Three-dimensional Navier-Stokes calculations of multiple interacting vortex rings

Results from a finite-difference Navier-Stokes code for three-dimensional, unsteady, vortical flows in unbounded domains are presented and analyzed in this paper. The vortical flows presented are representative of vortex rings and other closed vortical tubes or structures in fluid mechanics. Such structures are important elements in fluid flows such as jets, atmospheric turbulence, and the far-field wakes of aircraft, and studies of their interaction may aid in an understanding of complex fluid flows. The paper demonstrates that computational methods can be used as a viable alternative or supplement to experimental techniques for studying the physics of vortex flows. The separate visualization of vortex stretching, convection, and diffusion is presented in this paper for a single elliptical vortex ring.The calculations employ a truncated series expansion technique to simulate the unbounded nature of the fluid flow with a finite computational domain, which is a more accurate technique than the conventional freestream boundary specification. The numerical divergence of the three-dimensional vorticity field is considered as a useful estimate of truncation error, and the use of a kinetic energy decay law as a calculation check is demonstrated. Results from the Navier-Stokes code are presented for the unsteady motion of two and four vortex rings along parallel axes, and the results agree qualitatively with experimental flow visualization.