On vortex loops and filaments: three examples of numerical predictions of flows containing vortices

Vortex motion plays a dominant role in many flow problems. This article aims at demonstrating some of the characteristic features of vortices with the aid of numerical solutions of the governing equations of fluid mechanics, the Navier-Stokes equations. Their discretized forms will first be reviewed briefly. Thereafter three problems of fluid flow involving vortex loops and filaments are discussed. In the first, the time-dependent motion and the mutual interaction of two colliding vortex rings are discussed, predicted in good agreement with experimental observations. The second example shows how vortex rings are generated, move, and interact with each other during the suction stroke in the cylinder of an automotive engine. The numerical results, validated with experimental data, suggest that vortex rings can be used to influence the spreading of the fuel droplets prior to ignition and reduce the fuel consumption. In the third example, it is shown that vortices can also occur in aerodynamic flows over delta wings at angle of attack as well as pipe flows: of particular interest for technical applications of these flows is the situation in which the vortex cores are destroyed, usually referred to as vortex breakdown or bursting. Although reliable breakdown criteria could not be established as yet, the numerical predictions obtained so far are found to agree well with the few experimental data available in the recent literature.