Turbomachinery components are often connected by ducts, which are usually annular. The configurations and aerodynamic characteristics of these ducts are crucial to the optimum performance of the turbomachinery blade rows. The ANDUCT computer program was developed to calculate the velocity distribution along an arbitrary line between the inner and outer walls of an annular duct with axisymmetric swirling flow. Although other programs are available for duct analysis, the use of the velocity gradient method makes the ANDUCT program fast and convenient while requiring only modest computer resources. A fast and easy method of analyzing the flow through a duct with axisymmetric flow is the velocity gradient method, also known as the stream filament or streamline curvature method. This method has been used extensively for blade passages but has not been widely used for ducts, except for the radial equilibrium equation. In ANDUCT, a velocity gradient equation derived from the momentum equation is used to determine the velocity variation along an arbitrary straight line between the inner and outer wall of an annular duct. The velocity gradient equation is used with an assumed variation of meridional streamline curvature. Upstream flow conditions may vary between the inner and outer walls, and an assumed total pressure distribution may be specified. ANDUCT works best for well-guided passages and where the curvature of the walls is small as compared to the width of the passage.
This program was released by NASA through COSMIC as program LEW-14000. The italicized text above is from the official COSMIC release. The program labelled LEW-14000 does not seem to exactly correspond to the programs in the references below, although they seem to have the same objectives.