Computing axisymmetric,laminar internal flows

A simple computational scheme is developed to compute laminar flows inside axisymmetric ducts. It is based on the Keller box method where the equations are approximated at the centre of the downstream face of each computational box. The coupling between the pressure gradient and the velocities for internal flow has been observed to introduce stability problems for the Keller box method that are not present for external, boundary layer flow problems. The difference scheme for the velocities is coupled to an iterative scheme to solve for the pressure gradient at each axial step. Example results for developing flow in a pipe and in a 2° conical diffuser are presented.