Tangential friction on the wall of a container with a spherical charge and fluid motion through the charge

Viscous tangential stress on the interior wall of a container with a spherical charge, that develops in filtration of an incompressible fluid through the charge is investigated. Based on an analysis of an experimental dependence of the dimensionless stress on the Reynolds number, two critical Reynolds numbers are determined: the first number corresponds to the beginning of an abrupt drop in the stress, and the second number, to its reaching a regime that is self-similar in velocity. Comparison with the theory permits interpretation of the effects of pseudoturbulence and turbulence, respectively. Translated from Inzhenerno-Fizicheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 70, No. 1, pp. 50–54, January–February, 1997.