An Study on the Transitional Flows in a Concentric Annulus with Rotating Inner Cylinder

안쪽축이 회전하는 환형관내 천이 유동 연구

This experimental study concerns the characteristics of a transitional flow in a concentric annulus with a diameter ratio of 0.52, whose outer cylinder is stationary and inner one rotating. The pressure losses and skin-friction coefficients have been measured for the fully developed flow of a 0.2 % aqueous solution of sodium carbomethyl cellulose (CMC) at a inner cylinder rotational speed of $0{\sim}600$ rpm. The transitional flow has been examined by the measurement of pressure losses, to reveal the relation of the Reynolds numbers with the skin-friction coefficients, in the laminar and transitional flow regimes. The occurrence of transition has been checked by the gradient change of pressure losses and skin-friction coefficient with respect to the Reynolds numbers. The increasing rate of skin-friction coefficient due to the rotation is uniform for laminar flow regime, whereas it is suddenly reduced for transitional flow regime and, then, it is gradually declined for turbulent flow regime. Consequently, the critical(axial-flow) Reynolds number decrease as the rotational speed increases. Thus, the rotation of inner cylinder promotes the early occurrence of transition due to the onset of taylor vortices.