Flow Driven by a Finite, Shrouded Spinning Disk With Suction

Numerical solutions are presented for the flow driven by a spinning disk which forms an endwall of a finite, closed cylinder. The effects of imposing a uniform suction (or blowing) through the spinning disk in finite configuration are investigated. The Reynolds number is large and the cylinder aspect ratio is 0(1). Finite-difference techniques are employed to integrate the time-dependent Navier-Stokes equations. The initial state is taken to be a uniform axial motion. Integration is performed until an approximate steady state is attained. When there is no suction, the infinite disk model is shown to provide a qualitatively representative approximation to the flow in the central core region. As a suction (blowing) is imposed, the core rotation rate in the case of finite configuration becomes smaller (larger) than that for the case of no suction, which is in disagreement with the predictions of the infinite disk model. These significant discrepancies point to a fundamental difficulty of the infinite disk model to adequately describe the real flow infinite geometry when there is a mass flux across the system boundary. Plots showing the meridional stream function at various times are constructed. Details of the flow structure in the approximate steady state are analyzed. When there is a suction, a strong Ekman layer is present on the spinning disk but the Ekman layer on the stationary disk fades. When there is a blowing, a strong Ekman layer forms on the stationary disk. It is shown that the dynamic effects influencing the character of the flow are confined to these Ekman layers.