Flow through rotating straight pipes
Journal
Physics of Fluids A
Journal Volume
2
Journal Issue
1
Pages
63-75
Date Issued
1990
Author(s)
Abstract
Detailed numerical simulation has been carried out for fully developed laminar flow through a circular straight pipe with radius a, which is rotating with constant speed Ω about an axis perpendicular to its own axis. The flow is symmetric about a plane containing the pipe axis with its normal parallel to the rotation axis. There are four types of flow regime that result from the various effects of the secondary flow on the main stream via the convection and Coriolis term. When RΩ ≤ 10 and R Ω G≤ 100, the axial velocity profile is essentially axisymmetric and parabolic. Here RΩ = Ωa2/ν and G = G*a3/(ρν2), where G* is the reduced axial pressure gradient driving the flow, ρ is the fluid density, and ν is the kinematic viscosity. When RΩ <0.85(R ΩG)1/3 and RΩ G> 100, the axial velocity profile is skewed toward the pressure side with one maximum occurring on the symmetric plane. When RΩ > 1.26(RΩ G)2/5 and RΩ > 10, the axial velocity shows a dumbell-like profile with the "dumbell" center coinciding with the pipe axis and the "dumbell" axis perpendicular to the symmetric plane. When 0.85(RΩ G)1/3≤RΩ < 1.26(RΩ G)2/5 and RΩ G > 100, the axial velocity profile is skewed toward the pressure size but with two maxima, occurring symmetrically on both sides of the symmetric plane. The present calculation bridges most of the previous asymptotic analyses and provides a correlation formula for the friction factor ratio between the rotating and stationary pipe flow for most of the laminar regime of engineering interest. © 1989 American Institute of Physics.
Type
journal article