A fully elliptic numerical study has been carried out to investigate three-dimensional turbulent developing fluid flow in helical pipes with finite pitch. The k-ε standard two-equation turbulence model is applied. The governing equations are solved by a Control-Volume Finite Element Method (CVFEM). The results presented here cover a Reynolds number range of 2.5×104 ∼ 2.5×105, a pitch range of 0.0 ∼ 0.6, and a curvature ratio range of 0.025 ∼ 0.050. The developments of main and secondary flow fields, turbulent kinetic energy fields, and local and average friction factors are reported and discussed. It has been found that three parameters - Reynolds number, pitch and curvature ratio - generate very complex effects on the development of the turbulent flow fields. Moreover, along the axial direction, the friction factor experiences an oscillatory period before the flow becomes fully developed.
