Suppression of rankine vortex formation in liquid draining tanks: A critical review

Abstract

Air-core vortexing phenomenon during draining of liquids from cylindrical vessels is of major interest because this phenomenon has significant impact in multiple engineering systems. The adverse effects created by vortex formation via air-core ingestion in the field of aerospace engineering, metal casting and hydraulic engineering demanded the need for air-core vortex suppression. From past few decades, researchers have come up with unique strategies to suppress vortexing phenomenon. As the first ever initiative, the current review classifies all the strategies reported in the literature and addresses the advantages and adverse effects of each strategy. Based on this classification, this review identifies vortex suppression strategies suitable for various engineering applications. The present review also investigates the contradictions and misinterpretations observed in the published results. Research gaps and major outcomes identified in this review are novel and are expected to give a fresh impetus for further research delivering new insights on the phenomenon of air core vortex formation aiding to develop new suppression strategies.