Faisal Gulzar

L145780
BS(CV)-B
Assignment: Adv. Fluid Mechanic
Vortex and its types

VORTEX FLOW
Vortex: A vortex is a region in fluid which is rotating around an axis line which may
be straight or curved.
Examples

Stirred fluid
Smoke rings
Whirlpool in wake of boat
Wind surrounding a tornado

Vortices are a major component of turbulent flow. The distribution of velocity,

vorticity and concept of circulation are also used to describe vortices. In most cases,
velocity of the fluid flow is greater near to the axis of rotation and becomes lesser
as going apart from the axis.
In the absence of external forces, due to viscous friction fluid organize itself in such
a way that a collection of vortices (including larger scale vortices) produces in it.
After formation of vortices, these can move, stretched, twist and interact in a
complex way. A moving vortices carry itself momentum, linear momentum,
energy and mass.
Types of vortices

Irrotational vortex
Rotational vortex

Irroational vortex
An irrotational flow is the flow in which flow velocity is inversely propotional to the
distance from the axis of rotation.
For an irroational vortex, circulation is zero along any closed contour that does not
enclose the vortex axis; and has a fix value, , for any contour that enclose the axis
once. The tangential component of the particular velocity is then

u=
2 r

The ideal irrotational fluid is not physically realizable, since it would imply that the
particle speed would grow without bounds as one approaches the vortex axis. In
real fluid votices, there would always a core region surrounded the axis where the
particle velocity stops to increase further and then decrease to zero as r goes to
zero. Within that region, flow becomes rotational (vorticity becomes non zero with
direction roughly parallel to the vortex axis).
Irrotational vortex
A rotational vortex, one which have some value of vorticity away from core, can be
maintained only in case of some application of external force which is not generated
by the fluid motion itself.
For example, if a water bucket is spun about its axis at constant angular speed, the
water will rotate in the rigid body fashion. The particles will then move along
circular path with velocity u.

u=r

Now, in that case, free surface will considered as parabolic shape.

Figure.
Above fig. implies that, in forced of rotational vortex velocity is zero at origin and
it increases as distance of the rotating paricle increases. In free of irrotational
vortex velocity is maximim at origin and it deccreases as distance of the rotating
paricle increases.
Circulation
Circulation is nothing but line integral of the tangential component of the velocity
taken about the close curve,C, and ds is the differential length. The equation for
circulation is expressed as

= V . ds
c

For vortex velocity potential and stream function are given by:
 Velocity potential =

Stream function = . lnr

The velocity components are given by:

1
v = . =
r r

v r =0

Further types of Vortex:

1. Cylindrical forced vortex
2. Spiral forced vortex
3. Cylindrical free vortex
4. Spiral free vortex