Abstract
Spin-up is a transient flow phenomenon occurring in a container when it starts to rotate from rest or its rotational speed increases from a low to high value. However, most studies on this subject have been for two-dimensional approximation. In this study, spin-up flows in a shallow rectangular container are analysed by using three-dimensional computation. We compared our results with those obtained by others using basically two-dimensional computation. Effect of two parameters, Reynolds number and liquid depth on the flow evolution is studied. We found that 2-D result is not accurate enough, and the vertical velocity distribution should be assumed of a fourth-order polynomial function for a better comparison.