position of separation and reattachment and Reynolds number R_e for different azimuthal angle are revealed. It is concluded that the separation first emerges at the position whose curvature gradient has the maximum absolute value. With increasing R_e, the separation region extends in the direction of mainstream, azimuthal angle and radius vector, and then forms a three-dimensional separated vortex, which gradually enlarges in all three directions with the increase of Reynolds number. The theoretical results also very clearly demonstrate the following striking experimental fact: if a symmetrical curved tube exhibits a separated vortex at the outside of the upstream, then it must have another one symmetrically placed at the inside of its downstream.