Flow field characteristics of an axisymmetric sudden-expansion pipe flow with different initial swirl distribution

The results of an experimental investigation depicting the effects of swirl profile on confined flows in a sudden-expansion coaxial dump combustor are presented. Three swirlers (free vortex, forced vortex, and constant angle) with the same nominal swirl number were designed and fabricated to study the effects of swirl type on the isothermal dump combustor flow field. Imparting swirl to the inlet flow resulted in a considerable reduction of the corner recirculation length, a marked increase in turbulent mixing activity, and in one case creation of a central recirculation zone. This article highlights the importance of the combustor inlet swirl profile and shows that swirl type as well as swirl strength can affect the flow field significantly. The present database is well suited for numerical codes development and validation.