Hydraulic Characteristics and Vortex Characteristics of the Flow around the Piped Vehicle with Different Diameter-to-Length Ratios

Hydraulic pipeline transportation of a piped vehicle is a new mode of transportation with energy-saving potential and environmental protection. In order to analyze the turbulent characteristics of the flow around the piped vehicle, a large eddy simulation (LES) method was adopted to simulate the hydraulic characteristics and vortex characteristics of the flow at a Reynolds number of Re = 140,467 with diameter-to-length ratios of 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, and 0.7. The results showed that the main factor that affected the gap flow velocity, the backflow area length, and the turbulence intensity was the cylinder diameter in the diameter-to-length ratio of the piped vehicle. The backflow area lengths for piped vehicles with different diameter-to-length ratios were all less than 1 D, and the axial disturbance distances were about 7.5 D. In addition, a variety of vortex structures existed in the gap flow and the rear flow areas. At the beginning of vortex development, ring vortices were generated at the front and rear ends of the cylinder body. Subsequently, the front ring vortex fell off along the cylinder body and evolved into hairpin vortices. At the same time, a reflux vortex was formed after the rear ring vortex broke away from the cylinder body, and wake vortices were generated behind the rear supports. Finally, some worm vortices were dispersed from the wake vortices. These results can further improve the theoretical system for the hydraulic pipeline transportation of piped vehicles and can provide a theoretical basis for industrial application.