Application of Computer Graphics Flow Visualization Methods in Vortex Rope Investigations

Abstract

Computer graphics visualization techniques for application on data from Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations of the vortex rope, a phenomenon present in hydraulic turbines operating in off-design conditions, were devised. This included not only objects for visualization (what to visualize) but also methods of the visualization itself (how to do it). By means of advanced methods based particularly on volume rendering of Eulerian fields in combination with Lagrangian objects, various phenomena were captured, such as the motion of the vortex rope or the backflow zone. The data came from simulations using a scale-resolving hybrid turbulence model, the Stress-Blended Eddy Simulation. In such detailed simulations and other applications involving complex three-dimensional structures, proper visualization methods are needed to leverage the content captured in the resultant data